Homer's Odyssey and the Near East
Homer's Odyssey and the Near East

Author: Bruce Louden

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-01-06

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 1139494902

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The Odyssey's larger plot is composed of a number of distinct genres of myth, all of which are extant in various Near Eastern cultures (Mesopotamian, West Semitic, and Egyptian). Unexpectedly, the Near Eastern culture with which the Odyssey has the most parallels is the Old Testament. Consideration of how much of the Odyssey focuses on non-heroic episodes - hosts receiving guests, a king disguised as a beggar, recognition scenes between long-separated family members - reaffirms the Odyssey's parallels with the Bible. In particular the book argues that the Odyssey is in a dialogic relationship with Genesis, which features the same three types of myth that comprise the majority of the Odyssey: theoxeny, romance (Joseph in Egypt), and Argonautic myth (Jacob winning Rachel from Laban). The Odyssey also offers intriguing parallels to the Book of Jonah, and Odysseus' treatment by the suitors offers close parallels to the Gospels' depiction of Christ in Jerusalem.

Why Homer Matters
Why Homer Matters

Author: Adam Nicolson

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Published: 2014-11-18

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1627791809

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"Adam Nicolson writes popular books as popular books used to be, a breeze rather than a scholarly sweat, but humanely erudite, elegantly written, passionately felt...and his excitement is contagious."—James Wood, The New Yorker Adam Nicolson sees the Iliad and the Odyssey as the foundation myths of Greek—and our—consciousness, collapsing the passage of 4,000 years and making the distant past of the Mediterranean world as immediate to us as the events of our own time. Why Homer Matters is a magical journey of discovery across wide stretches of the past, sewn together by the poems themselves and their metaphors of life and trouble. Homer's poems occupy, as Adam Nicolson writes "a third space" in the way we relate to the past: not as memory, which lasts no more than three generations, nor as the objective accounts of history, but as epic, invented after memory but before history, poetry which aims "to bind the wounds that time inflicts." The Homeric poems are among the oldest stories we have, drawing on deep roots in the Eurasian steppes beyond the Black Sea, but emerging at a time around 2000 B.C. when the people who would become the Greeks came south and both clashed and fused with the more sophisticated inhabitants of the Eastern Mediterranean. The poems, which ask the eternal questions about the individual and the community, honor and service, love and war, tell us how we became who we are.

The Return of Ulysses
The Return of Ulysses

Author: Edith Hall

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2008-01-30

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0857718304

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Whether they focus on the bewitching song of the Sirens, his cunning escape from the cave of the terrifying one-eyed Cyclops, or the vengeful slaying of the suitors of his beautiful wife Penelope, the stirring adventures of Ulysses/Odysseus are amongst the most durable in human culture. The picaresque return of the wandering pirate-king is one of the most popular texts of all time, crossing East-West divides and inspiring poets and film-makers worldwide. But why, over three thousand years, has the Odyssey's appeal proved so remarkably resilient and long-lasting? In her much-praised book Edith Hall explains the enduring fascination of Homer's epic in terms of its extraordinary susceptibility to adaptation. Not only has the story reflected a myriad of different agendas, but - from the tragedies of classical Athens to modern detective fiction, film, travelogue and opera - it has seemed perhaps uniquely fertile in generating new artistic forms. Cultural texts as diverse as Joyce's Ulysses, Suzanne Vega's Calypso, Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, the Coen Brothers' O Brother Where Art Thou?, Daniel Vigne's Le Retour de Martin Guerre and Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain all show that Odysseus is truly a versatile hero. His travels across the wine-dark Aegean are journeys not just into the mind of one of the most brilliantly creative of all the ancient Greek writers. They are as much a voyage beyond the boundaries of a narrative which can plausibly lay claim to being the quintessential global phenomenon.

When the Gods Were Born
When the Gods Were Born

Author: Carolina López-Ruiz

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2010-06-15

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780674049468

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"With admirable erudition, Lopez-Ruiz brings to life intimacies and exchanges between the ancient Greeks and their Northwest Semitic neighbors, portraying the ancient Mediterranean as a fluid, dynamic contact zone. She explains networks of circulation, shows creative uses of traditional material by peoples in motion, and radically transforms our understanding of ancient cosmogonies."---Page duBois, author of Out of Athens: The New Ancient Greeks --

The Iliad
The Iliad

Author: Bruce Louden

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2006-05-05

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9780801882807

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The Cambridge Guide to Homer
The Cambridge Guide to Homer

Author: Corinne Ondine Pache

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-03-05

Total Pages: 985

ISBN-13: 1108663621

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From its ancient incarnation as a song to recent translations in modern languages, Homeric epic remains an abiding source of inspiration for both scholars and artists that transcends temporal and linguistic boundaries. The Cambridge Guide to Homer examines the influence and meaning of Homeric poetry from its earliest form as ancient Greek song to its current status in world literature, presenting the information in a synthetic manner that allows the reader to gain an understanding of the different strands of Homeric studies. The volume is structured around three main themes: Homeric Song and Text; the Homeric World, and Homer in the World. Each section starts with a series of 'macropedia' essays arranged thematically that are accompanied by shorter complementary 'micropedia' articles. The Cambridge Guide to Homer thus traces the many routes taken by Homeric epic in the ancient world and its continuing relevance in different periods and cultures.

Neo-Assyrian and Greek Divination in War
Neo-Assyrian and Greek Divination in War

Author: Krzysztof Ulanowski

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 588

ISBN-13: 9004429395

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Neo-Assyrian and Greek Divination in War focuses on all divinatory practices which were used in the ancient Near East and Greece in time of war. Divination was a practical way of discovering the will of the gods, and enabled human contact with the divine. Divinatory practices were crucial to decision-taking. The results of divination were especially important during war. This book concentrates on the methods used to obtain all possible information from the divine world which could impact on the results of war. Knowledge of divine plans, verdicts and favors would ensure victory, power and eternal glory. This book is also about the convergence of the ancient Near East and Greek divinatory systems, methods and practices. Step by step, it points out that the Greeks treated divination in a very similar way to the Mesopotamians, and presents the possible routes of transmission of this divine knowledge, which was practiced in both cultures by a group of well-trained professionals.

The Making of the Odyssey
The Making of the Odyssey

Author: Martin Litchfield West

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 0198718365

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The poet of the Odyssey was a seriously flawed genius. He had a wonderfully inventive imagination, a gift for pictorial detail and for introducing naturalistic elements into epic dialogue, and a grand architectural plan for the poem. He was also a slapdash artist, often copying verses from the Iliad or from himself without close attention to their suitability. With various possible ways of telling the story bubbling up in his mind, he creates a narrative marked by constant inconsistency of detail. He is a fluent composer who delights in prolonging his tale with subsidiary episodes, yet his deployment of the epic language is often inept and sometimes simply unintelligible. The Making of the Odyssey is a penetrating study of the background, composition, and artistry of the Homeric Odyssey. Martin West places the poem in its late seventh-century context in relation to the Iliad and other poetry of the time. He also investigates the traditions that lie behind it: the origins of the figure of Odysseus, and folk tales such as those of the One-eyed Ogre and the Husband's Return.

Recognition and the Resurrection Appearances of Luke 24
Recognition and the Resurrection Appearances of Luke 24

Author: Alexander Phillip Thompson

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2023-01-30

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 3110773910

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How are the resurrection appearances of Luke’s Gospel shaped to offer a climax to the narrative? How does this narrative conclusion compare to the wider ancient literary milieu? Recognition and the Resurrection Appearances of Luke 24 proposes that the ancient literary technique of recognition offers a compelling lens through which to understand the climatic role of the resurrection appearances of Jesus as depicted in Luke 24. After presenting the development of recognition in ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman literature, Thompson demonstrates how Luke 24 deploys the recognition tradition to shape the form and function of the resurrection appearances. The ancient recognition tradition not only casts light on various literary and theological features of the chapter but also shapes the way the appearances function in the wider narrative. By utilizing recognition, Luke 24 generates cognitive, affective, commissive, and hermeneutical functions for the characters internal to the narrative and for the audience. The result is a compelling climax to Luke’s Gospel that resonates with Luke’s wider literary and theological themes. This work offers a compelling analysis of the Luke’s Gospel in the ancient literary context in light of the ancient technique of recognition that will appeal to those interested in narrative approaches to the New Testament or the interpretation of the New Testament in the wider literary milieu.

Sailing Home
Sailing Home

Author: Norman Fischer

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Published: 2011-07-05

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1556439962

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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.