The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer's Odyssey

By Edith Hall

Book Overview

2009 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice

This broadly conceived and enlightening look at how Homer's Odyssey has resonated in the West offers a thematic analysis of the poem's impact on social and political ideas, institutions, and mores from the ancient world through the present day.

Proving that the epic poem is timeless, Edith Hall identifies fifteen key themes in the Odyssey and uses them to illustrate the extensive and diverse effect that Homer's work has had on all manner of inquiry, expression, and art. She traces the text's pervasive thread of influence from the tragedies of classical Athens and the burlesque of Aristophanes to its contemporary artistic reinterpretations in literature, theatre, opera, popular music, film, and science fiction. In considering the mark of the Odyssey on the modern global world, Hall looks at how the poem affected colonialism and the frontier mentality in the American West, how it engendered contemporary attitudes toward sex, death, war, philosophy, violence, and race, and the ways in which the Odyssey forms the backbone of modern-day psychology.

Accessibly written and timely, The Return of Ulysses establishes the Odyssey as the founding text of Western Civilization and offers a major contribution to the study of Homer's epic poem, as well as modern insight into its cultural reception and continuing imprint on society.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801888697
• ISBN13: 9780801888694
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.6" x 9.4"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Let’s look at Ulysses as Edith Hall does.

Many authors and scholars have insights on Ulysses that we mortals have no chance of stumbling upon. I am not going into any name-dropping here, as they are mentioned in this book. The bibliography alone can fill a case in your library. Edith has a fresh perspective in this 2008 copyright view of “The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer’s Odyssey.” While reading this book, you will need to keep a finger on the notes page as they are not footnotes. And keep your fingers crossed that you have read not only Homer but quite a few other works, as they are alluded to as if you are culturally literate. What I can assure you is that you will find every page interesting and may have to stop periodically to think about what is being said. Even the few times that you can say “I know that” or “I figured that out,” it is nice to see someone else saying the same thing in writing. The bottom line is, you can say that you looked at clouds from both sides now.