S. Douglas Olson

Blood and Iron: Stories and Storytelling in Homer's Odyssey (Mnemosyne Supplements) S. Douglas Olson

This text provides an exploration of the role of gossip, rumour and storytelling in the society depicted in the "Odyssey" and in the real world in which the poem was performed. It includes extensive analysis of Homeric narrative technique, with particular attention to the way in which the singer created tension in a largely traditional tale. Individual chapters treat discrete, generally very traditional, literary and historical problems, including the significance of the term "kleos", the presentation of Telemachos, the internal chronology of the poem, the nature of Homeric kingship and the role of violence in the ancient Greek family. This book is intended to be of use to the reader interested in the literary content or storytelling technique of Homeric epic, as well as for historians of the late Dark Ages.