The Iliad PPX Flashcards
Where do current, Western grammatical editions of The Iliad most likely stem from?
Alexandrian Edition(s)
When were the “revised” versions of The Iliad produced? What did they do?
3rd - 1st Century BC
They created the book divisions, stable verse counts, and added/took out certain lines.
When was the poet “Homer” believed to have lived?
8th Century BC
Why is identity of Homer a highly contested subject? Was the poet of The Iliad and the Odyssey likely just one person?
There is not a ton of evidence that points to the fact that Homer was an actual person. It is widely believed that the homeric epics had rich oral histories and were a tradition passed/retold/added on to from a collection of poets under the name of “Homer”.
What poetic meter are the original Greek versions of The Iliad spoken in?
Dactylic hexameter
Define “kunstsprache” and its features
“art speech”
It’s a blended dialect used by the Homeric poets. Archaic and several regional dialects were often incorporated to create different effects.
What are some formulaic elements of The Iliad ?
fixed epithets
repetition
type-scenes
What is prolepsis? Name one significant example from The Iliad.
a figure of speech in which a future act or development is represented as if already accomplished or existing
Patroklos when he wears Achille’s armor and dies in battle.
What is ring composition? How is it significant in The Iliad?
a technique where a story begins and ends with similar elements
In The Iliad, it begins and ends with a father grieving, hammering home themes on grief, the power of it, and what it’s like to be human.
Who is Milman Parry and why is he an important figure to the homeric epics?
He was an American scholar who revolutionized the study of Homer by approaching epics as a product of oral tradition.
When was the Archaic period? What is it characterized by?
800-480 BC
Rise of Greek city-states, tyrannies, colonization. Rapid rise creates conflict with the Persian Empire.
What are two features of Homeric Society?
- Weapons, tactics from Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1200 BC) to Early Archaic (c. 800-700 BC)
- Common ethical world
define Reciprocity
Reciprocity is the principle and practice of voluntary requital, of benefit for benefit (positive reciprocity) or harm for harm (negative reciprocity)
define kleos
renown
define aristos
best
