Homer
Subtitle: The Very Idea
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2021
Place of publication: Chicago
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Number of pages: 292
ISBN-13: 9780226790077
Subjects: Greek literature; History and criticism; LITERARY CRITICISM / General; Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
Description: The story of our ongoing fascination with Homer, the man and the myth. Homer, the great poet of the Iliad and the Odyssey, is revered as a cultural icon of antiquity and a figure of lasting influence. But his identity is shrouded in questions about who he was, when he lived, and whether he was an actual person, a myth, or merely a shared idea. Rather than attempting to solve the mystery of this character, James I. Porter explores the sources of Homer's mystique and their impact since the first recorded mentions of Homer in ancient Greece. Homer: The Very Idea considers Homer not as a man, but as a cultural invention nearly as distinctive and important as the poems attributed to him, following the cultural history of an idea and of the obsession that is reborn every time Homer is imagined. Offering novel readings of texts and objects, the book follows the very idea of Homer from his earliest mentions to his most recent imaginings in literature, criticism, philosophy, visual art, and classical archaeology.
Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
Table of contents: title: Frontmatter --; title: Contents --; title: Note on Translations and Abbreviations --; title: List of Illustrations --; title: Timeline --; title: 1 Why Homer? --; title: 2 Who Was Homer? --; title: 3 Apotheosis or Apostasy? --; title: 4 What Did Homer See? --; title: 5 Why War? --; title: Acknowledgments --; title: Notes --; title: Further Reading --; title: Works Cited --; title: Index