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Early Greek Literature

Early Greek Literature. Homer and Hesiod. The Oral Tradition. Techniques to memorizing hundreds of lines of poetry and reciting them orally Formulaic - repeated words or sets of words

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Early Greek Literature

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  1. Early Greek Literature Homer and Hesiod

  2. The Oral Tradition • Techniques to memorizing hundreds of lines of poetry and reciting them orally • Formulaic - repeated words or sets of words • Set-scenes - 8 or 9 lines of verse always used to describe a particular occurrence or similar scenes (sacrifices) • Similes used to flesh out stories and descriptions

  3. Homer • Foundation for literature • Epics used as educational tool in Greece and Rome • Milman Perry discovered these oral techniques in the text of the Iliad and the Odyssey • Set scenes, formulaic composition • Wise Odysseus • Cloud-gathering Zeus

  4. Homer • 1st word of the Iliad: menin = wrath • Central theme to whole composition • 1st word of the Odyssey: andra = man • Both are 24 books • Timê: honor; something material earned based on your actions • Arete: virtue; acquired recognition/payment • Kleos: glory; not obtained in underworld, so do things in life

  5. The Odyssey • Return from Troy (nostoi - homecoming) • Important Characters: • Odysseus - Trojan war hero, protagonist of epic • Zeus/Jupiter – king of the gods • Athena/Minerva – protector of Aeneas • Kalypso/Calypso – goddess who detains Odysseus • Poseidon –hates Odysseus for blinding the Cyclops • Telemachus – son of Odysseus, now 20 • Penelope - faithful wife of Odysseus • Antinoos – one of the main suitors • Phaiakians - sea peoples who care for Odysseus • Scylla, Charybdis, and the Sirens

  6. The Odyssey • Important Questions: • What sort of man must a hero be? • What is the ideal family? • How should the gods act? What kind of gods do we need? • Themes/Concepts: • Guest-friendship (xenia) • Ideal hero, son, wife • Husband-wife relationship

  7. Travels of Odysseus • Kikonians - Odysseus sacks and kills people • Lotus-eaters - no longer want to seek home • *Cyclops - “nobody” trick, some ships destroyed • Aeolus - give wind to get home (guest-friendship) • Almost Ithaca - men open up bag, driven away • *Aeolus - won’t give them more wind • *Laistrygones - Giants, kill men and destroy ships (all except O) • *Circe - turns men into pigs • *Underworld - sees heroes of Trojan war (Agamemnon story) • Helios - men kill cattle • *Kalypso - keeps Odysseus for three years • *Phaikians - sea-peoples, help Odysseus out, bring him home • Ithaca - deals with suitors, gets back wife

  8. Hesiod • Didactic Poetry/Wisdom Poetry • Common to all types of illiterate societies • Written down between 750-700 BC • Formulaic elements (reminiscent of oral poetry) • Teachings about gods, morality, how to live your life well

  9. Writings of Hesiod • Theogony • “birth of the gods” • Similar to Genesis, but doesn’t talk about the creation of man • Stories: Prometheus, Titanomachy, Pandora • Works and Days • Practical and moral teachings on daily life • Hard work is important, gods don’t favor those who try to avoid work • Brother cheated him out of his inheritance

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