Synthesis

e114

Authors: Martin, R. P.

Two case studies of myths and rituals related to Zeus and kingship are here employed to suggest new ways of reading some key passages in the Iliad. The first centers on the ritual veneration of Agamemnon’s scepter in Chaeronea, while the second examines features of the myth of the Lapith king Kaineus as they relate to hero-cult. The article articulates a method of interpreting that which one might call “religion” in Homer by relating the historical fictions of epic to realities of interaction with the supernatural in actual ancient Greek communities (in this instance, in Boeotia and Thessaly). It attempts to explore such linkages and their poetic implications for the larger Homeric compositions (for example, the endings of both Iliad and Odyssey) while avoiding the positivism and historicizing that have been endemic to scholarship on problems of this type.

e116

Authors: Blankenborg, R.

In this contribution, I will argue that Homer’s Helen is not a human-nonhuman hybrid, though in the Iliad and the Odyssey, the poet seems reluctant to choose between her divine origin on the one hand, and her human appearance and demeanour on the other. Helen surfaces in literature as a daughter of Zeus, sister of semi-divine twins, and wife and mother to mortals. Allegedly, she caused the Trojan War. In her performance and her speeches, she shows herself as the center of attention, a claim that is never disputed. As she acts and speaks, Helen is on a par with the gods, but without serious regard for mortals. I will argue that the poet’s inability to clearly distinguish between the various personae betrays his implicit predilection for Helen as a goddess in disguise, rather than a supernatural human being. Later tradition and reception acknowledges Helen’s working as a divinity.

e118

Authors: Yamagata, N.

Socrates is portrayed as a Homer-lover in Plato’s dialogues, both explicitly through his expression of love and respect for Homer since his childhood (Republic 595b9-10) and implicitly through his numerous Homeric quotations and references. Similarly, Socrates frequently uses Homeric references in the dialogues that Xenophon wrote to preserve his memories. The comparative study of these authors so far suggests that the historical Socrates did use Homer often in his conversation. However, we should also consider whether that portrait matches the Socrates depicted in Aristophanes’ Clouds, a more contemporary source than Plato and Xenophon’s works. This paper examines the portrayal of Socrates in the Clouds and argues that here, too, we can find a reflection of his love of Homer, especially in his invocation of the Clouds in lines 265-74. It will also consider how that portrayal of Socrates can affect our view of Socrates.