Homer: Odyssey Books XVII-XVIII

By Homer

Book Overview

Books XVII and XVIII of the Odyssey feature, among other episodes, the disguised Odysseus' penetration of his home after an absence of twenty years and his first encounter with his wife. The commentary provides linguistic and syntactical guidance suitable for upper-level students along with detailed consideration of Homer's compositional and narrative techniques, his literary artistry and the poem's central themes. An extensive introduction considers questions of formulaic composition, the nature of the poem's audience and the context of its performance, and isolates the concerns most prominent in the poem's second half and in Books XVII and XVIII in particular. Here too are considered the roles of Penelope and Telemachus, questions of disguise and recognition, and the institution of hospitality flaunted by the suitors in Odysseus' halls. Brief sections also discuss Homeric metre and the transmission of the text.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521677114
• ISBN13: 9780521677110
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

“I long to be homeward bound,” Simon and Garfunkel

The Trojan War is over, and one of our hero kings is lost. His son (Telemachus) travels to find any information about his father’s fate. His wife (Penelope) must cunningly hold off suitors who are eating them out of house and home. If he ever makes it home, Odysseus will have to detect those servants loyal from those who are not. One absent king against rows of suitors; how will he give them their just desserts? We look to Bright-Eyed Pallas Athena to help prophecy come true. Interestingly, all the tales of monsters and gods on the sea voyage were told by Odysseus. Notice that no one else survives to tell the tale. Therefore, we have to rely on Odysseus’s word. Many movies took sections of The Odyssey and expanded them into interesting stories in their own right. Not just the story but also how it is told will keep you up late at night reading. It is a tear-jerker when Odysseus returns, 20 years later, and the only one to recognize him is Argos, his faithful dog, who lived long enough to see him. Upon seeing his master return home, Argos dies. You will, of course, want to buy the various translations to see the differences in reading style and content. Book XVII - Odysseus in His Own Hall (Still Disguised) Odysseus and Eumaeus walk to town, and the old dog Argos recognizes his master - then dies. Book XVIII — The Beggar Fight & Penelope’s Power Move