The Homeridae ( grc, Ὁμηρίδαι) were a family, clan or professional lineage on the island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

claiming descent from the Greek epic poet

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

. The origin of the name seems obvious: in classical Greek the word should mean "children of Homer". An analogous name, Asclepiadae, identified a clan or guild of medical practitioners as "children of

Asclepius Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represe ...

". However, since the existence of the Homeridae is authenticated while that of Homer is not, and since Greek ''homeros'' is a common noun meaning "hostage", it was suggested even in ancient times that the Homeridae were in reality "children (or descendants) of hostages". The natural further step is to argue that Homer, the supposed founder, is a mythical figure, a mere back-formation, deriving his name from that of the later guild. Their influence on the dark early history of transmission of the Homeric texts, though incalculable, is sure to have been conservative. Evidence on the Homeridae relates to the late sixth, fifth and fourth centuries BC, after which nothing more is heard of them. The first contemporary mention of this group is in a poem of about 485 BC by

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

In the same way as the Homeridae, Singers of stitched words, usually Begin with an address to Zeus ...

A "singer of stitched words" is a literal definition of a rhapsode. Later contemporary references come in fourth-century texts, in the works of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and Isocrates. In one of his essays, written around 350 BC, Isocrates says:

Some of the Homeridae tell the story that Helen appeared to Homer in a dream and told him to make a poem about the Trojan expedition.

At a slightly earlier date Plato makes a similar comment:

I believe that some of the Homeridae recite two hymns to
Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the ear ...
from among the esoteric poems. One of them is quite disrespectful to the god, and, what's more, the metre is incorrect! This is what they sing:
Now this winged god is called by mortals Eros, But immortals say "Pteros" because love must grow wings.

There are two further mentions, in Plato's '' Republic'' and in the ''Ion''. In the latter the rhapsode Ion claims that he should be "crowned by the Homeridae" for his work in promoting the poems of Homer. Supplementary information, of uncertain validity, is found in later Greek antiquarian writings. A scholarly commentary on Pindar's poem gives the following details: The name Homeridae originally meant descendants of Homer, who maintained the tradition of singing his poems, but afterwards was applied to rhapsodes who did not claim literal descent from him. One famous member,

Cynaethus Cynaethus or Cinaethus ( el, Κύναιθος or Κίναιθος) of Chios was a rhapsode, a member of the Homeridae, sometimes said to have composed the '' Homeric Hymn to Apollo''. The main source of information on Cynaethus is a Scholium to P ...

, was at the centre of a group who were specially active in composing new poems and attaching them to Homer's works. Cynaethus himself was the author of the '' Homeric Hymn to Apollo'' and was the first to perform Homeric poems at Syracuse. A second source is

Harpocration __NOTOC__ Valerius Harpocration ( grc-gre, Οὐαλέριος or , ''gen''. Ἁρποκρατίωνος) was a Greek grammarian of Alexandria, probably working in the 2nd century AD. He is possibly the Harpocration mentioned by Julius Capitolinus ...

, who names three early writers of Greek local history whose works are now lost:

Acusilaus Acusilaus, Acusilas, or Akousilaos ( grc-gre, Ἀκουσίλαος) of Argos, son of Cabas or Scabras, was a Greek logographer and mythographer who lived in the latter half of the 6th century BC but whose work survives only in fragments and s ...

and Hellanicus of Lesbos apparently stated that the Homeridae were named after Homer, while Seleucus said that they were not. Finally, the geographer Strabo says that the people of Chios adduced the Homeridae as evidence that Homer came from Chios; which implies, though Strabo does not say it, that the Homeridae, too, came from Chios. It seems from this evidence that the Homeridae were a guild of oral performers (rhapsodes, as implied by Pindar's phrase "singers of stitched words") who claimed to inherit Homer's tradition and performed poems ascribed to Homer, no doubt including the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey''. They also developed stories about how the poems had originated, such as Homer's dream of Helen. Like other rhapsodes, they travelled widely, but they were perhaps based on Chios. Certain Homeridae were active in adding new poems to the tradition. It is worth noting that due to the

Peisistratos Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular ...

that Homeric reformation became compulsory. The Homeridae, like other rhapsodes, switched to a designated text which they themselves had approved. In this way, the Homeridae became the authors of some of the first "authoritative" versions of Homeric poetry, and removed much of the improvisation which had hitherto characterized the art form. Incidentally, some people believed these attributions:

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

, though not easily fooled, quotes from a version of the Homeric ''Hymn to Apollo'' similar to the text now known and confidently ascribes it to Homer.Thucydides, ''Histories'' 3.104.

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading