Homer

by Powell, Barry B.

• ISBN13: 9781405153249
• ISBN10: 1405153245
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-04-30
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This concise book is a complete and contemporary introduction to Homer and his two master-works, the Iliad and the Odyssey. It explains the "Homeric Question," illuminating its current status, and critiques the literary qualities of the Iliad and the Odyssey, analyzing and contrasting their plotting, narrative technique, and characterization. Updated throughout, the second edition includes a new section on Homer's reception in ancient Greece; a new chapter on Homer and archaeology; additional maps; an updated bibliography; a glossary of key terms; and new information on the oral composition of the poems. Assuming no prior knowledge of Greek, the author supplies all the background information necessary to understand the poems, making this an ideal resource for those coming to the field for the first time.

Author Biography

Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His previous publications include Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (1991), A Short Introduction to Classical Myth (2001), Writing and the Origins of Greek Literature (2002), Classical Myth (fourth edition, 2004), and The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society (with Ian Morris, 2005).

Table of Contents

Chronological Chart

Preface to the Second Edition

Preface to the First Edition

Introduction

Background

The Philologist 's Homer

The Historian 's Homer

The Reader 's Homer

The Poems

The Iliad

The Odyssey

Conclusion and Summary: Homer's Complementary Poems

Reception

Homer and The Philosophers

Homer and The Poets

Notes

Appendix: For Further Reading

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.