''Rediscovering Homer'' is a 2006 book by

Andrew Dalby Andrew Dalby, (born 1947 in Liverpool) is an English linguist, translator and historian who has written articles and several books on a wide range of topics including food history, language, and Classical texts. Education and early career D ...

. It sets out the problems of origin, dating and authorship of the two ancient Greek epics, ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...

'' and ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

'', usually attributed to

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 ...

. ''Rediscovering Homer'' originated as a development and expansion of two academic papers published in the 1990s in which Dalby argued that the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'' must be seen as belonging to the same world as that of the early Greek lyric poets but to a less aristocratic genre. This contradicted a widespread assumption that the epics come from an older stage of civilization and literature than the personal poetry of

Archilochus Archilochus (; grc-gre, Ἀρχίλοχος ''Arkhilokhos''; c. 680 – c. 645 BC) was a Greek lyric poet of the Archaic period from the island of Paros. He is celebrated for his versatile and innovative use of poetic meters, and is the ...

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

and others. Returning to these themes, Dalby summarizes the contents and significance of the two epics and hypothesizes the transmission they probably followed, from oral invention and circulation to written versions. He then spotlights the unknown poet who, long after the time of the traditional

, at last saw the ''

'' and ''

'' recorded in writing. Dalby notes that "no early author describes or names the singer who saw these two poems written down. We are given no sex and no name -- certainly not Homer, who is seen as a singer of the distant past."Dalby, ''Rediscovering Homer'' quoted by Alberge, 2006. Based on what we can judge of this poet's interests and on the circumstances in which

oral poetry Oral poetry is a form of poetry that is composed and transmitted without the aid of writing. The complex relationships between written and spoken literature in some societies can make this definition hard to maintain. Background Oral poetry is ...

has been recorded elsewhere, "it is possible, and even probable, that this poet was a woman. As a working hypothesis, this helps to explain certain features in which these epics are better -- more subtle, more complex, more universal -- than most others." The idea is not new.

Eustathius of Thessalonica Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; el, Εὐστάθιος Θεσσαλονίκης; c. 1115 – 1195/6) was a Byzantine Greek scholar and Archbishop of Thessalonica. He is most noted for his contemporary account of the s ...

recounted an ancient fiction in which both epics were composed by an Egyptian priestess, Phantasia; Samuel Butler, in '' The Authoress of the Odyssey'', attributed the ''Odyssey'' to a Sicilian woman between 1150 and 1050 BC; and

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

in his novel '' Homer's Daughter'' made a similar proposal. Even before the appearance of ''Rediscovering Homer'' the idea was dismissed as "far-fetched" by

Anthony Snodgrass Anthony McElrea Snodgrass FBA (born 7 July 1934) is an academic and archaeologist noted for his work on Archaic Greece. Biography Born to William McElrea and Kathleen (Owen) Snodgrass, he gained his M.A. and D.Phil in 1963. He is Emeritus Profe ...

on the grounds that a woman would have been "bored out of her mind" when composing the ''Iliad''.Reported by Alberge, 2006. Reviewers, even when praising the book, have continued to be sceptical of this proposal:

Notes

Bibliography

* *Alberge, Dalya,
Scholar takes Homer on new odyssey -- into womanhood
in ''The Times'' (London), 1 July 2006.

Reviews

*Carr, Jonathan,
The elusive first poet(ess)
in ''Athens News'' 3 November 2006, p. 29. *Leigh, Matthew, "Line endings" in ''Times Literary Supplement'' (London) 18 May 2007, p. 4. * Palaima, Tom, "A classical example of a man getting credit for what must have been a woman's work" in ''Times Higher'' (London) 12 January 2007, pp. 22–23. *Pulleyn, Simon, "Siren songs from the wind-dark sea" in ''Scotland on Sunday'' 24 September 2006. * Sutherland, John, "A Trojan horse for many courses" in ''Financial Times: FT Magazine'' 7 October 2006, p. 34. {{Iliad navbox 2006 non-fiction books Biographies of Homer Homeric scholarship