O objetivo desta tese é estudar os poemas homéricos do ponto de vista da história, a partir de um enfoque que consiga agregar uma análise de elementos internos e externos dos poemas. O ponto de articulação, o que direciona os temas a serem discutidos nesta tese, está relacionado a uma pergunta central: qual o papel da circulação da informação oral por longas distâncias e através do tempo nos poemas homéricos, seja do ponto de vista de sua própria composição e reprodução, seja do ponto de vista da representação dessas temáticas nas narrativas? Primeiramente, são analisadas as características da tradição poética da qual os poemas fazem parte. Em virtude da circulação em longas distâncias (espaciais e temporais) de formas orais de informação ser parte determinante para o que é mostrado aqui como o mecanismo de composição, apresentação, transmissão e recepção dos poemas da tradição hexamétrica, são propostas reflexões destas mesmas questões nas tramas dos poemas. O tipo de circulação da informação aqui enfocado abarca toda forma de transmissão que dependa da oralidade para ocorrer. Além disso, os processos que percorrem longas distâncias ou, ainda, têm alcance temporal mais extenso, são enfatizados. Nesse sentido, além dos mecanismos de funcionamento da composição e transmissão da poesia homérica e dos contextos históricos aos quais diriam respeito, as formas descritas nos poemas de circulação da informação são analisadas: os aedos e a própria circulação da poesia épica; os relatos, de diversos tipos; o espaço, as formas e os agentes envolvidos nesses processos de circulação. Na conclusão, a questão de se os poemas têm algo a dizer acerca da própria tradição de composição e transmissão de que fazem parte é debatida, articulando o que foi analisado tanto do ponto de vista interno, quanto do ponto de vista externo aos poemas. / The objective of this thesis is to study the Homeric poems from a historical point of view. The approach used intends to articulate an analysis of internal and external aspects of the poems. The juncture point, what propels the themes discussed in this thesis, is related to a central question: what is the role of the circulation of information through long distances and through time in the Homeric poems? This question is approached taking into account, first, the composition and transmission of this kind of poetry, and, second, the representation of those themes in the narratives themselves. The initial part of this study centers on the analysis of the poetic tradition the poems are part of. Because long ranged and long termed oral forms of circulation of information are a determinant part of what is shown here as the mechanics of composition, presentation, transmission and reception of the poems in this hexametric tradition, questions regarding those same issues are proposed in the study of their plot elements. The type of circulation of information here researched englobes all form of transmission that depends on orality to take place. Long distance and long-term processes are emphasized. In this sense, besides the composition and transmission mechanics of the Homeric poems and the historical contexts to which they are related, the poetic forms of circulation of information described in the Iliad and in the Odyssey are analyzed: the singers and the circulation of epic poetry; the many types of reports; the space, the forms and the agents involved in processes of circulation of information. In the conclusion, there is a debate of whether the Homeric poems have something to say regarding their own tradition of composition and transmission. Here, the themes analyzed relating both to internal and external elements of the poems are properly articulated.

Consoante aos estudos recentes sobre a lírica grega arcaica, hoje podemos aduzir a ocasião de performance como um elemento central para a definição de um gênero poético. A partir dessa concepção mais ampla de gênero, este trabalho visa à tradução e estudo dos fragmentos elegíacos de Tirteu, tendo em vista o caráter estritamente político de suas elegias narrativas e marciais e seus vínculos temáticos com a tradição épica, de modo que possamos ensejar uma reflexão outra sobre a função e estatuto dessa poesia em suas determinadas ocasiões de performance. / According to modern studies on archaic greek lyric, occasion of performance was a main feature to the definition of a poetic genre. Thus, this work seeks to translate and analyze the elegiac fragments of Tyrtaeus, considering the strictly political aspect of his martial and narrative elegies and its thematic resemblances with epic tradition, in order to raise a different comprehension on the function and meaning of this poetry, given its occasions.

O tema da razia de gado (boēlasía) é uma constante nos textos conservados da tradição épica grega arcaica, nos quais figura na forma de narrativas breves ou de referências alusivas. Apesar disso, pouco se escreveu acerca desse tema, e os poucos estudos realizados se concentraram apenas na consideração da recorrência boēlasía como um reflexo da importância do gado na economia da honra típica dos poemas homéricos ou na sua explicação como um derivado de estruturas míticas herdadas do protoindo-europeu. É justamente essa lacuna que esta tese se propõe a atacar, por meio da recolha e cotejo de parte das narrativas e referências homéricas a essa atividade e do seu exame a partir dos referenciais teóricos e metodológicos oriundos da crítica oralista do épos arcaico, particularmente os métodos de análise temática que partem da recepção dos poemas. / The cattle-raid (boēlasía) theme is a constant in the preserved texts of the tradition of Greek archaic epic, wherein it appears either in the form of brief narratives or of allusive references. Nonetheless, little has been written about this theme, and the few studies there are have focused only in the consideration of the recurrence of the boēlasía as a reflex of the importance of cattle in the honour economy typical of the homeric poems or in its explanation as a derivation of mythical structures inherited from the proto-indoeuropeans. This dissertation aims precisely at such blind spot, recovering and comparing part of the homerical references to this activity and examinig them via theoretical and methodological insights originated in the oralist critical tradition of the archaic épos, particularly those theme-based analytical methods that take into consideration the reception of the poems.

Entre os séculos III e IV d.C., no Período Imperial, Quinto de Esmirna compôs uma epopeia posteriormente intitulada Pós-Homéricas. Dentre as quatorzes partes que compõem o poema, os Livros V (O julgamento das armas) e XII (O cavalo de madeira) enaltecem a atuação da μῆτις em relação ao ambiente bélico, bem como exibem a depreciação acerca de seu modo de operação. Entretanto, ela se revela como uma habilidade vantajosa aos guerreiros por seu caráter múltiplo, capaz de mudar situações, sair de impasses e assegurar o sucesso àquele que for mais πολύμητις nas interações sociais e estratégicas. Desse modo, Odisseu torna-se um líder vital para que a guerra troiana chegue ao fim e, essencialmente, garante a vitória ao exército aqueu. Nesse sentindo, o trabalho pretende examinar o quanto a μῆτις e o herói astucioso são componentes imprescindíveis para o curso das ações. Ademais, a tradução dos Livros V e XII complementam o estudo e promovem o conhecimento sobre parte da obra. / Between the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D., during the Empire Period, Quintus of Smyrna composed an epic poem later called Posthomerica. Among the fourteen parts that compose the poem, Books V (The judgement of the arms) and XII (The wooden horse) praise the action of μῆτις in the war environment, while also depreciating its modus operandi. However, μῆτις reveals itself as an advantageous skill for warriors due to its varied character, capable of changing situations, escape impasses, and assure the success of the one who is better πολύμητις in the social and strategic interactions. Thus, Odysseus becomes an essential leader for the Trojan War to meet its end and is the primary responsible for the Achaean armys victory. In this sense, this study aims to examine how μῆτις and the astute hero are indispensable for the course of actions throughout the poem. Furthermore, the translations of Books V and XII complement the study and foster knowledge on part of the poem.

Although mythological monsters have rarely been examined in any collective and comprehensive manner, they constitute an important cosmic presence in archaic and classical Greek poetry. This thesis brings together insights from the scholarly areas of 'monster studies' and the 'sensory turn' in order to offer readings of the sounds made by monsters. I argue that the figure of the monster in Greek poetry, although it has positive attributes, does not have a fixed definition or position within the cosmos. Instead of using definitions of monstrosity to think about the role and status of Greek monsters, this thesis demonstrates that by listening to the sounds of the monster's voice, it is possible to chart its position in the cosmos. Monsters with incomprehensible, cacophonous, or dangerous voices pose greater threats to cosmic order; those whose voices are semiotic and anthropomorphic typically pose less serious threats. The thesis explores the shifting depictions of monsters according to genre and author. In Chapter 1, 'Hesiod's Theogony: The Role of Monstrosity in the Cosmos', I consider Hesiod's genealogies of monsters that circulate and threaten in the nonhuman realm, while the universe is still undergoing processes of organisation. Chapter 2, 'Homer's Odyssey: Mingling with Monsters', discusses the monster whom Odysseus encounters and even imitates in order to survive his exchanges with them. In Chapter 3, 'Monsters in Greek Lyric Poetry: Voices of Defeat', I examine Stesichorus' Geryoneis and the presence of Centaurs, Typhon, and Gorgons in Pindar's Pythian 1, 2, 3, and 12. In lyric, we find that these monsters are typically presented in terms of the monster's experience of defeat at the hands of a hero or a god. This discussion is followed by two chapters that explore the presence of the monster in Greek tragedy, entitled 'Centripetal Monsters in Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and Oresteia' and 'Centrifugal Monsters in Greek Tragedy: Euripides and Sophocles.' Here, I argue that in tragedy the monster, or the abstractly 'monstrous', is located within the figure of the human being and within the polis. The coda, 'Monstrous Mimesis and the Power of Sound', considers not only monstrous voices, but monstrous music, examining the mythology surrounding the aulos and looking at the sonic developments generated by the New Musicians.

This thesis charts divine assembly scenes in ancient Mesopotamian narrative poetry and the early Greek hexameter corpus, and aims to contribute to a cross-cultural comparison in terms of literary systems. The recurrent scene of the divine gathering is shown to underpin the construction of small- and large-scale compositions in both the Sumero-Akkadian and early Greek traditions. Parts 1 and 2 treat each corpus in turn, reflecting a methodological concern to assess the comparanda within their own context first. Part 1 (Chapters 1-4) examines Sumerian narrative poems, and the Akkadian narratives Atra-hsīs, Anzû, Enûma eliš, Erra and Išum and the Epic of Gilgameš. Part 2 (Chapters 5-8) considers Homer's Iliad, the Odyssey, the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod's Theogony. The comparative approaches in Part 3 are developed in two chapters (9-10). Chapter 9 offers a detailed comparison of this typical scene's poetic morphology and compositional purpose. Relevant techniques and effects, a function of the aural reception of literature, are shown to overlap to a considerable degree. Although the Greeks are unlikely to have taken over the feature from the Near East, it is suggested that the Greek divine assembly is not to be detached form a Near Eastern context. Because the shared elements are profoundly embedded in the Greek orally-derived poetic tradition, it is possible to envisage a long-term process of oral contact and communication fostered by common structures. Chapter 10 turns to a comparison of the literary pantheon: a focus on the organisation of divine prerogatives and the chief god figures illuminates culture-specific differences which can be related to historical socio-political conditions. Thus, this thesis seeks to enhance our understanding of the representation of the gods in Mesopotamian poetry and early Greek epic, and develops a systemic approach to questions of transmission and cultural appreciation.

Often praised for its sophistication in the narrator- and character-text, the Odyssey is regarded as the ultimate epic of a warrior’s much-troubled nostos. As a corollary of both its theme and the polytropia of the main hero, the poem explores extensively the motifs of secrecy and disguise. Apart from the lying tales of Odysseus, one important, albeit less obvious, example of the tendency to secrecy and disguise is the exchanges between the gods, which constitute a distinct group of speeches that have significant implications for the action of the poem. The aim of this dissertation is to study the divine dialogues of the Odyssey from the angle of communication and persuasion. Employing findings from narratology, discourse analysis, and oral poetics, and through close readings of the Homeric text, I argue that the overwhelming majority of these related passages have certain characteristics, whose common denominator is obliqueness. Apart from Helius’ appeal to Zeus (Chapter 2), distinctive in its own narratorial rendition, the rest of the dialogues, namely Hermes’ message-delivery to Calypso (Prologue), the two divine assemblies (Chapter 1), plus the exchanges of Zeus with Poseidon (Chapter 2) and Athena (Epilogue) conform to set patterns of communication. Within this framework, interlocutors strongly tend towards concealment and partiality. They make extensive use of conversational implicatures, shed light only on certain sides of the story while suppressing others, and present feigned or even exaggerated arguments in order to persuade their addressee. Direct confrontation is in principle avoided, and even when it does occur, it takes a rather oblique form. In this communicative scheme, the procedure of decision-making is not clear-cut, and the concept of persuasion is fluid and hidden behind the indirect and subtle dialogic process.

The thesis has been written as part of the AHRC collaborative research project Greek Epic of the Roman Empire: A Cultural History. This project seeks to give the first cultural-historical analysis of the large, underexploited corpus of Greek epic poetry composed in the transformative period between the 1st and the 6th centuries C.E. The thesis focuses on questions of literary identity in one of the most challenging texts from this corpus, the Posthomerica by Quintus of Smyrna (c. 3rd century C.E.). My central contention is that Quintus’ mimicry of Homer represents a radically new formative poetics, suggesting a cultural movement towards mimesis, necromancy and close encounters with the past. After a detailed study of what I term the reanimating culture of imperial Greece (chapter 1), and a comprehensive reanalysis of the compositional techniques of the text (chapter 2), I identify a number of tropes of poetic identity from different ancient literary modes: programmatic proems (chapter 3), memory (4), filiation (5) and temporality (6). I show how Quintus co-opts these themes for his new poetics, to turn the symbolic toolkit of contrast imitation into a defence of writing inter-Homeric epic. This analysis insists on rethinking the nature of the relationship between the poetry of this era and that of previous aesthetic traditions: particularly, I argue against a view of the Posthomerica as Alexandrian, and see it instead pushing back against the Callimachus school of small, new poetry. Ultimately, the thesis aims to show how the Posthomerica could be pivotal for unpinning current critical assumptions about imperial Greek poetry; revealing a palpable shift in tone in the construct of the literary self.