A Companion to Ancient Epic (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World)

A Companion to Ancient Epic (2005)
......Page 1
BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO THE ANCIENT WORLD......Page 3
ISBN-13: 9781405105248......Page 5
--> Contents......Page 6
Figures......Page 10
Notes on Contributors......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 17
Abbreviations of Ancient Authors and Works......Page 18
Abbreviations of Modern Reference Works......Page 24
Introduction......Page 27
Part I: Issues and perspectives......Page 28
Part II: Near Eastern epic......Page 30
Other Features......Page 31
PART I - Issues and Perspectives......Page 33
1 Introduction......Page 35
2 Defining ‘‘Epic’’ in Ancient Greece......Page 37
3 ‘‘Epic’’ Cross-culturally......Page 41
4 Concluding Coda......Page 44
4 Concluding coda......Page 45
CHAPTER TWO - The Indo-European Context......Page 46
FURTHER READING......Page 56
CHAPTER THREE - Epic and Myth......Page 57
Gilgamesh......Page 59
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey......Page 60
Virgil’s Aeneid......Page 65
FURTHER READING......Page 70
CHAPTER FOUR - Performance......Page 71
FURTHER READING......Page 80
CHAPTER FIVE - Epic and History......Page 81
1 History and Sumerian Epic......Page 82
Homer and the Trojan War......Page 84
Homer and ‘‘epic society’’......Page 87
Homer, political thought, and the poet’s role as educator......Page 88
3 History and Medieval Epic: Comparative Evidence......Page 89
Historical epic......Page 91
The Aeneid......Page 93
5 Tentative Conclusions......Page 94
FURTHER READING......Page 96
CHAPTER SIX - The Epic Hero......Page 97
FURTHER READING......Page 115
The Epic Triangle......Page 116
Theomachy......Page 120
Athena: The Narrative Functions of the Mentor Deity......Page 121
Thetis and Ninsun, Calypso and Circe......Page 122
Parody in Aphrodite and Ares......Page 123
Epic Boundaries......Page 124
Hephaestus, Mediating between Composer and Hero......Page 125
The Ugaritic Aqhat......Page 126
The Aeneid......Page 127
The Argonautica......Page 129
FURTHER READING......Page 130
CHAPTER EIGHT - Women in Ancient Epic......Page 131
Blockers and Helpers......Page 132
Mothers and Sons......Page 135
Women and War......Page 136
Wives......Page 137
Mourners......Page 138
Warriors and Leaders......Page 140
Women in Love......Page 141
Conclusion......Page 143
FURTHER READING......Page 144
CHAPTER NINE - Archaeological Contexts......Page 145
Epic ‘‘Relics’’......Page 149
Archaeology and Homeric Epic in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: Schliemann and the ‘‘Fundamentalist’’ Diversion......Page 151
The Anti-historical Reaction......Page 156
From the Archaeology of ‘‘History’’ to an Archaeology of Epic......Page 158
What was the context in which they were created?......Page 159
Do they have a ‘‘prehistory’’?......Page 161
Patterns of archaeological context......Page 162
Archaeological contexts of ideology......Page 164
Conclusion......Page 165
FURTHER READING......Page 166
CHAPTER TEN - The Physical Media:Tablet, Scroll, Codex......Page 168
Tablet......Page 171
Scroll......Page 176
Codex......Page 183
Tablet......Page 187
Scroll......Page 188
Codex......Page 189
CHAPTER ELEVEN - Ancient Reception......Page 190
FURTHER READING......Page 199
CHAPTER TWELVE - Translating Ancient Epic......Page 200
1 Status of the Source Text......Page 201
2 Orality, Folklore, and Homeric Translation......Page 203
3 Courtly Bards and Kingly Subjects......Page 205
4 A Tale for the Telling......Page 208
5 The Paradox of the Sacred Text......Page 211
6 Conclusion: Creativity, Innovation, Tradition......Page 217
FURTHER READING......Page 221
Perspectives on a Method......Page 222
Terminology and Comparative ‘‘Epic’’......Page 223
Bards or Singers......Page 225
Performance and Audience......Page 226
Epic Language......Page 228
Transmission......Page 229
‘‘New’’ Epics......Page 231
The Role of Literacy and Texts......Page 232
Collection, Textualization, and Edition......Page 233
Epic within the Ecology of Oral Poetry......Page 235
Conclusion......Page 236
FURTHER READING......Page 237
PART II - Near Eastern Epic......Page 239
Languages......Page 241
Scripts......Page 242
Media......Page 243
Orality/Aurality......Page 244
Genre......Page 245
Roster of Works......Page 246
Inspiration......Page 248
Transmission......Page 249
Presentation......Page 250
Motifs......Page 251
Themes......Page 252
The banquet......Page 253
The journey......Page 254
Modes......Page 255
Epic: Theirs into Ours......Page 256
FURTHER READING......Page 257
CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Mesopotamian Epic......Page 259
Enmerkar traditions......Page 260
Lugalbanda traditions......Page 261
Gilgamesh epic traditions......Page 262
Epic of Sargon......Page 264
Gilgamesh traditions......Page 265
Atrahasis epic......Page 267
Mesopotamian epic as folklore......Page 268
Mesopotamian epics as propaganda......Page 269
Mesopotamian epic and other modes of interpretation......Page 270
FURTHER READING......Page 271
Introduction......Page 272
Poems concerning Baal......Page 273
The Story of Keret......Page 275
The Story of Aqhat......Page 276
Ilimilku’s Motives......Page 277
Baal......Page 279
Aqhat......Page 280
1 Introduction......Page 281
2 Ancient Anatolian Poetry......Page 282
3 Fantastic Narrative Involving Humans......Page 283
4 Fantastic Narrative Featuring Deities......Page 286
5 Texts about Early History containing Fairy-tale Elements......Page 288
FURTHER READING......Page 289
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Persian/Iranian Epic......Page 290
FURTHER READING......Page 302
Biblicists on ‘‘Epic’’......Page 303
Additional Definitions and Criteria: Contemporary Scholarship......Page 305
Terms for Epic?......Page 306
Recurring Phrases or Markers......Page 307
The Role of Heroes: Activities and Contexts......Page 308
War and Women......Page 309
Verbal Art and Performance......Page 310
Political Dimensions......Page 311
Conclusions: Israelite Epic?......Page 312
FURTHER READING......Page 313
PART III - Ancient Greek Epic......Page 315
CHAPTER TWENTY - Near Eastern Connections......Page 317
FURTHER READING......Page 327
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - Homer’s Iliad......Page 328
The Plot......Page 329
Story-lines, Traditional and New......Page 330
How the Story is Told......Page 331
Meter......Page 333
Metaphors......Page 334
The humans......Page 335
The deities......Page 336
The Historical and Cultural Background......Page 338
Conclusion......Page 339
FURTHER READING......Page 340
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - Homer’s Odyssey......Page 341
FURTHER READING......Page 353
Reception......Page 354
Translations......Page 355
Introduction: Hesiod and the Hesiodic Tradition......Page 356
The Hesiodic Cycle......Page 359
The Theogony......Page 361
The Works and Days......Page 365
Commentaries......Page 368
Other works......Page 369
Introduction......Page 370
Nature of the Epic Cycle......Page 371
Manifestations of the Cycle......Page 372
Date and Authorship of the Cycle Poems......Page 374
Critical Assessments of the Cycle......Page 376
FURTHER READING......Page 377
Author and Date......Page 379
The Poem......Page 381
Apollonius and Homer......Page 382
Apollonius and Other Sources......Page 385
FURTHER READING......Page 389
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - Quintus of Smyrna......Page 390
FURTHER READING......Page 398
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - Nonnus......Page 400
The story of Dionysus......Page 401
Style and meter......Page 402
Structure......Page 403
The universe of epic......Page 404
Epic cycle......Page 405
Poetry and wine......Page 406
Fathers and sons......Page 407
Imitation and usurpation......Page 408
Literary Afterlives......Page 409
FURTHER READING......Page 411
Introduction......Page 412
The Homeric Hymns......Page 413
Other Archaic Non-epic Poetry......Page 415
Philosophy......Page 418
Historiography......Page 419
Tragedy......Page 420
Conclusion......Page 421
FURTHER READING......Page 422
Homeric Questions......Page 423
The Transmission of Homer to the Middle Ages and Beyond......Page 424
The Greek East and the Latin West......Page 426
The Trojan War in Medieval Literature......Page 427
The Recovery of Homer......Page 428
Homer in Early English Literature......Page 429
Homer in Art......Page 430
Homeric Scholarship and the Question of Genius......Page 436
Old and New Questions......Page 439
FURTHER READING......Page 440
PART IV - Roman Epic......Page 441
CHAPTER THIRTY - The Origins and Essence of Roman Epic......Page 443
Ideological Issues (1): The ‘‘Bardic Culture’’ Approach......Page 445
Ideological Issues (2): The Protos Heuretes Approach......Page 446
Historical Issues (1): The Protos Heuretes Approach......Page 447
Historical Issues (2): The ‘‘Bardic Culture’’ Approach......Page 449
Conclusion......Page 452
FURTHER READING......Page 454
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE - Early Republican Epic......Page 455
FURTHER READING......Page 465
Lucretius and Epicureanism......Page 466
Epic or Didactic?......Page 467
Philosophy as poetry......Page 472
FURTHER READING......Page 476
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE - Virgil’s Aeneid......Page 478
FURTHER READING......Page 501
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - Ovid......Page 502
The Battlefield......Page 507
The Hero......Page 508
The Gods......Page 511
FURTHER READING......Page 517
Contents of the Bellum civile......Page 518
Reception of the Bellum civile......Page 520
Stylistic texture of the Bellum civile......Page 522
The Body in Pieces......Page 523
The Narrator’s Voice......Page 524
Stoicism in the Epic......Page 526
Political Engagement......Page 527
Internet resources......Page 528
The Poet......Page 529
Thematics......Page 530
Apollonius Rhodius......Page 532
Virgil......Page 534
Structure......Page 535
Historical Context......Page 537
FURTHER READING......Page 539
Subject and Background of the Thebaid......Page 540
Prologue and invocation (Thebaid 1.1–45): setting the theme......Page 541
Third movement (Thebaid 7.1–12.809): war between Thebes and Argos......Page 542
Epilogue (Thebaid 12.810–19): literary predecessors......Page 543
Virgilian and Lucanian Reminiscences in the Thebaid......Page 544
Use and abuse of supernatural power......Page 545
Use and abuse of monarchal power......Page 546
Consequences of the abuse of power......Page 547
Contemporary Relevance of the Thebaid......Page 548
Themes and allusions in the Achilleid......Page 550
Reception of the Thebaid and Achilleid......Page 551
FURTHER READING......Page 552
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - Silius Italicus......Page 554
FURTHER READING......Page 563
1 Life and Career......Page 564
2 Considerations of Genre and Style......Page 569
3 The De bello Gildonico: Epic and Politics......Page 572
FURTHER READING......Page 574
CHAPTER FORTY - Latin Christian Epics of Late Antiquity......Page 576
Fourth-century Renewal......Page 577
Prudentius and the Psychomachia......Page 580
Biblical Epic in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries......Page 583
Hagiographic Epic......Page 585
FURTHER READING......Page 587
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE - Epic and Other Genres in the Roman World......Page 588
FURTHER READING......Page 599
Reading Virgil......Page 600
The Aeneid in Art, Music, and Literature......Page 604
FURTHER READING......Page 614
Bibliography......Page 615
Index......Page 677