Homer'sIliadis an epic poem full of war and battles, but scholars have noted that ‘[t]he Homeric poems are interested in death far more than they are in fighting’. Even though long passages of the poem, particularly the so-called ‘battle books’ (Il.Books 5–8, 11–17, 20–2), consist of little other than fighting, individual battles are often very short with hardly ever a longer exchange of blows. Usually, one strike is all it takes for the superior warrior to dispatch his opponent, and death (...) occurs swiftly. The prominence of death in Homeric battle scenes raises the question of how and in which terms dying in battle is being depicted in theIliad: for while fighting can be described in a straightforward fashion, death is an abstract concept and therefore difficult to grasp. Recent developments in cognitive linguistics have ascertained that, when coping with difficult and abstract concepts, such as emotions, the human mind is likely to resort to figurative language and particularly to metaphors. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Philologus Jahrgang: 159 Heft: 2 Seiten: 197-206.

This article attempts to explain the structure of the eponymous ecphrasis in the Pseudo-Hesiodic “Shield of Heracles” as a programme outlining an evolution from violent chaos to peaceful order which corresponds to the function initially ascribed to Heracles as ‘protector against ruin for gods and men’ (Sc. 28-9). It will be argued that the seemingly disproportionate ecphrasis is a conscious reworking of the Homeric shield of Achilles employed as a literary device to give a cosmic dimension to the battle between (...) Heracles and Cycnus and establish Heracles as the unambiguously glorious (super)hero of the epyllion. This interpretation of the Pseudo-Hesiodic Heracles is consistent with Richard Martin’s notion of a ‘trash aesthetic’ determining the composition and presentation of the poem. (shrink)

The so-calledLatin Iliad, the main source for the knowledge of the Greek epic poem in the Latin West during the Middle Ages, is a hexametric poetic summary (epitome) of Homer'sIliadlikely dating from the Age of Nero, which reduces the 15,693 lines of the original to a mere 1,070 lines (6.8%).

Considering his status as the best fighter on the Trojan side, Hector’s flight in “Iliad” 22.131-7 is unexpected and surprising, even though Hector is never overtly reproached for his reaction. This article proposes a psychological explanation for Hector’s behaviour, drawing on recent insights concerning combat stress reaction (CSR) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Hector does not flee from fear of death, but from the “Wind of Hate”, i. e. the terror felt when confronted with direct and personal aggression. An examination (...) of the actions of Achilles in the “Iliad” supports this conclusion, for Achilles exhibits behaviour which would qualify for a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. The intense personal hatred of Achilles is sufficient to shock Hector into flight, even if he ultimately recovers and heroically faces Achilles in battle. Thus, the scene bears testimony to the “Iliad”’s understanding of the universal human experiences of warfare and aggression. (shrink)

Lycophron’s riddling poem “Alexandra” is infamous for hardly ever calling anything by its proper name, but rather employing obscure and erudite metaphors, periphrases, and mythological allusions for people and events as well as local cult epithets for divinities. This article attempts to explain the fact that epithets for gods occur only rarely in isolation, but usually in clusters ranging from two to six different appellations. Assuming that this repetition of information is not merely empty redundancy, Hellenistic extravagance, or an ostentatious (...) demonstration of erudition, it is argued that the clustering also serves a communicative function: Since these epithets are often of regional rather than pan-Hellenic origin, the poet could not expect his readers to be familiar with all of them (and probably used a compilation himself), so by providing several riddling circumlocutions he could increase the chance of his audience’ being able to identify one of them and thus ensure understanding and enjoyment of his poem. (shrink)