Rediscovering Homer – Inside the Origins of the Epic

Rediscovering Homer – Inside the Origins of the Epic

by Andrew Dalby (Author)

Synopsis

Scholar Andrew Dalby delves into the world that first heard the Odyssey and the Iliad, asking new questions about the poet named Homer. Rediscovering Homer follows the growth of the legend of Troy from a kernel of historical truth into an unforgettable story that a succession of singers re-created for generations of audiences. Dalby asks why and how the two great epics crossed the frontier from song to writing while finding new approaches to the personality of Homer and showing how the earliest evidence has been misread. He makes a powerful case that both poems are the work of a single poet, but it is his conclusion that will surprise even serious classical scholars: Homer was most likely a woman.

$24.23

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 17 Aug 2007

ISBN 10: 0393330192
ISBN 13: 9780393330199

Media Reviews
We will never know precisely how the Iliad and the Odyssey made their way into writing. And we will always ask. Rediscovering Homer opens up for an intelligent non-specialist reader what is at issue when we ask such questions, and it does so in a clear and attractive manner. Matthew Leigh, The Times Literary Supplement Rediscovering Homer enables the general reader to understand the art of oral poetics and how and when the Iliad and the Odyssey might have been composed. These are big questions and they are discussed at length. The Times Higher Education Supplement Andrew Dalby summarises with great clarity the contents and significance of the two great works as they have survived. John Sutherland, Financial Times
Author Bio
Andrew Dalby is an historian and linguist with a long-standing interest in oral literature. He has written about food, wine, and pleasure in the ancient world. He lives in France.