How was the Iliad and Odyssey passed down?

Author Says a Whole Culture—Not a Single ‘Homer’—Wrote ‘Iliad,’ ‘Odyssey’ Dating to about 750 B.C., this bust is said to be of the Greek poet Homer, author of The Iliad and The Odyssey—epic poems passed down orally by bards long before they were written down.

How was the Odyssey passed down?

The Odyssey was intended for oral performance. The poem was likely transmitted through generations of oral poets well before it was written down. It’s been suggested that oral poets performed epics such as the Odyssey in song form.

Was the Iliad an oral poem?

As an essentially oral poem, The Iliad is inseparable from the ancient Greek in which it was written. In this sense, The Iliad was a poem written to be read out loud. It is said, for example, that the known resource of the Homeric epithets (“Of patient mood,” for Odysseus, “Divine among gods,” for Athena, etc.)

How did the Iliad and the Odyssey influence different parts of Greek culture?

Most significantly, the Iliad changed the way people worshipped. At the same time, people established cults to the Iliad’s human heroes, adopting them as their heroic ancestors. Belonging to the Iliad, possessing history informed by the Iliad, became cornerstones of ‘Greekness’, and of Greek identity.

When and where does The Iliad take place?

When does the Iliad take place? The Iliad takes place during the Trojan War, which is a legendary conflict between the Greeks and Troy, dated by later Greek authors to the 12th or 13th century BCE.

Why are the Iliad and the Odyssey important today?

The Iliad, an epic poem by Homer, provides a unique insight into both Greek history and the formation of a Greek identity. Beyond its significance for promoting a historical understanding of a Greek identity, The Iliad also serves as a lesson in warfare in modern days.

How was the Iliad memorized?

He set about memorizing the entire poem, which was crafted around 800 B.C. and was conveyed in oral form alone, accompanied by the plucking of lyres. Working from Harvard University Press’ Loeb Library edition, he would repeat lines with his eyes closed. Sometimes he would record his voice and listen to it.

Why is the Iliad called the Iliad?

The title of Homer’s epic is actually from the phrase Ilias poiesis, meaning ”poem of Ilion. ” Ilion is the ancient name for the city of Troy. So literally, The Iliad means ”poem of Troy. Homer begins The Iliad in the final weeks of the Trojan War when things have really started to heat up.

Was the Iliad an oral tradition?

Twentieth-century research demonstrated that Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey began as part of an ancient Greek oral tradition, and were passed down by word of mouth through generations of oral poets before and for some time after the invention of the alphabet.

In what ways is the Iliad an oral poem?

In conclusion, the Iliad is an ‘oral’ poem in that it is ultimately rooted in improvised oral performance as explained above. This is why, for example, there are many repetitions in the work, particularly with respect to epithet-and-noun phrases like ‘swift-footed Achilles’, which can be called ‘formulae’.

What does the Iliad tell us about the Greek style of warfare?

Yet The Iliad still has much to say about war, even as it is fought today. It tells us that war is both the bringer of renown to its young fighters and the destroyer of their lives. It tells us about post-conflict destruction and chaos; about war as the great reverser of fortunes.

Why is Homer’s Iliad so important?