Homer and His Age

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lang, Andrew, 1844-1912

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Homer and His Age" by Andrew Lang is a scholarly work written in the late 19th century that examines the historical and cultural context of the Homeric epics, particularly addressing the debates surrounding their authorship and unity. Lang argues against the prevalent belief that the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are the products of multiple authors over various centuries, asserting instead that they originate from a single cohesive cultural moment. The text delves into the life depicted in the epics, challenges criticisms about inconsistencies, and discusses the poet's authentic audience and intent. The opening of the work sets out Lang's intention to defend the integrity of Homeric poetry against the "analytical reader," who imposes modern critical expectations on ancient texts. He critiques contemporary scholarly theories that promote the idea of the epics being a collection of varied contributions made over time, emphasizing instead their representation of a harmonious cultural snapshot. Lang dismisses the argument that poets in uncritical eras can purposefully reproduce precise historical details from the past, suggesting that the unity found in Homer's work indicates its origin from a single poetic voice, reflecting a specific age and society. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

The Homeric age

Hypotheses as to the growth of the epics

Hypotheses of epic composition

Loose feudalism: the over-lord in "Iliad," books I and II

Agamemnon in the later "Iliad"

Archaeology of the "Iliad": burial and cremation

Homeric armour

The breastplate

Bronze and iron

The Homeric house

Notes of change in the "Odyssey"

Linguistic proofs of various dates

The "Doloneia": "Iliad," book X

The interpolations of Nestor

The comparative study of early epics

Homer and the French mediaeval epics

Conclusion.

Credits:

Produced by David Moynihan, Lee Dawei, Miranda van de Heijning, David Widger, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

Notes:

Reading ease score: 67.6 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2005-04-01