Barbara Graziosi

Homer's mythological tales of war and homecoming,the Iliad and the Odyssey, are widely considered to be two of the most influential works in the history of western literature. Yet their author, 'the greatest poet that ever lived' is something of a mystery. By the 6th century BCE, Homer had already become a mythical figure, and today debate continues as to whether he ever existed. In this Very Short Introduction Barbara Graziosi considers Homer's famous works, and their impact on readers throughout the centuries. She shows how the Iliad and the Odyssey benefit from a tradition of reading that spans well over two millennia, stemming from ancient scholars at the library of Alexandria, in the third and second centuries BCE, who wrote some of the first commentaries on the Homeric epics. Summaries of these scholars' notes made their way into the margins of Byzantine manuscripts; from Byzantium the annotated manuscripts travelled to Italy; and the ancient notes finally appeared in the first printed editions of Homer, eventually influencing our interpretation of Homer's work today. Along the way, Homer's works have inspired artists, writers, philosophers, musicians, playwrights, and film-makers. Exploring the main literary, historical, cultural, and archaeological issues at the heart of Homer's narratives, Graziosi analyses the enduring appeal of Homer and his iconic works. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. This book was previously published in hardback as Homer.

Homer's mythological tales of war and homecoming, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are considered to be two of the most influential works in the history of Western literature. Yet their author, 'the greatest poet that ever lived' is something of a mystery. By the 6th century BCE, Homer had already become a mythical figure, and even today the debate continues as to whether he ever existed. Barbara Graziosi considers Homer's famous works, and their impact on readers throughout the centuries. She shows how the Iliad and the Odyssey benefit from a tradition of reading that spans well over two millennia, from the impressive scholars at the library of Alexandria, in the third and second centuries BCE, who wrote some of the first commentaries on the Homeric epics. Summaries of these scholars' notes made their way into the margins of Byzantine manuscripts; from Byzantium the annotated manuscripts travelled to Italy; and the ancient notes finally appeared in the first printed editions of Homer, eventually influencing our interpretation of Homer's work today. Along the way, Homer's works have inspired artists, writers, philosophers, musicians, playwrights, and film-makers. Exploring the main literary, historical, cultural, and archaeological issues at the heart of Homer's works, Graziosi analyses the enduring appeal of Homer and his iconic works.

Capra and Graziosi intervene in current debates about classics and its relation to revolutionary ruptures, nationalist movements, and identity politics today. They begin with The Neoplatonists, an explicit love story posing as the work of an imaginary ancient Greek author, but actually written by the Neapolitan revolutionary and classical scholar Luigi Settembrini (1813-1876). Offering the first English translation of the tale&#8212which, because of its celebration of homosexuality, long remained censored and unpublished&#8212they read it in the context of Settembrini's life, scholarship, and revolutionary politics. Drawing strength from his legacies, Capra and Graziosi go on to tackle the nostalgias of post-truth politics today, demonstrating the queer, reparative potential of various strands of classical scholarship. On the basis of archival research, combined with literary and philosophical analysis, they argue that a commitment to social justice and an investment in the study of Greco-Roman antiquity can&#8212and even should&#8212be rooted in egalitarian, embodied, and joyous forms of love. Classics, Love, Revolution: The Legacies of Luigi Settembrini offers a reassessment of Italian homosexuality, insurgence, and scholarship, while telling a moving story of love and resilience along the way. Postclassical Interventions aims to reorient the meaning of antiquity across and beyond the humanities. Building on the success of Classical Presences, this complementary series features shorter-length monographs designed to provoke debate about the current and future potential of Classical Reception through fresh, bold, and critical thinking.

The gods of Olympus are the most colorful characters of Greek civilization: even in antiquity, they were said to be cruel, oversexed, mad, or just plain silly. Yet for all their foibles and flaws, they proved to be tough survivors, far outlasting their original worshippers. In Egypt, the Olympian gods claimed to have given birth to pharaohs; in Rome, they led respectable citizens into orgiastic rituals of drink and sex. Under Christianity and Islam they survived as demons, allegories, and planets. And in the Renaissance, they triumphantly emerged as ambassadors of a new, secular belief in humanity. In a lively, original history of mythology, Barbara Graziosi offers the first account to trace the wanderings of these inventive deities through the millennia. Drawing on a wide range of literary and archaeological sources, The Gods of Olympus opens a new window on the ancient world and its lasting influence.

How was the poet Homer imagined by ancient Greeks? This book examines stories circulating between the sixth and fourth centuries BC about his birth, place of origin and name; the circumstances of his life - such as the story of his blindness - his relation to other poets, and his heirs. The aim is to explore the ancient reception of the Homeric poems, and to look at it in relation to modern representations of Homer, ancient and modern conceptions of authorship, and the 'Homeric Question'. The book's engaging and accessible style should make it attractive to a wide range of readers, including non-classicists, and all quotations from Greek are provided with an English translation.

This book offers a new approach to the study of Homeric epic by combining ancient Greek perceptions of Homer with up-to-date scholarship on traditional poetry. Part I argues that, in the archaic period, the Greeks saw the lliad and Odyssey neither as literary works in the modern sense nor as the products of oral poetry. Instead, they regarded them as belonging to a much wider history of the divine cosmos, whose structures and themes are reflected in the resonant patterns of Homer's traditional language and narrative techniques. Part II illustrates this claim by looking at some central aspects of the Homeric poems: the gods and fate, gender and society, death, fame and poetry. Each section shows how the patterns and preoccupations of Homeric storytelling reflect a historical vision that encompasses the making of the universe, from its beginnings when Heaven mated with Earth, to the present day.

How was the poet Homer imagined by ancient Greeks? This book examines stories circulating between the sixth and fourth centuries BC about his birth, place of origin and name; the circumstances of his life - such as the story of his blindness - his relation to other poets, and his heirs. The aim is to explore the ancient reception of the Homeric poems, and to look at it in relation to modern representations of Homer, ancient and modern conceptions of authorship, and the ‘Homeric Question’. The book’s engaging and accessible style should make it attractive to a wide range of readers, including non-classicists, and all quotations from Greek are provided with an English translation.