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The Best of the Grammarians: Aristarchus of Samothrace on the Iliad
Francesca Schironi
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A founding father of the "art of philology," Aristarchus of Samothrace (216–144 BCE) made a profound contribution to ancient scholarship. In his study of Homer's Iliad, his methods and principles inevitably informed, even reshaped, his edition of the epic. This systematic study places Aristarchus and his fragments preserved in the Iliadic scholia, or marginal annotations, in the context and cultural environment of his own time.
Francesca Schironi presents a more robust picture of Aristarchus as a scholar than anyone has offered previously. Based on her analysis of over 4,300 fragments from his commentary on the Iliad, she reconstructs Aristarchus' methodology and its relationship to earlier scholarship, especially Aristotelian poetics. Schironi departs from the standard commentary on individual fragments, and instead organizes them by topic to produce a rigorous scholarly examination of how Aristarchus worked.
Combining the accuracy and detail of traditional philology with a big-picture study of recurrent patterns and methodological trends across Aristarchus' work, this volume offers a new approach to scholarship in Alexandrian and classical philology. It will be the go-to reference book on this topic for many years to come, and will usher in a new way of addressing the highly technical work of ancient scholars without losing philological accuracy. This book will be valuable to classicists and philologists interested in Homer and Homeric criticism in antiquity, Hellenistic scholarship, and ancient literary criticism.
Francesca Schironi presents a more robust picture of Aristarchus as a scholar than anyone has offered previously. Based on her analysis of over 4,300 fragments from his commentary on the Iliad, she reconstructs Aristarchus' methodology and its relationship to earlier scholarship, especially Aristotelian poetics. Schironi departs from the standard commentary on individual fragments, and instead organizes them by topic to produce a rigorous scholarly examination of how Aristarchus worked.
Combining the accuracy and detail of traditional philology with a big-picture study of recurrent patterns and methodological trends across Aristarchus' work, this volume offers a new approach to scholarship in Alexandrian and classical philology. It will be the go-to reference book on this topic for many years to come, and will usher in a new way of addressing the highly technical work of ancient scholars without losing philological accuracy. This book will be valuable to classicists and philologists interested in Homer and Homeric criticism in antiquity, Hellenistic scholarship, and ancient literary criticism.
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Contents
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Preface
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1. Main Sources and Method Followed in This Study
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2. Other Primary Sources and Secondary Literature Used in This Study
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3. Content, Goals, and Limitations of This Study
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Part 1. Aristarchus: Contexts and Sources
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1.1. Aristarchus: Life, Sources, and Selection of Fragments
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1. Aristarchus at Alexandria
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2. The Aristarchean Tradition and the Venetus A
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3. The Scholia Maiora to the Iliad and Erbse’s Edition
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4. Aristarchus in the Scholia
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4.1. Aristonicus at Work
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4.2. Didymus at Work
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4.3. Aristonicus versus Didymus
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5. Selecting Aristarchus’ Fragments for This Study
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6. Words and Content in Aristarchus’ Fragments
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1.2. Aristarchus on Homer: Monographs, Editions, and Commentaries
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1. Homeric Monographs
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2. Editions (Ekdoseis) and Commentaries (Hypomnemata): The Evidence
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2.1. Ammonius and the Homeric Ekdosis of Aristarchus
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2.2. Ekdoseis and Hypomnemata: Different Reconstructions
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3. The Impact of Aristarchus’ Recension on the Text of Homer
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4. Ekdoseis and Hypomnemata: Some Tentative Conclusions
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Part 2. Aristarchus at Work
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2.1. Critical Signs: The Bridge between Edition and Commentary
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1. The Critical Signs (σημεῖα) Used by the Alexandrians
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2. Ekdosis, Hypomnema, and Critical Signs
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3. Homeric Hypomnemata on Papyrus and Critical Signs
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4. Homeric Ekdoseis on Papyrus and Critical Signs
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5. Conclusions
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2.2. Aristarchus and Manuscript Evidence
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1. Evidence from Didymus
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2. Evidence from Aristonicus
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3. Conclusions
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2.3. Paraphrase: A Ubiquitous Interpretative Tool
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1. Aristarchus’ Direct Quotations: Lecturing with Paraphrases
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2. Close and Loose Paraphrases
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3. Close Paraphrases: Homer ‘Translated’ into Koine
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4. Loose Paraphrases: Discussing Homeric Content
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5. Other Uses of Paraphrases
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6. Conclusions
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Part 3. The Six Parts of Grammar
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3.0. The Six Parts of Grammar
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3.1. Reading Aloud: The Interpretative Effort of Reading
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1. The Philologist and the Manuscript
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2. Reading according to the Right Vowel Quantities
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3. A Question of Division: Interpreting the Scriptio Continua
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4. A Method for Clarifying Things: Adding Accents
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4.1. Accents and Analogy
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4.2. Accents and Homographs
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4.3. Accents, Scriptio Continua, and Syntax
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5. Between Reading and Semantics: Choosing the Breathing
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6. Reading Aloud: Syntax and Punctuation
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7. Posidonius, the ‘Reader’ of Aristarchus
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8. Conclusions
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3.2.A. Interpretation of Poetic Tropes: Decoding Homer’s Style and Figurative Language
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1. Tropes and Figures
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2. Criteria Adopted in This Chapter
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3. Metaphor (μεταφορά)
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4. Simile (εἰκών, ὁμοίωσις, παραβολή)
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5. Allegory (ἀλληγορία)
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6. Synecdoche (τὸ ὅλον ἀπὸ μέρους)
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7. Litotes and Irony (ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου τὸ ἐναντίον)
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8. Antithesis (ἀντικειμένως)
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9. ‘Side by Side’ Construction (παραλλήλως, ἐκ παραλλήλου)
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10. Resumption (ἐπανάληψις)
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11. Preeminence (ἐξοχή)
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12. Reverse Order (πρὸς τὸ δεύτερον πρότερον)
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13. Parallel Order (πρὸς τὸ πρότερον [πρότερον])
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14. Hyperbaton (ὑπερβατόν)
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15. Syllepsis (σύλληψις)
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16. Hyperbole (ὑπερβολή)
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17. Amplification (αὔξησις) and Suggestiveness (ἔμφασις)
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18. Conclusions
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3.2.B. Interpretation of Poetic Figures: Decoding Homer’s Syntax
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1. Superfluous Parts of Speech (περισσεύειν, περισσός)
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1.1. Superfluous Prepositions
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1.2. Superfluous Particles and Conjunctions
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1.3. Superfluous Words Are ‘Redundant’ (παρέλκειν)
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2. Ellipsis (ἐλλείπειν, ἔλλειψις)
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2.1. Ellipsis of Articles
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2.2. Ellipsis of Prepositions
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3. Enallage ([ἐν]αλλάσσειν, [ἐν]αλλαγή)
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3.1. Enallage of Articles
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3.2. Enallage of Prepositions
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3.3. Enallage of Case
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3.4. Enallage of Case and Enallage, or Ellipsis, of Preposition
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3.5. Other Enallages in Nominal Forms: Gender and Number
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3.6. Enallage of Tense
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3.7. Enallage of Mood
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3.7.1. Ibycean Figure ( Ἰβύκειον σχῆμα)
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3.8. Other Enallages in Verbal Forms: Voice and Person
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3.9. Enallages Involving Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions, and Particles
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4. Figures concerning the Agreement of Subject and Predicate
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4.1. Pindaric Figure (Πινδαρικὸν σχῆμα)
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4.2. Plural Predicates with Neuter Plural Subjects
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4.3. Alcmanic Figure (Ἀλκμανικὸν σχῆμα)
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5. Concordantia ad Sensum (σχῆμα πρὸς τὸ νοητόν / πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον)
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6. Apo Koinou Construction (σχῆμα ἀπὸ κοινοῦ or κοινόν)
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6.1. Apo Koinou Constructions and Atheteseis
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7. Syntactic Supplements (ἔξωθεν [προσ]ὑπακούειν/λαμβάνειν)
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7.1. Syntactic Supplements (ἔξωθεν ἀκουστέον) and Atheteseis
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7.2. Other Figures Requiring Syntactic/Semantic Supplements
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8. Conclusions
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3.3.A. Explanation of Glossai: Diving into the Microcosm of Homeric Vocabulary
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1. Analyzing Homeric Vocabulary
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1.1. Homer as Exegete of Himself
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1.2. Glossai Clarified by the Context (σαφῶς ἐκ τῶν συμφραζομένων)
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1.3. Clarifying Homer without Homer
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2. Homeric Vocabulary as a Self-Sufficient Microcosm
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2.1. Homeric Greek versus Koine
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2.2. Homeric Greek in Line with Koine
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2.3. Standard Meaning (κυρίως) versus Peculiar Meaning (οὐ κυρίως/ἰδίως)
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2.4. Homeric Words with a Specific Meaning (οὐ ψιλῶς)
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2.5. Sharp Distinctions in Homeric Vocabulary
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2.6. Polysemous Words in Homer
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2.7. Homeric Words with Both Active and Passive Meaning
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2.8. Words with a Meaning Arising ‘from the Consequence’ (ἐκ [τοῦ] παρεπομένου /παρακολουθοῦντος)
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2.9. Genus and Species
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2.10. Homeric Hapax Legomena
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2.11. Words Used Wrongly or according to Catachresis (καταχρηστικῶς)
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3. Against the Glossographers’ One-for-One (ἓν ἀνθ’ ἑνός) Interpretation
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4. Solving Problems through Homeric Vocabulary
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4.1. Solving Zetemata and Perceived Narrative Inconsistencies
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4.2. Solving Perceived Linguistic Inconsistencies
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4.3. Choice between Variants
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4.4. Atheteseis Due to Words Used οὐχ Ὁμηρικῶς
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5. Conclusions
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3.3.B. Explanation of Historiai: Characters, Customs, and Places of the Heroic World
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1. ‘Who Is Who’ in the Iliad
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1.1. Homonymy: Same Name for Different Heroes
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1.2. Homonymy to ‘Save’ Homer’s Consistency
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1.3. Double Names: Same Hero with Different Names
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2. The Heroic World
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2.1. The Society of the Iliad: Heroes, Kings, and Soldiers
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2.2. Social and Religious Rituals
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2.3. Meals, Food, and Dining Habits
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2.4. Clothes and Fashion
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2.5. Money and Writing
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2.6. The Dead and Their Rituals
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2.7. Sports and Funeral Games
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2.8. Horses and Chariots
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2.9. Weaponry
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2.9.1. The Armor
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2.9.2. The Shield
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2.9.3. The Zetema of the Shield of Achilles
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2.9.4. Helmets, Swords, and Other Weapons
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2.9.5. Arming Scenes
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3. Homeric Geography and Ethnography
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3.1. Homonymy: Same Name for Different Places
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3.2. Double Names: Same Place with Different Names
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3.3. Hellas and Hellenes
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3.4. Troy and Troad
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3.5. Mapping the Theater of War: The Monograph On the Camp
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3.5.1. The Ships in the Achaean Camp
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3.5.2. The Order of the Greek Contingents in the Camp
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3.5.3. The Battle at the Achaean Wall
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3.5.4. The Battlefield in the Trojan Plain
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3.5.5. The Gates of Troy
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3.6. The Catalog of the Ships
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4. Homeric Cosmology
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4.1. Oceanus
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4.2. The Stars, the Sun, East, and West
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4.3. North, South, and the Oikoumene
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4.4. Air, Aether, Heaven, and Olympus
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5. Homeric Gods
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5.1. The Gods’ Nature, Dwellings, and Powers
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5.2. The Gods’ Epithets
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6. The World of the Heroes and the World of Homer
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7. Conclusions
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3.4. Discovery of Etymology: An Objective, Multipurpose Practice
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1. Etymological Strategies
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1.1. Word Segmentation and Phonetic Changes
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1.2. Sharing of Letters/Consonants (κοινωνία τῶν στοιχείων/ συμφώνων)
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1.3. Reaching beyond Homer
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2. Etymology: A Method ‘from Within’
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3. Etymology and Homeric Glossai
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3.1. Etymology and Words Used according to the Standard Meaning (κυρίως)
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3.2. Against the Glossographers
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3.3. Homer and the Neoteroi
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4. Etymology and Compounds
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5. Etymology and Interaspiration
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6. Etymology and Variant Readings
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7. Aristarchus’ Etymology versus Crates’ Etymology
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8. Homer’s Etymologies
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8.1. Figura Etymologica (παρετυμολογεῖ [ὁ ποιητής])
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8.2. Nomen Omen (ὀνοματοθετικὸς ὁ ποιητής)
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9. Conclusions
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3.5. Calculation of Analogy: A ‘Scientific’ Method Applied to the Text
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1. Types of Analogical Proportions
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2. Fragments with Aristarchus’ Analogies
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3. The Criteria of Analogy
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4. The Choice of Comparanda: Homer and Beyond
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5. Semantic Analogy
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6. The Function of Analogy
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7. Analogy and Deductive Reasoning
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8. Implied Analogies and ‘Rational Relationships’ among Forms
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9. Herodian’s Analogy and Aristarchus’ Analogical Proportions
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10. Conclusions
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3.6.A. Judgment of Poems: Aristotle’s Lesson
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1. Aristotle and Aristarchus
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2. A Preliminary Assumption about Tragedy and Epos
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3. Aristotelian Theory and Aristarchean Practice: Plot (μῦθος)
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4. Aristotelian Theory and Aristarchean Practice: Characters (ἤθη)
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5. Aristotelian Theory and Aristarchean Practice: Thought (διάνοια)
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6. Aristotelian Theory and Aristarchean Practice: Diction (λέξις)
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7. Conclusions
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3.6.B. Judgment of Poems: The ‘Art’ of Athetesis
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1. The ‘Invention’ of Athetesis
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2. A General Rule for Athetesis
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3. Aristarchus’ Atheteseis and Manuscript Evidence
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4. Main Reasons to Suspect Lines
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4.1. Internal Inconsistency and Contradictions
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4.2. Unsuitable Lines
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4.3. Unbelievability
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4.4. Superfluous or Unnecessary Lines
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4.5. Non-Homeric Language or Society
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5. Additional Reasons to Suspect Lines
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5.1. ‘Prosaic’ or ‘Cheap’ Composition
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5.2. Tautologies
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5.3. Repeated Lines
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6. Athetesis of Longer Passages
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7. Why Should Some Lines Be Athetized?
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7.1. The Pernicious Work of the ‘Interpolators’ (διασκευασταί)
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7.2. Aristarchus and the ‘Interpolators’ (διασκευασταί)
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8. Aristarchus’ Attempt to Recover the ‘Original’ Script
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9. Conclusions
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3.6.C. Judgment of Poems: The Art of ‘Saving’ the Homeric Text
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1. Homer’s Formulaic Style
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1.1. Misuse (κατάχρησις) of Formulaic Lines
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1.2. Homer’s Epithets
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1.2.1. Generic Epithets (καθολικὰ/κοινὰ ἐπίθετα) and Nongeneric Ones
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1.2.2. Out-of-Place Epithets (ἄκαιρα ἐπίθετα)
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1.2.3. Epithets and Poetic License
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2. Homer’s Poetic Persona
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2.1. The Poet’s Persona (ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου/ποιητικοῦ προσώπου) and His Characters’ Persona (ἐκ τοῦ ἡρωϊκοῦ προσώπου)
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2.2 The Poet ‘Speaks Up’ (ἀναφωνεῖ [ὁ ποιητής])
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2.3. The Poet Speaks in Anticipation (προαναφωνεῖ [ὁ ποιητής])
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2.4. Homer’s Rhetorical Questions (and Answers)
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2.5. Homer’s Direct Addresses (ἀποστροφαί)
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2.6. Homer’s ‘Generic You’ (ὡς πρός τινα / ὡς πρὸς ὑποκείμενον πρόσωπον)
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3. Homer’s Narrative Technique
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3.1. Events Which Happened ‘Tacitly’ (κατὰ τὸ σιωπώμενον)
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3.2. Events by Conclusion (κατὰ συμπέρασμα) or in Summary (κεφαλαιωδῶς)
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3.3. Summaries with Details and Detailed Descriptions
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3.4. Completing the Audience’s Knowledge
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3.5. Handling of Plot and Time: Zielinski’s Law
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3.6. Switching between Narrative and Speech
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4. Pathos and Feelings in Homer
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5. Zetemata and Lyseis
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6. Aristarchus’ ‘Judgment’ (κρίσις) of Homeric Mistakes
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7. Conclusions
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Part 4. Aristarchus and His Colleagues
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4. Aristarchus and His Colleagues: Zenodotus, Aristophanes, and Others
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1. Aristarchus and Zenodotus
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1.1. Sources
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1.2. Zenodotus, ὁ οὐχ Ὁμηρικός
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1.2.1. Zenodotus and Homeric Vocabulary
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1.2.2. Zenodotus, Homeric Morphology, and Syntax
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1.2.3. Zenodotus, Homeric Style, and the Heroic World
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1.3. Zenodotus, the Anti-Aristotelian
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1.3.1. ‘Unbelievable’ and ‘Contradictory’ Textual Choices
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1.3.2. Unfitting Characters and Thoughts
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1.3.3. Athetesis (or Deletion) of ‘Necessary’ Lines
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1.4. Zenodotus, a Careless Reader
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1.5. Aristarchus on Zenodotus: An Uneasy Relationship
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1.5.1. An Obsession Called Zenodotus?
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1.5.2. Aristarchus’ Attempt at Objectivity
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1.6. Zenodotus’ Text: Deletions, Atheteseis, and Additions
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1.7. Is Zenodotus Really the One to Blame?
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2. Aristarchus and Aristophanes of Byzantium
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3. Aristarchus and Other Alexandrian Scholars
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4. Aristarchus and Crates of Mallos
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4.1. Aristarchus’ Knowledge of Crates’ Work (and Vice Versa)
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4.2. The Aristonicus Scholia Discussing Crates’ Views
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5. Conclusions
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Part 5. Aristarchus’ Homer
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5.1. Aristarchus and Homeric Language
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1. A Synchronic or Diachronic Perspective?
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1.1. Homer versus Us: The Otherness of Homeric Diction
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1.2. Some Diachronic Clues
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2. Aristarchus and Homeric Dialectal Nuances
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2.1. Ionic
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2.1.1. η instead of α and Ionic Shortenings
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2.1.2. Other Ionic Features: Omission of Articles, Morphology, and Aspiration
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2.2. Attic
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2.2.1. The Dual
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2.2.2. The Dual in the Embassy to Achilles in Book 9
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2.3. Aeolic
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2.4. Doric
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3. Scriptio Continua and Dialectal Solutions
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4. Conclusions
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5.2. The ‘Homeric Question’
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1. The Poet Is the Same (ὁ αὐτὸς ἄρα ποιητής)
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2. The Polemics with the Chorizontes
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2.1. Who Were the Chorizontes?
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2.2. Fighting the Chorizontes
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2.3. Some Weaker Arguments against the Chorizontes
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3. Clarifying the Odyssey from the Iliad (and Vice Versa)
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3.1. Linguistic and Stylistic Parallels
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3.2. Solving Zetemata with the Help of the Other Poem
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3.3. Atheteseis between the Iliad and the Odyssey
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4. Conclusions
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5.3. Homer and the Neoteroi
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1. Homer versus the Neoteroi: Language
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2. Homer versus the Neoteroi: Geography
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3. Homer versus the Neoteroi: Myths
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3.1. Myths and Characters of the Trojan War
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3.1.1. The Origin of the Trojan War and Its Beginnings
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3.1.2. Achilles and His Family
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3.1.3. Ajax the Great
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3.2. Other Myths Where Homer Is Different from the Neoteroi
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3.2.1. Atreus and His Family
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3.2.2. Helen and Theseus
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3.2.3. Sarpedon and His Family
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3.2.4. Niobe
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3.2.5. Heracles and Oedipus
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3.3. Neoteric Narratives Inspired by Homer
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3.4. They Got It Wrong: When the Neoteric Inspiration Is Flawed
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3.4.1. Misunderstanding of Homeric Scenes and Images
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3.4.2. Misunderstanding of Homeric Language
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4. Homer versus the Neoteroi: Gods
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4.1. The Divine World
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4.2. Enyalius and Paean
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4.3. The Aegis
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5. Homer versus Hesiod
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5.1. Clarifying Homer from Hesiod
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5.2. Hesiod Is Not Homer: The Hesiodic Otherness
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5.3. He Got It Wrong: Hesiod Misreads Homer
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5.4. Aristarchus on the Age of Hesiod (πρὸς τὰ περὶ ἡλικίας Ἡσιόδου)
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6. Aristarchus and the Cycle
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7. Conclusions
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5.4. Aristarchus and Homeric Characters
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1. Achilles
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2. Agamemnon
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3. Ajax
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4. Odysseus
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5. Hector
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6. Priam
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7. Andromache
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8. Conclusions
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6. Conclusions
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1. Aristarchus in Context
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2. Aristarchus’ Assumptions
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2.1. Assumption 1: Homer Was a Flawless Poet
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2.2. Assumption 2: Homer Was Internally Self-Consistent
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2.3. Assumption 3: Homer Was the Sole Author of Both the Iliad and the Odyssey
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3. Aristarchus’ Methodological Rules
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3.1. Rule 1: To Read the Text Attentively
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3.2. Rule 2: To Make Use of Contextual Information
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3.3. Rule 3: To Have a Full Knowledge of the Homeric Poems
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3.4. Rule 4: To Consider the Homeric Poems as a Self-Sufficient Microcosm
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4. Aristarchus’ Assumptions and Rules at Work
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5. Aristarchus and Aristotle
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6. Aristarchus and Crates, Grammatikoi and Kritikoi
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7. Aristarchus and Hellenistic Science
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8. Aristarchus the Empiricist
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9. Some Problems in Aristarchus’ Method
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Technical Terms Often Used in This Book
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Bibliography
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Index I: General Index
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Index II: Index of Greek Technical Terms Connected with Aristarchus’ Exegesis
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Index III: Index of the Homeric Words Commented Upon by Aristarchus
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Index IV: Index of the Homeric Scholia
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Index V: Index of Other Ancient Sources
Citable Link
Published: 2018
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
- 978-0-472-13076-4 (hardcover)
- 978-0-472-12366-7 (ebook)