Oxford Readings in Homer's Iliad

This anthology includes various studies of Homer and the Iliad to appear in the last 40 years of the 20th century. The essays deal with the aesthetics and artistry of the Iliad as a poetic artefact as well as its historical context, its cultural background, and its ethical and political framework.
This anthology makes accessible to the reader 16 of the most important studies of Homer and the Iliad to appear in the last forty years of the 20th century. The essays, by leading Homeric scholars from Great Britain, the US, and Europe, deal not only with the aesthetics and artistry of the Iliad as a poetic artefact, but with its historical context, its cultural background, and its ethical and political framework Other major topics include the relation between the Iliad and other early epics (the Odyssey, the Epic Cycle), the interface between epic and other genres, including tragedy, and the complex interaction that exists between the Iliad and the wider traditions of oral poetry and mythical narrative in which it belongs Two of the contributions have been translated especially for this volume; several have been thoroughly revised and updated, and others are provided with Addenda taking account of recent work in the field. In the introduction, Douglas Cairns sets the contributions in the context of contemporary scholarship and explores significant connections between them. All Greek is translated and a glossary of transliterated Greek terms is provided.