San Antonio College Library

"This new study challenges traditional ways of reading Plato by showing that his philosophy and political theory cannot be understood apart from a consideration of the literary or aesthetic features of his writing. More specifically, it shows how Plato's well-known cosmological dialogues -- the Phaedrus, Timaeus, and Critias -- are structured using several books of the Odyssey as their shared source text. While there has recently been much scholarly...

Explores the traditional stories of the poet, Homer; and discusses the gender and social issues found in the "Iliad" and "Odyssey," the origin of both epics, and the assumption that the author may have been female.

Who was Homer? This book takes us beyond the legends of the blind bard or the wandering poet to explore an author about whom nothing is known, except for his works. It offers a reading of the ancient biographies as clues to the reception of the Homeric poems in Antiquity and provides an introduction to the oral tradition which lay at the source of the Homeric epics. Above all, it takes us into the world of the Odyssey, a world that lies between history...

"Taking her seriously is a reevaluation of Penelope, one of the most universally admired female characters in Western classical literature. Casting her in a new light, Richard Heitman emphasizes the courage, steadfastness, and integrity of this iconic figure while facing potentially tragic decisions. Homer's treatment of events in Ithaca and the motivations of Penelope throughout the denser books of the Odyssey reveal a complicated, serious, independent,...

A vivid and comprehensive account of the background and development of the Homeric poems and their quality as literature.

This landmark study of the Odyssey argues that Athena's wrath is central to both the structure and the theme of the epic poem.

"A study in poetic interaction, The "Odyssey" in Athens explores the ways in which narrative structure and parallels within and between the epic poet (aka Homer's) texts create or disclose meaning. Erwin F. Cook also broadens the scope of this intertextual approach to include the relationship of Homeric epic to ritual. Specifically he argues that the Odyssey achieved its form as a written text within the context of Athenian civic cults during the...

In this work the author conveys the uniques delights of Homer's epics as she focuses on the crucial scenes, or moments, that mark the high pints of the narratives: Penelope and Odysseus meet for the first time in twenty years; young Telemachus boldly confronts the angry suitors; Achilles gives way to boundless grief at the death of Patroclus. The author demonstrates a way of reading Homer's poems that yields up their hidden treasures. With an alert...

"The earliest and greatest works of Greek literature - the Iliad and the Odyssey - have been attributed since antiquity to the poet Homer. This concise book is an ideal introduction to the poet and his two great epics. Assuming no prior knowledge of Greek, the author supplies all the background information necessary to understand the poems." "The book presents an overview of the "Homeric question," considering the authorship, composition, and transmission...