Introduction [In this on-line version, the page-numbers of the printed version are indicated within braces (“{” and “}”). For example, “{69|70}” indicates where p. 69 of the printed version ends and p. 70 begins. These indications will be useful to readers who need to look up references… Read more
1. The Quest for a Definitive Text of Homer: Evidence from the Homeric Scholia and Beyond* 1§1 As of this writing, Homeric scholarship has not yet succeeded in achieving a definitive text of either the Iliad or the Odyssey. Ideally, such a… Read more
2. The Homeric Text and Problems of Multiformity* 2§1 The multiformity of Homeric poetry is a sign of its prehistory as oral traditional poetry. This insight stems from the work of Milman Parry [1] and Albert Lord. Read more
3. Editing the Homeric Text: West’s Iliad* 3§1 Martin West’s edition of the Homeric Iliad (volume 1 / 1998; volume 2 / 2000) is not, and cannot be, the last word. Still, it serves its purpose in presenting a reconstruction of what… Read more
4. Editing the Homeric Text: Different Methods, Ancient and Modern* 4§1 Martin West published in 2001 a book that supplements his 1998/2000 edition of the Homeric Iliad. [1] It serves as a vehicle for explaining (1) his… Read more
5. Aristarchean Questions: Emerging Certainties about the Finality of Homer’s Text* 5§1 The New Companion to Homer, edited by Ian Morris and Barry Powell (1997), is bad company, for the most part. [1] Such is the opinion… Read more
6. The Name of Achilles: Questions of Etymology and “Folk-Etymology”* 6§1 In his book on the language of the Linear B tablets, Leonard R. Palmer explained the etymology of the name of Achilles, Ἀχιλ(λ)εύς, as a shortened variant of a compound formation… Read more
7. The Name of Apollo: Etymology and Essence* 7§1 The etymology of Apollo’s name, Apóllōn, has defied linguistic reconstruction for a long time. [1] A breakthrough came with a 1975 article by Walter Burkert, where he proposes… Read more
8. An Etymology for the Dactylic Hexameter* 8§1 In his far-reaching survey of Indo-European poetics, Calvert Watkins remarks: “The origins of the Greek epic meter, the dactylic hexameter, are particularly challenging.” [1] His own contribution to the… Read more
Chapter 4. Homeric Responses [1] The Shield of Achilles: Ends of the Iliad and Beginnings of the Polis Homer critics have begun to interpret the resolution of the Iliad in Book 24, at the end of the epic, as a reflection… Read more
