A study companion to Homer's "Odyssey" containing historical and mythological background; discussion of Homeric values and the plot, themes, and literary features of each of the epic's books; a character index; and suggested activities and classroom projects.
The Cambridge Companion to Homer is a guide to the essential aspects of Homeric criticism and scholarship, including the reception of the poems in ancient and modern times. Written by an international team of scholars, it is intended to be the first port of call for students at all levels, with introductions to important subjects and suggestions for further exploration. Alongside traditional topics like the Homeric Question, the divine apparatus of the poems, the formulae, the characters and the archaeological background, there are detailed discussions of similes, speeches, the poet as story-teller and the genre of epic both within Greece and worldwide. The reception chapters include assessments of ancient Greek and Roman readings as well as selected modern interpretations from the eighteenth century to the present day. Chapters on Homer in English translation and Homer in the history of ideas round out the collection.
A commentary with an introduction that describes the features of oral poetry and discusses the history of the text of the Odyssey. Jones provides a line-by-line commentary that explains the many factual details, mythological allusions, and Homeric conventions that a student or general reader could not be expected to bring to an initial encounter with the Odyssey. His notes also enhance an appreciation of the Odyssey byilluminating epic style, Homer's methods of composition, his characterization, and the structure of the work.
This volume is the first English-language survey of Homeric studies to appear for more than a generation, and the first such work to attempt to cover all fields comprehensively. Thirty leading scholars from Europe and America provide short, authoritative overviews of the state of knowledge and current controversies in the many specialist divisions in Homeric studies. The chapters pay equal attention to literary, mythological, linguistic, historical, and archaeological topics, ranging from such long-established problems as the "Homeric Question" to newer issues like the relevance of narratology and computer-assisted quantification. The collection, the third publication in Brill's handbook series, "The Classical Tradition," will be valuable at every level of study - from the general student of literature to the Homeric specialist seeking a general understanding of the latest developments across the whole range of Homeric scholarship.
This series of "Companions" is designed for readers with little or no knowledge of Latin or Greek, or of the classical world. This book provides a line-by-line commentary on Homer's "Odyssey", explaining the factual details, mythological allusions, and Homeric conventions.
Remember when The Simpsons was the funniest show on television? The Simpsons is the longest running comedy in history. Gracing our screens since 1989, with over 600 episodes, the show is a cultural phenomenon. Whilst it is still drawing huge ratings numbers, there is no argument that during the 90s the show was at its zenith. No other comedy has had as big an impact on society. The Simpsons has influenced the way we communicate with each other. Niche quotes and references have become the secret handshake of millions around the world. In the course of this book, we remember the iconic characters – Hank Scorpio and Lionel Hutz, Rex Banner and Frank Grimes - and we dissect seminal episodes such as Cape Feare, Marge Vs the Monorail and Who Shot Mr. Burns. From celebrity cameos to musical moments, from hidden jokes to insane trivia, this is the essential companion to golden age of The Simpsons. Homer’s Odyssey is a hilarious, intelligent and in-depth analysis of the greatest show on earth. So grab yourself a Flaming Moe, settle in to your groove on the couch, and enjoy our guide to your favourite yellow family.
Homer’s Odyssey holds a timeless allure. It is an ancient story for every generation: the struggle of a man on a long and difficult voyage longing to return to love and family. Odysseus’s strivings to overcome both divine and earthly obstacles and to control his own impulsive nature hold valuable lessons for us as we confront the challenges of daily life. Sailing Home breathes fresh air into a classic we thought we knew, revealing its profound guidance for the modern seeker. Dividing the book into three parts—“Setting Forth,” “Disaster,” and “Return”—Fischer charts the course of Odysseus’s familiar wanderings. Readers come to see this ancient hero as a flawed human being who shares their own struggles and temptations, such as yielding to desire or fear or greed, and making peace with family. Featuring thoughtful meditations, illuminating anecdotes from Fischer’s and his students’ lives, and stories from many wisdom traditions including Buddhist, Judaic, and Christian, Sailing Home shows the way to greater purpose in our own lives. The book’s literary dimension expands its appeal beyond the Buddhist market to a wider spiritual audience and to anyone interested in the teachings of myth and story.
When NPR contributor Scott Huler made one more attempt to get through James Joyce’s Ulysses, he had no idea it would launch an obsession with the book’s inspiration: the ancient Greek epic The Odyssey and the lonely homebound journey of its Everyman hero, Odysseus. No-Man’s Lands is Huler’s funny and touching exploration of the life lessons embedded within The Odyssey, a legendary tale of wandering and longing that could be read as a veritable guidebook for middle-aged men everywhere. At age forty-four, with his first child on the way, Huler felt an instant bond with Odysseus, who fought for some twenty years against formidable difficulties to return home to his beloved wife and son. In reading The Odyssey, Huler saw the chance to experience a great vicarious adventure as well as the opportunity to assess the man he had become and embrace the imminent arrival of both middle age and parenthood. But Huler realized that it wasn’t enough to simply read the words on the page—he needed to live Odysseus’s odyssey, to visit the exotic destinations that make Homer’s story so timeless. And so an ambitious pilgrimage was born . . . traveling the entire length of Odysseus’s two-decade journey. In six months. Huler doggedly retraced Odysseus’s every step, from the ancient ruins of Troy to his ultimate destination in Ithaca. On the way, he discovers the Cyclops’s Sicilian cave, visits the land of the dead in Italy, ponders the lotus from a Tunisian resort, and paddles a rented kayak between Scylla and Charybdis and lives to tell the tale. He writes of how and why the lessons of The Odyssey—the perils of ambition, the emptiness of glory, the value of love and family—continue to resonate so deeply with readers thousands of years later. And as he finally closes in on Odysseus’s final destination, he learns to fully appreciate what Homer has been saying all along: the greatest adventures of all are the ones that bring us home to those we love. Part travelogue, part memoir, and part critical reading of the greatest adventure epic ever written, No-Man’s Lands is an extraordinary description of two journeys—one ancient, one contemporary—and reveals what The Odyssey can teach us about being better bosses, better teachers, better parents, and better people.
This three volume commentary also includes an introduction discussing previous research on the Odyssey, its relation to the Iliad, the epic dialect, and the transmission of the text.