Homer and Reception

This paper argues for the continuity and diversity of epitomization as a form of Homeric reception throughout Greco-Roman antiquity. In broadly chronological sequence, three distinct if related stages of Homeric epitome are identified. First, the embedded self-epitome, in which passages in the Iliad and the Odyssey summarize the plot of either epic (De Jong 2001; Kelly 2007). These passages, whether delivered in the narrator’s voice (Il. 1.1–7; 13.345–60; Od. 1.1–11; 13. 89–92) or spoken by a character (e.g.

Homer lies at the heart of any work on ancient literary criticism, but each critic presents a particular version of the great Ur-poet. From Xenophanes to the Contest of Homer and Hesiod and beyond, ancient critics created and judged their own Homers based on the particular social and moral values of their work. Some Hellenistic critics, however, focus not on the moral implications but rather the form of this poetry.

In book 14 of the Iliad, Hera procures a mysterious object from Aphrodite that is termed a κεστὸς ἱμάς, literally “a decorated strap” (215). This, Aphrodite promises, contains “love, desire, and allurement, which steals over the minds even of the wise” (14.217-18). The extraordinary power attributed to the kestos himas is manifested in Hera’s subsequent seduction of Zeus, but its allurement reverberates well beyond the confines of the Iliad as the nature and function of this item have long exercised scholars both ancient and modern.