Synopses & Reviews
Michael Silk covers the poem's historical context, composition and extensive influence in this distinctive critical introduction to Homer's Iliad, the earliest epic poem, and the earliest known work of literature in ancient Greece. Silk relates its literary power to the peculiar coherence and inter-relation of such aspects of the poem as its style, character-portrayal and ideology. This revised edition considers recent scholarship and includes an updated guide to further reading. First Edition Hb (1986): 0-521-32814-4 First Edition Pb (1986): 0-521-31302-3
Synopsis
Michael Silk's volume offers a new assessment of The Iliad both for the Homeric specialist and general reader. His starting point is the relationship between Homer's world (the eighth century B.C.) and the remote heroic age in which the events of the punitive Greek expedition against Troy were set. He deals with the poem's historical context, composition, and extensive influence, and stresses the coherence and inter-relation of such apparently separate aspects of the poem as its style, character-portrayal and ideology.
Table of Contents
Preface and note; 1. Homer's world and the making of the Iliad; 2. The poem.