Context: Oral Tradition And Was It Just Homer ?

Question 1

When did writing disappear from Greece, when does it reappear and why is it important?

Answer 1

• After the Mycenaean civilisation, writing disappeared from Greece
• it appeared again during the 8th Century BC
• Between these two times word where transmitted orally

Question 2

What is the Iliad ?

Answer 2

A poem in an oral tradition

Question 3

What is the Iliad full of and why ?

Answer 3

Repeated phrases such as yoke the same noun to the same adjective
‘Cloud gathering Zeus’
- systematic if poet needs to fill a line he would call Achilles noble
- this assists composition without the use of writing