Synopses & Reviews
Review
Kitts presents a detailed study of oath making in Homer's Iliad, both the ritual details and the consequences of oath breaking; in particular, she distinguishes between commensal sacrifices and those involving oaths, and she looks at instances in which deaths on the battlefield are compared to the deaths of sacrificial animals. In doing so, Kitts makes good use of comparative Near Eastern material, including Hittite, Assyrian, and biblical texts.
Choice
Synopsis
This 2006 book focuses on oath-making narratives in the Iliad.
About the Author
Margo Kitts is lecturer at Iowa State University. A scholar of ancient Near Eastern religions, she has contributed to History of Religions, Literature and Theory, Journal of Ritual Studies, and Metis.
Table of Contents
Introduction: why another treatment of Greek sacrifice?; 1. Epics, rituals, and rituals in epic: methodological considerations; 2. Premises and principles of oath-making in the Iliad; 3. Ritual scenes and epic Themes of Oath-Sacrifice; 4. Homeric battlefield theophanies, in light of the ancient Near East; Conclusion.