Chapters

Book Chapter

Note on Transliteration and References

Note on Transliteration and References While for Greek personal names I have used their anglicized forms (Achilles, not Akhilleus), for Greek place names I have opted for their hellenicized –os endings (Delos, Scyros). When using someone else’s translation, I have remained faithful to the author’s transliteration system, hence the lack of absolute consistency and the discrepancy between e.g. Kallidice and Callidice, Trophonios and Trophonius. Internal cross-references indicate… Read more

Book Chapter

Acknowledgments

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

Book Chapter

Preface

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

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Foreword

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

Book Chapter

Bibliography

Bibliography Texts West, M., ed. 1998. Homerus Ilias Volumen Prius Rhapsodias I-XII Continens. Stuttgart and Leipzig. West, M., ed. 2000. Homerus Ilias Volumen Alterum Rhapsodias XIII-XXIV Continens. Munich and Leipzig. van Thiel, H., ed. 1991. Homeri Odyssea. Zurich and New York. Allen, T., ed. 1912. Homeri Opera V: Hymnos Cyclum Fragmenta Margiten Batrachomyomachiam… Read more

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Appendix 2. Typology of Divine Councils in the Odyssey

Appendix 2: Typology of Divine Councils in the Odyssey I have throughout this study referred to the five scenes in which Zeus has a speaking role in the Odyssey, in Books 1, 5, 12, 13 and 24, as “divine councils.” From the standpoint of the oral tradition in which the Homeric epics originated, these narrative settings can be described as “type-scenes.” This level of organization in Homeric… Read more

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Appendix 1. Homeric scenes in which Zeus Appears and References to his Actions

Appendix 1: Homeric scenes in which Zeus appears and references to his actions Citations include scenes in the main narrative, as well as scenes that, while outside the main narrative, impinge on it (such as the encounter between Helios and Zeus in Odyssey 12) or proceed directly from it (such as the destruction of the Greek fortifications predicted in Iliad 7 and 12). Not included are scenes… Read more

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6. Divine Plan and Narrative

Divine plan and narrative plan Thus far I have argued that the Dios boulē theme serves two interconnected functions in the Odyssey: it lends shape and coherence to the narrative, and it mediates the Odyssey’s relationship to other Odysseus-traditions. The attraction of Zeus to the interface between the Homeric and non-Homeric accounts I have explained in terms of the Panhellenic orientation of the former: the Odyssey was… Read more

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5. Nestor’s Nostoi

Nestor’s Nostoi Like Odysseus, the mortal character Nestor focalizes a significant portion of the Odyssey. His narrative helps to establish further the poem’s relationship to the Nostos-tradition, which, as discussed in previous chapters, forms the part of the Odyssey’s backstory that extends from the fall of Troy to the death of Agamemnon. In a speech that extends over more than a quarter of Odyssey 3 (130-200, 262-312),… Read more

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4. After the Odyssey

After the Odyssey Zeus’ settlement at the end of the Odyssey is meant to be permanent: Odysseus will “be ruler forever” (βασιλευέτω αἰεί, 24.483). Of course, this cannot come to pass literally; even the divinely favored Menelaos must cede Sparta and retire to Elysion (Odyssey 4.561-564). The clear implication is that Odysseus will rule Ithake until his death, at which point his heir will assume power. Read more