Homer the Rhetorician: Eustathios of Thessalonike on the Composition of the Iliad

Research output: Book/Report typesBookpeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

Homer the Rhetorician is the first monograph study devoted to the monumental Commentary on the Iliad by Eustathios of Thessalonike, one of the most renowned orators and teachers of the Byzantine twelfth century. Homeric poetry was a fixture in the Byzantine educational curriculum and enjoyed special popularity under the Komnenian emperors. For Eustathios, Homer was the supreme paradigm of eloquence and wisdom. Writing for an audience of aspiring or practising prose writers, he explains in his commentary what it is that makes Homer's composition so successful in rhetorical terms. This study explores the exemplary qualities that Eustathios recognizes in the poet as author and the Iliad as rhetorical masterpiece. In this way, it advances our understanding of the rhetorical thought of a leading intellectual and the role of a cultural authority as respected as Homer in one of the most fertile periods in Byzantine literary history.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherOxford University Press
Number of pages280
ISBN (Electronic)9780191955884
ISBN (Print)9780192865434
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Publication series

NameOxford Studies in Byzantium

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Homer the Rhetorician: Eustathios of Thessalonike on the Composition of the Iliad'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this