Rediscovering Homer: Inside the Origins of the Epic (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: shrill lyre, oral narrative poetry, woven words, Trojan War, Asia Minor, Early Greece (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Late in this look at Homer's two great epic poems and the context out of which they grew, Dalby presents his audacious thesis: Homer, he would have us believe, was a woman. Some hedging accompanies the assertion, but it figures as the centerpiece of this study. While Dalby, a historian and linguist, excels in his discussion of the transformation from oral to written poetry and of the single-author theory for the Iliad and the Odyssey, his case for Homer's sex is discursive and full of speculation. The strongest chapter, "The Iliad and History," is a thrilling account of the evidence in support of an actual Trojan War, much of it built on Joachim Latacz's Troy and Homer. Most fascinating of all is Dalby's elegant elucidation of the Iliad's "Catalogue of Ships" passage, whose formulaic language contains time signatures of both Bronze Age Greece (the period when Troy was sacked) and of the time when the Iliad was first written down 500 years later. Despite Dalby's efforts, Homer remains as elusive as ever. But the gap between the plot of the Iliad and historical reality is growing ever narrower. This book, which contains a helpful bibliographical essay, serves as a useful introduction to the detective work these poems have inspired. 3 maps. (July)
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Review

Dalby...excels in his discussion of the transformation from oral to written poetry and of the single-author theory. -- Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton; 1 edition (July 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393057887
• ISBN-13: 978-0393057881
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,059,534 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating History, Nothing "Bold" or "Audacious", August 28, 2006

By	Brickbat70 (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews

The Publisher's Weekly review evaluates this book perfectly: The historical evidence for the existence of the Trojan War is fascinating, and the specific evidence and conclusions presented by Andrew Dalby are highly possible, but the book contain a major flaw. He digs through a variety of Egyptian, Hittite, and Greek sources to argue that the Trojan War of Homer--and the major characters, such as Paris--are collapsed versions of a variety of historical events that took place in the 100+ years before the composition of the original oral epic. He may be wrong, but he supplies evidence and reaches for conclusions that are at least moderately supported.

The problem comes with his "bold assertion" (as the publishers call it on the jacket) that Homer was a woman. Well, so what? It has been stated before, and few would be particularly upset if it were proven to be true, so there is nothing "bold" in it. The real weakness comes from Dalby's weak evidence and his loosely constructed logic. Even more glaring is that this assertion doesn't seem essential to the book itself. This book is really a collection of thoughts and ideas related to various aspects of Homer's texts, and the Homer as Female thesis is a weak attempt to provide a controlling idea. However, Dalby only presents this thesis 2/3 of the way through the book and then quickly moves on. It's a way to stand out, and perhaps a way to sell a few more books, but it isn't very important.

This is a good book and an interesting book when it allows itself to be what it is: an educated collection of thoughts related to history, oral literature, and Homer. It's when it pretends to be something else that it fails.

Read the parts that interest you and ignore the rest.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why you might want to read this study, December 27, 2007

By	Charles J. Marr (Cambridge Springs, Pa USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Rediscovering Homer: Inside the Origins of the Epic (Paperback)

This is no book of an afternoon. It challenges even a hell educated reader, indeed its roots are such that they are deeper than many PhD's in literature are capable of delving.Three clearly different segments, notes, a guide to other readings, and a bibliography constitute a scholarly treatise.

While other reviewers write of the premise that "Homer" was a woman as a difficult stretch, I am inclined to ignore the idea under the conclusion that it has little relevancy for my readings of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and a suspicion that such a claim may be an illustration of the fashionable readings of the two works that Dalby discusses throughout.

His discussion of historic parallels and potential geographical place identifications relating to the Trojan War is a substantial part of the work. So if you are interested in linguistic Schliemannism, this is a good source.

The discussion of the major changes that took place in twentieth century understanding of the nature of oral poetry, the role of Milman Parry, Lord, and Murko - while employed for proof of the female Homer premise- is both a concise history of scholarship and reveals much about lengthy oral poetry. Again a good reason to read this book.

Needless to say, the vast discussion about "Oral" poetry is of serious merit. The relationship of performance to text opens up the entire author/text/audience question of modern critical theory. Since oral poetry is always changing from performance to performance, what happens when it is written down. Modern critics need to consider the ideas.

But what about the Phaedo? We remember that bit about the orphan word, written and without its "fathering mind" to defend it. Dalby looks extensively at practice, concepts, pronunciation and other matters of ancient Greek poetry. This is a motherlode of valuable data.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What he said. . ., June 26, 2007

By	Matthew R. Stewart (East Liverpool, OHIO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Rediscovering Homer: Inside the Origins of the Epic (Paperback)

Brickbat70's response to Dalby's book is a good one. With my five-star rating, however, I am more forgiving of the author's few less-convincing arguments. Certainly his discussion of the Paris-Alexandros question is a stretch--one that covers too much ground to satisify. The female authorship issue notwithstanding (an idea that has been around at least since Butler), Dalby's broader discussion of gender relations and conflict in the epics is sensible and at times enlightening. This book is a very useful and informed contemporary discussion of the conversion of oral composition to written text. Unlike so many others, Dalby avoids the "we-can't-really-know-anything-about-Homer" refrain whenever possible, preferring instead to make reasonable assertions based on history, language, and close reading. I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in the field.