From Hittite to Homer : the Anatolian background of ancient Greek epic / Mary R. Bachvarova.

By:

Bachvarova, Mary R

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2016.Description: 649 p. : ill. ; 25 cmContent type:

Media type:

Carrier type:

ISBN:

9780521509794

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

881.009

Contents:

1. Introduction -- 2. Hurro-Hittite narrative song at Hattusa -- 3. Gilgamesh at Hattusa -- 4. The Hurro-Hittite ritual context of Gilgamesh ath Hattusa -- 5. The plot of the Song of Release -- 6. The place of the Song of Release in its eastern Mediterranean -- 7. The function and prehistory of the Song of Release -- 8. Sargon the Great: from history to myth -- 9. Long-distance interactions: theory, practice, and myth -- 10. Festivals: a milieu for cultural contact -- 11. The context of epic in Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Greece -- 12. Cyprus as a source of Syro-Anatolian epic in the Early Iron Age -- 13. Cultural contact in Late Bronze Age western Anatolia -- 14. Continuity of memory at Troy and in Anatolia -- 15. The history of the Homeric tradition -- 16. The layers of Anatolian influence in the Iliad.

Summary: "This book provides a groundbreaking reassessment of the prehistory of Homeric epic. It argues that in the Early Iron Age bilingual poets transmitted to the Greeks a set of narrative traditions closely related to the one found at Bronze Age Hattusa, the Hittite capital. Key drivers for Near Eastern influence on the developing Homeric tradition were the shared practices of supralocal festivals and venerating divinized ancestors, and a shared interest in creating narratives about a legendary past using a few specific storylines: theogonies, genealogies connecting local polities, long-distance travel, destruction of a famous city because it refuses to release captives, and trying to overcome death when confronted with the loss of a dear companion. Professor Bachvarova concludes by providing a fresh explanation of the origins and significance of the Greco-Anatolian legend of Troy, thereby offering a new solution to the long-debated question of the historicity of the Trojan War."-- Publisher's description.

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 3 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds	Course reserves
Reserve - Overnight loan	CYA Library Reserve	881.009 BAC (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		00000010283		Fassa, Eleni

Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

"This book provides a groundbreaking reassessment of the prehistory of Homeric epic. It argues that in the Early Iron Age bilingual poets transmitted to the Greeks a set of narrative traditions closely related to the one found at Bronze Age Hattusa, the Hittite capital. Key drivers for Near Eastern influence on the developing Homeric tradition were the shared practices of supralocal festivals and venerating divinized ancestors, and a shared interest in creating narratives about a legendary past using a few specific storylines: theogonies, genealogies connecting local polities, long-distance travel, destruction of a famous city because it refuses to release captives, and trying to overcome death when confronted with the loss of a dear companion. Professor Bachvarova concludes by providing a fresh explanation of the origins and significance of the Greco-Anatolian legend of Troy, thereby offering a new solution to the long-debated question of the historicity of the Trojan War."-- Publisher's description.