Exploring the ancient Greeks' perception of Homer, this book delves into myths surrounding his origins, life events, and connections to other poets. It investigates the reception of his works from the sixth to fourth centuries BC, while also linking these ancient views to modern interpretations and discussions about authorship and the 'Homeric Question.' Written in an engaging style, the book is accessible to a broad audience, including those without a background in classical studies, with all Greek quotations translated into English.
The portrayal of the Olympian gods reveals their complex nature, embodying traits of cruelty, lust, madness, and humor. Their resilience is evident as they adapted across cultures, from claiming divine lineage in Egypt to influencing Roman revelries. Even under the rise of Christianity and Islam, these deities persisted as allegories and celestial bodies. During the Renaissance, they re-emerged, symbolizing a renewed secular appreciation for humanity, showcasing their enduring legacy throughout history.
Elegant and entertaining, this is the history of the most vibrant characters in classical civilisation. With their vast appetites, great beauty and warlike tendencies, it's hard to resist their pull on the imagination, even though, in antiquity, the gods of Olympus were just as often seen as cruel, over-sexed, mad or just plain silly. And yet they were survivors, whose story only began with classical civilisation.Masters of re-invention (though never too hard to identify), they began to resemble pharaohs in Egypt and lead respectable Roman citizens in orgiastic rituals of drink and sex. Under Christianity and Islam they went undercover as demons, allegories, and planets, waiting for a triumphant re-emergence in a Renaissance vision of ancient beauty. They travelled east along the Silk Route to the walls of cave-temples in China, and west, colonising the Americas. They featured on Wedgwood teapots, attacked the poet Hölderlin, haunted Nietzsche, and visited Borges in restless dreams. Barbara Graziosi deftly traces the travels and transformations of these pagan deities from the distant past to the present, showing that the gods of Olympus remain potent symbols that help us to feel part of a broad and fascinating humanity.
The Iliad and the Odyssey are the cornerstones of Western literature,
inspiring artists, writers, philosophers, musicians, playwrights, and film-
makers throughout history. Barbara Graziosi introduces Homer's key works and
discusses the main literary, historical, and archaeological issues at the
heart of Homeric studies.
