Chapter 12. Mapping the Hypertext: Similes in Iliad XXII In spite of the fact that Homeric similes have undergone exhaustive analysis, interest in them has been renewed in recent years, though the focus of research has shifted from studying their classification [1] to exploring their oral function [2] and the way they generate meaning. [3]… Read more
Bibliography Translations All translations of the Iliad are taken from Lattimore 1951, and of the Odyssey from Rieu 2003 (= 1946). For Aristotle I have consulted Halliwell 1995; for Herodotus, Waterfeld 1998; for the Homeric Hymns, West 2003; for Philostratus, Berenson, Maclean, and Aitken 2003 (= 2001); for Proclus, Burgess 2001; for Livy, Foster 1919; for Ovid’s Fasti, Frazer 19892 (= 1931); for Propertius, Goold 1990;… Read more
Illustrations [Due to copyright restrictions, the images included in the print version of this book are not available for reproduction online. Where possible, those images have been replaced by line drawings, open source images, or links to relevant citation information. Captions for replacement images will appear in brackets alongside the original captions.] Figure 1. Hydria in Six’s technique. Attributed to the Sappho Painter,… Read more
Preface I was first introduced to the dialects of Plato and Sappho in the last years of elementary school by an older friend who enjoyed reciting ancient Greek poetry and reading sections from Plato’s Symposion at family gatherings. She taught me their dialects during three long summers in Greece. The work of both of those ancient composers of prose and song became scholarly pre-occupations of mine later… Read more
Acknowledgments This book began taking shape in 2000 and was completed in June 2003. During the academic year 2003–2004 it was further revised, and I made some final bibliographical additions in January 2005. [1] The original 2003 manuscript was almost twice as large as the present book. This was partly due to the fact that in that manuscript there was a special… Read more
Note on Transliteration Transliterating ancient Greek words of different periods—with all the phonetic and other changes that took place from the archaic to the Roman period and later—raises issues about consistency. Our knowledge of the precise pronunciation of ancient Greek consonants, vowels, and diphthongs in different dialects is limited. It is, therefore, problematic to adopt a transliteration system that assumes that archaic Greek dialects were pronounced in… Read more
Chapter 1. An Anthropology of Reception Δεινὸν γάρ που, ὦ Φαῖδρε, τοῦτ’ ἔχει γραφή, καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς ὅμοιον ζωγραφίᾳ. καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἐκείνης ἔκγονα ἕστηκε μὲν ὡς ζῶντα, ἐὰν δ᾽ ἀνέρῃ τι, σεμνῶς πάνυ σιγᾷ. ταὐτὸν δὲ καὶ οἱ λόγοι. I think, Phaidros, that writing shares a strange feature with painting. The offspring of painting stand there as if they were alive, but if you ask… Read more
Foreword The title of this book (The Oral Palimpsest) with its learned oxymoron and its allusion to analogously oxymoronic titles (for instance Written Voices and Spoken Signs edited in 1997 by E. Bakker and A. Kahane) might seem no more than a smart appeal to the sophisticated reader, but in fact it announces the various paradoxical, mysterious and enigmatic aspects of Homeric poetry. Christos Tsagalis is a… Read more
Preface Homeric studies have shown a remarkable dynamism as they still stand (more than 200 years after Wolf’s seminal Prolegomena ad Homerum) at the forefront of scholarly research in the field of Classics. During the second half of the last century, the evolution of Homeric studies has been primarily, though not solely, boosted by the exploration of the oral nature of archaic epic and the subsequent study… Read more
Acknowledgments This book is dedicated to Pietro Pucci, whose scientific acumen, unstinting encouragement, and unfailing guidance have been a constant support for me during these last fifteen years. He stands at the head of a small but precious group of scholars, who have guided me in search of my scholarly pathway. Through the years, I have incurred some special debts of professional and personal gratitude, which… Read more
