CLASSIC 45B Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Odysseus, Enkidu, Epic Poetry
Document Summary
Name given to author of the iliad and odyssey. Oral- traditional poetry: oral composition and performance of epic poem. According to tradition, a blind bard from island of chios or other competing cities around greece. Date of composition of the poems: 8th-7th century bce-archaic. Most likely got written down later, in the 6th century. Going from an oral poem to a written poem, from an oral culture to a book culture. Iliad had most important text for role of achilles in trojan war. Other sources in epic cycle, lost epic poems that survive mainly in fragments or summaries. Son of goddess thetis and mortal king peleus. Wedding of thetis and peleus was legendary wedding b4 trojan war. Eris was not invited and threw golden apple to most beautiful goddess. Paris the trojan prince was the judge and was given. Thetis was destined to produce a son who would be greater than zeus.
