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Epic poetry, notably the Iliad and the Odyssey, stands as one of the most enduring legacies of ancient Greece. Although the impact of these epics on Western civilization is widely recognized, their origins remain the subject of heated debate. Were they composed in a single era or over the course of centuries? Were they crafted by one or by many poets? Do they reflect historical reality? These and other important questions are answered in this book. Using a fresh, dynamic approach, Michael Cosmopoulos reconstructs the world of the Homeric poems and explores the interplay between poetry, social memory, and material culture. By integrating key insights from archaeology, philology, anthropology, and oral tradition, he offers a nuanced perspective of the emergence and early development of Greek epic. His wide-canvas approach enables readers to appreciate the complexity of the Homeric world and gain a deeper understanding of the intricate factors that shaped these magnificent poems.
List of contents
Introduction; Part I. Homeric Scholarship; 1. Homer and Homeric studies; Part II. The World of Homer: 2. Historical background; 3. Society and politics; 4. Political geography; 5. Economy; 6. War; 7. Religion; Part III. History, Memory and the Emergence of Greek Epic Poetry: 8. Historical elements in the epics; 9. Social memory and epic composition.
About the author
Michael B. Cosmopoulos is the Hellenic Government-Karakas Family Foundation Professor of Greek Studies and Professor of Archaeology at the University of Missouri-St Louis. An acclaimed archaeologist specializing in the Greek Bronze Age, he has excavated at Mycenae, Eleusis, Iklaina, and other major sites, and has published numerous books and scholarly articles. His works include Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries (2015, also by Cambridge University Press). He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of Canada, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the Academy of Athens. For his contributions to scholarship he has been decorated with the Gold Cross of the Order of Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic.
