A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect [Paperback]

Richard John Cunliffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1977 | ISBN-10: 0806114304 | ISBN-13: 978-0806114309

Richard John Cunliffe’s A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect has remained unmatched wherever English-speaking scholars and students pursue the Homeric epics in the original. As the late author points out, this was the first large assault upon the problem, since most of the works of similar character at the time were of foreign (mostly German) origin.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard John Cunliffe was educated at Glasgow University, Scotland, from which he took a degree in law. He first published A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect in 1924, a number of years after he had won wide recognition for another great compilation, A New Shakespearean Dictionary. His Lexicon was first published by Blackie and Son Limited, London, Glasgow, and Bombay, and is here republished by arrangement with that firm and with his daughter, Miss Mary Cunliffe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (August 15, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806114304
• ISBN-13: 978-0806114309
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Greek > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best., April 7, 2002

By 

Julius Caesar "caesargj" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect (Paperback)

This is quite simply the best lexicon for use while reading Homeric (or Hesiodic, generally) Greek. The text is designed specifically with The Iliad and Odyssey in mind; each word is given, followed by information on _where_ in the Homeric corpus those words appear, allowing for line-specific correlations.

The book also has outstanding morphological information on the words themselves, and a small appendix featuring Homeric conditionals.

This book is *far* superior to Autenrieth, and is more useful than the various editions of the L-S-J in that the words are keyed specifically to Homeric usage, and there are no non-Homeric forms to add extra clutter.

Outstanding.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable for the student of Homer--inspiring too., May 16, 2001

By 

John Piazza - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect (Paperback)

For the student of Attic Greek, reading Homer can be a frustrating experience, and standard dictionaries are of little help. Cunliffe's dictionary provides, in a manageable sized volume, almost any form of any word you will encounter while reading Homer. Chances are, the very instance of the word you are looking up will be referred to in the entry, with its own specific meaning. Cunliffe is an inspiring guy, for his preface demonstrates that this massive endeavor was truly a labor of love for him, a lawyer by profession (apparently he did this in his spare time!). This volume, and a good commentary, is all one needs to be on the way to reading, and enjoying, Homer in the original (One other book I've found extremely helpful is Homeric Vocabularies, by Owen and Goodspeed). The binding is fairly sturdy, and has lasted quite a while for me. I've used the hardback, but I find it easier and faster to look up words in the paperback version.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Its Weight In Gold, November 3, 2002

By 

Mark Cooper (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect (Paperback)

This dictionary is a godsend for anyone who wants to have more than a passing acquaintance with the poetry of Homer. Two things make it an indispensable aid in reading Homer.

First, it gives an exhaustive listing of the various meanings and nuances of meaning that any given word has in different passages of the Iliad and Odyssey. Since there are many words, particularly verbs, that vary in meaning from context to context, the dictionary helps one gain a more 'global' understanding of Homer's words.

The second area in which it proves inidspensable is in helping the reader idenitfy obscure forms of verbs. All too often one comes across a verb in the perfect tense that looks like it could be derived from any number of different verbs. Fortunately, instead of rifling through the dictionary, bouncing from verb to verb to find the one that is being used, Cunliffe does the reader the favor of listing virtually all forms whose
1st first person present could prove difficult to identify and refers the reader to the appropriate verb.

All in all an essential reference tool in the Homerophile's library.