This dissertation examines the depiction of the parent-child relationship in the Iliad and the Odyssey. In this examination, I focus on the representation of this phenomenon as it applies to Achilles and Hector, as the respective protagonist and antagonist of the former poem, and to Odysseus, the protagonist of the latter. The parent-child relationship has been selected as the subject of investigation on the grounds of the fundamental nature and extensive presence of this phenomenon in human life, and, consequently, in literature. The primary reason for the selection of the Iliad and the Odyssey for this study of the literary representation of this phenomenon is the status that these poems enjoy as the earliest extant works in Western literature, whose reputation and influence have endured through the centuries to modern times. The other reason is that they provide a rich source of the literary representation of the parent-child relationship. The inclusion of both Homeric poems in the investigation offers a broader spectrum of parent-child relationships and a wider range of parent-child related situations, issues, and outcomes. In each poem, the poet concentrates on the biological parent-child relationships of the heroes, although other supplementary relationships also feature. Assisted by narratological analysis, I examine the three heroes’ parent-child relationships in terms of their triadic structure of father-mother-son, and of the dyadic relationships encompassed by this triad, namely, father-son, mother-son, and father/husband-mother/wife. Each hero is depicted as both a son and a father; hence the triads to be examined are, for Achilles, the Peleus-Thetis-Achilles natal triad and the Achilles-[Deidamia]-Neoptolemus procreative triad (represented in the poem only by the father-son relationship), for Hector, the Priam-Hecuba-Hector natal triad and the Hector-Andromache-Astyanax procreative triad, and for Odysseus, the Laertes-Anticleia-Odysseus natal triad and the Odysseus-Penelope-Telemachus procreative triad. A significant feature to emerge from the examination of each of these triads and associated dyads is the poet’s use of the affective dimension of the parent-child relationship to make the epic hero more accessible, and the epic situations and events more meaningful to the audience. In addition to exploiting the universal appeal of the affective dimension, the examination of the representation of this relationship in the poems provides insights into socio-culturally determined aspects of the society depicted. On the structural thematic level the parent-child relationships of Achilles and Hector in the Iliad, and of Odysseus in the Odyssey provide a thematic thread woven into the central theme of each poem. Thus we see that these heroic epics tell stories that are not only about heroic warriors, but also about the other participants in their natal and procreative triads: their parents, wives, and sons. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, 2010.

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Now all but forgotten, the songs of Sidney Homer (1864-1953) were at one time well-regarded and often performed. Married to the great American contralto Louise Homer, he was in a unique position to have his songs performed by the great artists of the time. Unlike the cloying "parlor songs" of many of his contemporaries, his works consistently demonstrate a respect for both the great poets as well as the European art-song tradition. One of the most cosmopolitan of the American composers of his day, his involvement with Louise's career brought him into contact with many of the great composers and performers of the day including Massenet, Puccini, Humperdinck, Mahler, Toscanini and Caruso. When viewed in their entirety, his songs reveal not only a tremendous variety, but also the maturation of his compositional style.

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This report investigates the theme of supplication in both the Iliad and Odyssey especially in regards to the role of Zeus as protector of suppliants in each of the poems. Although Zeus is never given the epithet Hikesios in the Iliad as is the case in the Odyssey, he nevertheless acts as such in the Iliad’s final scenes of supplication. The scenes discussed in this paper include the supplication between Thetis and Zeus, Adrastos and Menelaus, Hektor and Achilles, Priam and Achilles, Odysseus and the Cyclops, and Odysseus and Arete. While Zeus appears indifferent to the battlefield suppliants in the Iliad such as Adrastos in the beginning of the Iliad, his own interest in justice as well as an increasing value of the suppliant draw Zeus into a more active role in supplications. This phenomenon is further supported by supplication scenes in the Odyssey that refer to events of the Iliad and in which Zeus is explicitly called “protector of suppliants.” / text

This report examines different approaches to the performance of the Odyssey. The first approach focuses on the internal evidence of the Odyssey, looking at how the Homer’s poems define the singer as a type. The second approach analyzes a selection of sources from the classical period that attests to the performance of the Odyssey. The third approach uses material evidence as a means to reconstruct the music of performance. The internal evidence provides a consistent model for performance that can be correlated with external context. This model can then be used to show how the Odyssey makes use of its own performance. These approaches demonstrate that the material of the poem provides the most compelling account of performance of the Odyssey. The Odyssey presents a consistent model of performance that describes the performer, the manner of performance, and makes use of performance in its own poetry. / text

Thesis advisor: Dayton Haskin / Homer's Odyssey is a foundational work for the western cultural and literary tradition. It has been translated into English many times over, which reflects a certain enduring relevance of the work and its characters. This thesis examines twelve or so English translations of the Odyssey, from those of Alexander Pope and George Chapman to the modern works of Robert Fagles and Robert Fitzgerald, in their interpretations of specific moments where the hero interacts with Nausikaa, Kalypso, Athena, and Penélopê. Traditionally, although the women of the Odyssey are considered to be active and relevant to Odysseus' journey, they also pose considerable danger to his quest for Ithaka. However, by juxtaposing and comparing various translations from different time periods, we enrich our understanding of the astounding agency these women demonstrate in facilitating the hero's return. As opposed to mere tools that Odysseus utilizes as a means to an end, these women actively interfere in his journey to ensure his safety and bring to fruition the ultimate goal of restoring order on Ithaka. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: English. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Thesis advisor: John Sallis / My thesis attempts to determine the relationship between Homer, Plato, and Nietzsche by tracing Nietzsche's inversion of Platonism with respect to Homer's poetry. I argue that Nietzsche's inversion of Platonism, an inversion that does not just swap the terms of the Platonic hierarchy of intelligible and sensible but subverts the hierarchy itself, entails a specific engagement with Homer. The engagement proceeds with specific attention to the themes of eternal recurrence, nihilism, homelessness and homecoming, and the revaluation of the sensible world. In addition to tracking the threefold of Homer/Plato/Nietzsche, the subtext of the thesis aims at a reconsideration of Heidegger's delimitation of Nietzsche as a metaphysician. My investigation demands a reconsideration of Heidegger's claim that Nietzsche does not return to the beginning as beginning, i.e., Nietzsche's thought remains trapped within Platonism and the metaphysical tradition. Thus Spoke Zarathustra serves as a focal point for this reconsideration since the Zarathustra period contains a preponderant occupation with a revaluation of all prior values, including the Homeric source of many of these values. This direct encounter with the values portrayed in Homer is also prefigured by the Homeric shadow that appears in the aftermath of the overturning of Platonism. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

This dissertation offers new answers to the ethical questions posed by Homer’s epics by implementing interdisciplinary methods and perspectives. Drawing insights from anthropology, literary criticism, philosophy, and psychology, I construct an ethical model, which evaluates ethical systems not primarily as a means of regulating conduct but as a means of endowing particular actions with exemplary significance. My methodology, which is based on this ethical model, approaches ethics as a complex system that can never be adequately described in its totality but only in reference to specific human problematics. The problematic I investigate is death: how it serves as an opportunity for Homeric heroes to pursue the most significant kind of life they can in light of their mortality. The Homeric hero is obliged to protect his “lot” in life as his birthright and property in the divinely-governed world; he is obliged also to recognize the limits of his lot and respect the lot of other noblemen by rendering them due honor. Not all lots are equal, of course, and certain ethical sensibilities are required to negotiate the social domain properly. The Iliad and Odyssey illustrate what ethical sensibilities come into play as their exemplars struggle against a diverse range of human vicissitudes. Three sensibilities are especially important: (1) a sense of culturally appropriate restraint out of fear of retribution, (2) a sense of culturally appropriate anger upon seeing shameless behavior, (3) a sense of culturally appropriate love/friendship and pity that opens a path for even strangers to be treated as intimates, i.e. to have their needs met. Corresponding to these sensibilities are battle customs and civic customs. A heroic death garners significance from occurring either under the auspices of battle customs or under the auspices of civic customs. The Iliad illustrates good death in war as a “beautiful death,” and the Odyssey illustrates good death in the community as a “gentle death.” Death is the culmination of one’s living actions, and glorious actions are worthy of being remembered by a community in song. Even when a hero no longer can act in the world, he is able, if his actions are preserved in memory, to participate in the life of the community. To be remembered and honored “equally to a god” is the greatest good a mortal can have, insofar as it approximates the immortal existence of the gods. In my conclusion, I also discuss methods of researching the reception of Homeric ethics, especially by Plato.

The timeless, lyrical poem of Ancient Greece, revered for its grand battles, supernatural forces and legendary heroes is a fading memory of a forgotten past. Many critics, scholars, and authors like Theodore Steinberg concur, “. . . “[the] twentieth-century epic” is oxymoronic, the epic died with Milton” (10). Yet, the echoes of the past resound in the present as the characteristics and literary conventions of the Homeric epic are easily found in contemporary genres, including fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopian fiction. What has emerged is not a repeat of the past, but something different, something new. The influence of science and technology is apparent even to the most relaxed reader. Contemporary writers have adapted forms of technology, communication, and modern science to perform as the traditional literary devices of the epic genre. In his book, Epic in American Culture, Christopher N. Phillips remarks that ,”Epic did not die with Milton . . . it developed new power and shape. . .” as writers dismissed the traditional formats to allow for artistic growth advancing the use and understanding of epic, “. . . the new insights, literary and cultural history that emerge once synchronic, monolithic definition of form are abandoned-the surprises in the archive of American literary engagements with the epic form are myriad” (4,10). This release of boundaries allowed space to create, one that intersects with specific moments in time and sociocultural influence, allowing the inclusion of modern understanding and experiences. I found a kernel in Catherine Morley’s book, The Quest for Epic, where she examines the influence of the epic on the American novel, and the means with which writers continue to approach and engage epic , “. . . compulsively and consciously appropriated and reinvented aspects of the antique and the modern European epic traditions to advance their own aesthetic designs” (13). Furthering the writer’s vision is only part of the epic’s adaptation, and the formulation of other genres, including sci-fi and fantasy, provide many reference points in its long evolutionary cycle. Why the need for new genres? What did writers have to address to warrant these spaces? Technology was one answer. Technological advancements placed a demand upon writers, stirring the authors to push against canonical boundaries. The cultural importance of the mythology surrounding the epic is infused, and the result is an expanded, (dare I say new?), technology rich, contemporary epic. Same genus, different species. So, what does this new cutting-edge insertion look like? How does it function? What role does technology play in contemporary figuration's of the epic? How does modern science perform in ancient conventions? Can they maintain the ethos of the traditional Homeric epic? This thesis will investigate through literary scholarship and theory, Homer’s classics, Iliad and The Odyssey, and two contemporary novels, David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and The Silent History by Eli Horowitz, Matthew Derby, and Kevin Moffett.