Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Was there really a Homer
#1
I know this may seem like a bit of a redundant question, however, I was reading somewhere and the author argued that he believed Homer was not a real person, but instead a group of writers in Ancient Greece who got together and wrote the two Homer epics. At first I disregarded this statement, but after thinking it over, I am not sure anymore. After all several writers change their names on their books for either validity reasons, or because of controversy. A good example is Emily Bonte changing her name to Ellis Bell for her novel Wuthering Heights. <p></p><i></i>
"Freedom was at stake- freedom, which whets the courage of brave men"- Titus Livius

Nil recitas et vis, Mamerce, poeta videri.
Quidquid vis esto, dummodo nil recites!- Martial
Reply
#2
Khaire!<br>
<br>
My guess is that Emily Bronte used a pseudonym because she felt that Victorian readers might ignore her book if they knew it was written by a woman.<br>
<br>
Homer was probably not up against the same sorts of prejudices, unless we start making up ideas about him being a she... I wouldn't say that everything in Homer was his own invention or perfectly true, but it's kind of weird for people who study a certain period to start with the assumption that their only written source is a total lie. Doesn't leave much to study, eh? I think the Shakespeare controversy is on much more solid ground, really.<br>
<br>
Vale,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus <p></p><i></i>
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
Reply
#3
I am not arguing the validity or quality of the excellent examples of literature written by, or under, the name of Homer. My question is more of if Homer was responsible for actually writing these or if the name was used by a group of writers. <p></p><i></i>
"Freedom was at stake- freedom, which whets the courage of brave men"- Titus Livius

Nil recitas et vis, Mamerce, poeta videri.
Quidquid vis esto, dummodo nil recites!- Martial
Reply
#4
Magnus, Matt,<br>
I think that the approach to this question should be slightly different. The two 'Homeric' poems were orally transmitted for many years by anonymous poets and they probably cut and added sections at will. In my opinion, that is what is meant for the 'group' of poets' responsible for the Odyssey and the Iliad.<br>
Maybe Homer was the last transmitter or the man who put them in written form or just a prestigy name added later to them, who knows!<br>
<br>
Aitor <p></p><i></i>
It\'s all an accident, an accident of hands. Mine, others, all without mind, from one extreme to another, but neither works nor will ever.

Rolf Steiner
Reply
#5
It's not just that they cut and added sections at will, as you say, but that they knew formulae by which they composed every time they performed. It's highly doubtful that entire poems were recited on any given occasion -- just an episode or two from the tradition for evening entertainment.<br>
It's possible that "Homer" was a name added later -- the Greeks seem to have felt the need to put a name on any important unknown or anonymous person, e.g. the many eponymous founders of cities. <em>Homeros</em> means "hostage", for whatever that's worth. <p></p><i></i>
Dan Diffendale
Ph.D. candidate, University of Michigan
Reply
#6
Quote:</em></strong><hr>It's highly doubtful that entire poems were recited on any given occasion.<hr><br>
Not so, Danno.<br>
According to Moses Finlay, "In 1934, at the request of Milman Parry, a sixty-year-old Serbian bard who could neither read nor write recited for him a poem of the length of the <em>Odyssey</em>, making it up as he went along, yet retaining metre and form and building a complicated narrative. The performance took two weeks, with a week in between, the bard chanting for two hours each morning and two more in the afternoon."<br>
This is what "oral poetry" means -- a well-known story, which different bards tell in slightly different ways, while retaining the key elements. In the case of the <em>Iliad</em> and <em>Odyssey</em>, someone finally wrote down the version they had heard. If the <em>Iliad</em> had already been attributed to some ancient mythical bard called Homer, it was natural to attribute the <em>Odyssey</em> to the same man. <p></p><i></i>
** Vincula/Lucy **
Reply
#7
Quote:</em></strong><hr>at the request of Milman Parry<hr><br>
I suppose whatever Greek kinglet could request that a bard sing for two weeks at four hours per day... hence my "any given occasion", which I didn't intend to cover such, er, <em>epic</em> lengths of time... <p></p><i></i>
Dan Diffendale
Ph.D. candidate, University of Michigan
Reply
#8
Quote:</em></strong><hr>whatever Greek kinglet ...<hr><br>
Or Arizona school board? (Click [url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0908edteach08.html" target="top]here[/url]. ) <p></p><i></i>
** Vincula/Lucy **
Reply
#9
Xeresthe,<br>
<br>
Just for your info , there is a theory that says , Omhros( Homer) and Odyseas were the same person. I dont the source of this theory near me right now , but as i can remember they base this theory on the amount of details that Homer gives about battles. If i'm not mistaken the Iliad was written 500 years after the actual events. During this period of time , greeks were not supposed to have an alphabet , so everything passed to homer my spoken tradition. Personally i find that really hard to believe. Defenately Homer ,had combat experiance , either if this theory is true or false. (i'm sorry for my bad english ) <p></p><i></i>
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Homer and Hellenes Macedon 10 2,643 06-25-2012, 11:04 PM
Last Post: Lyceum
  Homer Jona Lendering 1 1,264 11-22-2010, 11:16 PM
Last Post: Macedon
  Homer and the Micenian World Aryaman2 27 6,046 05-23-2006, 08:25 PM
Last Post: Matthew Amt

Forum Jump: