Homer and the Epic Cycle

Abstract

Abstract How can the ancient relationship between Homer and the Epic Cycle be recovered? Using findings from the most significant research in the field, many ancient and modern assumptions are questioned and alternative perspectives offered that are better aligned with ancient epic performance realities and modern epic studies. This volume addresses a number of related issues: the misrepresentation of Cyclic (and Homeric) epic by Aristotle and his inheritors (including the part played by mythographers like Proclus); the role of the epic singer, patron/collector, and scribe/poet in the formation of memorialized songs; the relevance of shared patterns and devices and of other traditional connections between ancient epics; and the distinct fates of Homeric (Iliad, Odyssey) and Cyclic epic. The volume provides new answers to an age-old problem.