Homērou Odysseia: Difference between revisions
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Homērou Odysseia''}} | {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Homērou Odysseia''}} | ||
===by Homer=== | ===by Homer=== | ||
{{NoBookInfoBox | {{NoBookInfoBox | ||
|shorttitle=Homerou Odysseia | |shorttitle=Homerou Odysseia | ||
|commontitle= | |commontitle= | ||
|vol= | |vol= | ||
|author=Homer | |author=[[:Category:Homer|Homer]] | ||
|editor= | |editor= | ||
|trans= | |trans= | ||
|publoc=Oxonia | |publoc=[[:Category:Oxford|Oxonia]] | ||
|publisher=Ek Theatrou en Oxonia, En | |publisher=Ek Theatrou en Oxonia, En | ||
|year=1750 | |year=1750 | ||
|edition= | |edition= | ||
|lang=Greek | |lang=[[:Category:Greek|Greek]] | ||
|set= | |set= | ||
|pages= | |pages= | ||
|desc= | |desc= | ||
}} | }}Little is known about the life of Homer, the poet responsible for the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey''. Herodotus claimed Homer lived around 850 BCE, while modern scholars usually date his poems to the second half of the eighth century BCE.<ref>[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199548545.001.0001/acref-9780199548545-e-1550 "Homer”] in ''The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature'', ed. by M.C. Howatson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).</ref> The Trojan War is estimated to have occurred at the end of the Mycenaean Age in Greece, around 1200 BCE, meaning that Homer was looking back four centuries to a heroic world much greater in his esteem, than the contemporary world. Homer relied on oral history to compose his poems; this provides some of the basis for the "separatist" view that the two epic poems were not written by the same person, but possibly by a combination of poets. The mixed dialect of Ionian Greek in which each poem was originally written indicates that both poems were written in the east Aegean. This is supported by contextual clues in the poems themselves. The two most plausible locations for the birth of Homer are Smyrna and Chios, but ancient Greeks viewed the poet as a blind minstrel wandering while he composed the poems, which were sung or chanted, accompanied by a lyre. | ||
Oxford: | |||
Homer’s ''Odyssey'' is an epic poem consisting of 24 books telling the story of the Trojan War hero Odysseus' ten-year journey trying to get home to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus in Ithaca, where Odysseus is king. This epic is distinct from the ''Iliad'' in that it is a more romantic than heroic/tragic poem. It is clear in the ''Odyssey'' who the “good” and “bad” characters are, and therefore with whom the readers (or more accurately the listeners, as it was intended to be recited orally) should emphathize. Odysseus is shown through much of Greek mythological writing as intelligent and crafty. He tricked Achilles into agreeing to join the Greeks against the Trojans, and tricked the Trojans with the giant wooden horse that helped to end the war. In the ''Odyssey'', Odysseus' familial devotion and "eternal human quality[y] of resolution" contrast with the barbaric creatures he meets on his adventures, as well as with the suitors attempting to woo his wife.<ref>"Homer" in ''Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World''.</ref> Odysseus' humaneness served as a model to Greek men, just as Penelope’s devotion to her husband and home showed Greek women how to behave. The strong moral themes in the ''Odyssey'' in no way take away from the exciting adventures Odysseus encountered, from the Cyclopes to the Lotus Eaters to the Sirens, and to tricking and defeating Penelope’s suitors.<br/> | |||
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library== | ==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library== | ||
Wythe's copy | Wythe definitely owned this title—a copy of the 1750 Oxford edition at the [https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/locations/john-d-rockefeller-jr-library/ John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library] at Colonial Williamsburg includes [[George Wythe's bookplate|his bookplate]]. [[Thomas Jefferson]] also listed it in the [[Jefferson Inventory|inventory]] he made of [[Wythe's Library]] as "Homeri Odysseus. Gr. Oxon. 8<sup>vo</sup>." in the section of titles he kept for himself. Brown's Bibliography<ref>Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, 2009, rev. 2023) Microsoft Word document (on file at the Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law School).</ref> includes this edition with an explanatory note about the book's condition.<ref>"The original copy in Colonial Williamsburg's Library has Wythe's engraved bookplate, but it had been rebound in the twentieth century with the Wythe bookplate pasted down inside of the front board. There are no other Wythe markings in the work, neither are there any Jefferson markings in the book, which is a pattern for many of the Wythe books inherited by Jefferson in 1806." Brown, ''The Library of George Wythe''.</ref> Similarly, [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s.v. "[http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe Member: George Wythe]," accessed on July 11, 2025</ref> on LibraryThing refers to the copy at Colonial Williamsburg in it's entry for this title. The Wolf Law Library has been unable to find a copy of this edition of Homer's ''Odyssey''. | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*''[[Homeri Ilias]]'' | *''[[Homeri Ilias]]'' | ||
*''[[ | *''[[Homerou Ilias kai Odysseia]]'' | ||
*''[[Homerou Iliados|Tēs tou Homērou Iliados]]'' | *''[[Homerou Iliados|Tēs tou Homērou Iliados]]'' | ||
*''[[Homerou Odysseias|Tēs tou Homērou Odysseias]]'' | *''[[Homerou Odysseias|Tēs tou Homērou Odysseias]]'' | ||
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[[Category:Greek Literature]] | [[Category:Greek Literature]] | ||
[[Category:Homer]] | |||
[[Category:Jefferson's Books]] | [[Category:Jefferson's Books]] | ||
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]] | [[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]] | ||
[[Category:Greek]] | |||
[[Category:Oxford]] | |||
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Latest revision as of 19:02, 11 July 2025
by Homer
| Homerou Odysseia | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
||
| Author | Homer | |
| Published | Oxonia: Ek Theatrou en Oxonia, En | |
| Date | 1750 | |
| Language | Greek | |
Little is known about the life of Homer, the poet responsible for the Iliad and the Odyssey. Herodotus claimed Homer lived around 850 BCE, while modern scholars usually date his poems to the second half of the eighth century BCE.[1] The Trojan War is estimated to have occurred at the end of the Mycenaean Age in Greece, around 1200 BCE, meaning that Homer was looking back four centuries to a heroic world much greater in his esteem, than the contemporary world. Homer relied on oral history to compose his poems; this provides some of the basis for the "separatist" view that the two epic poems were not written by the same person, but possibly by a combination of poets. The mixed dialect of Ionian Greek in which each poem was originally written indicates that both poems were written in the east Aegean. This is supported by contextual clues in the poems themselves. The two most plausible locations for the birth of Homer are Smyrna and Chios, but ancient Greeks viewed the poet as a blind minstrel wandering while he composed the poems, which were sung or chanted, accompanied by a lyre.
Homer’s Odyssey is an epic poem consisting of 24 books telling the story of the Trojan War hero Odysseus' ten-year journey trying to get home to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus in Ithaca, where Odysseus is king. This epic is distinct from the Iliad in that it is a more romantic than heroic/tragic poem. It is clear in the Odyssey who the “good” and “bad” characters are, and therefore with whom the readers (or more accurately the listeners, as it was intended to be recited orally) should emphathize. Odysseus is shown through much of Greek mythological writing as intelligent and crafty. He tricked Achilles into agreeing to join the Greeks against the Trojans, and tricked the Trojans with the giant wooden horse that helped to end the war. In the Odyssey, Odysseus' familial devotion and "eternal human quality[y] of resolution" contrast with the barbaric creatures he meets on his adventures, as well as with the suitors attempting to woo his wife.[2] Odysseus' humaneness served as a model to Greek men, just as Penelope’s devotion to her husband and home showed Greek women how to behave. The strong moral themes in the Odyssey in no way take away from the exciting adventures Odysseus encountered, from the Cyclopes to the Lotus Eaters to the Sirens, and to tricking and defeating Penelope’s suitors.
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Wythe definitely owned this title—a copy of the 1750 Oxford edition at the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg includes his bookplate. Thomas Jefferson also listed it in the inventory he made of Wythe's Library as "Homeri Odysseus. Gr. Oxon. 8vo." in the section of titles he kept for himself. Brown's Bibliography[3] includes this edition with an explanatory note about the book's condition.[4] Similarly, George Wythe's Library[5] on LibraryThing refers to the copy at Colonial Williamsburg in it's entry for this title. The Wolf Law Library has been unable to find a copy of this edition of Homer's Odyssey.
See also
- Homeri Ilias
- Homerou Ilias kai Odysseia
- Tēs tou Homērou Iliados
- Tēs tou Homērou Odysseias
- The Iliad of Homer
- Ilias kai eis Auten Scholia ton Palaion = Homeri Ilias et Veterum in eam Scholia, quae Vulgo Appellantur Didymi
- Incerti Scriptoris Graeci Fabulae Aliquot Homericae de Ulixis Erroribus, Ethice Explicatae
- Jefferson Inventory
- The Odyssey of Homer
- Wythe's Library
References
- ↑ "Homer” in The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, ed. by M.C. Howatson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).
- ↑ "Homer" in Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World.
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, 2009, rev. 2023) Microsoft Word document (on file at the Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law School).
- ↑ "The original copy in Colonial Williamsburg's Library has Wythe's engraved bookplate, but it had been rebound in the twentieth century with the Wythe bookplate pasted down inside of the front board. There are no other Wythe markings in the work, neither are there any Jefferson markings in the book, which is a pattern for many of the Wythe books inherited by Jefferson in 1806." Brown, The Library of George Wythe.
- ↑ LibraryThing, s.v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on July 11, 2025