Quote:
Originally Posted by SeattleUte
From what I've read, I think this is right. Homer may well not have invented his plots, just as Shakespeare did not. One interesting fact I hadn't thought about but learned recently is that the Iliad is filled with historical anacronysms. Like all historical fiction its themes and even much of its imagery and material world are more reflective of the time in which it was written than the time it depicts. (I could cite an example, controversial and well known, here but won't for fear of sidetracking this excellent discussion about these poems.)
|
Not to steal your thunder, but I'll give you this example. The years in which Homer wrote his poems, the Archaic period, were just after the Greek "dark ages," so-called more because there is comparatively little information about them than anything else-- they are dark to
us. The Archaic period is really the beginning of the Greek [ipoleis], which seemed to all start off as kingdoms that evolved into democracies. Solidarity and sheer manliness were necessary traits for the king (
basileus) to show in order to maintain loyalty and stability.
Key Homeric traits reflect this time, and the men were so absolutely powerful and compelling that they served as models for other leaders to follow. Some of these traits are
timé, or honor (shown when the Greeks followed Helen, the woman who had been taken by Paris from Greece into Troy, to redeem the offense against him);
areté, virtue or excellence; and
Xenia, a sort of hospitality to foreign friends (shown in one episode of the Iliad, when a Greek fighting a Trojan recognizes him as a descendant of a man who had been a guest-friend (
xenos) with an anscestor of his. They immediately agreed to spare each other and go find other greeks/trojans to kill). Others could surely be listed.