Description
Book SynopsisHomer and the Good Ruler in Antiquity and Beyond focuses on the important question of how and why later authors employ Homeric poetry to reflect on various types and aspects of leadership. In a range of essays discussing generically diverse receptions of the epics of Homer in historically diverse contexts, this question is answered in various ways. Rather than considering Homer’s works as literary products, then, this volume discusses the pedagogic dimension of the Iliad and the Odyssey as perceived by later thinkers and writers interested in the parameters of good rule, such as Plato, Philodemus, Polybius, Vergil, and Eustathios.
Trade Review"This fine collection of papers examines the Homeric poems as Mirrors for Princes. Although other works have studied pedagogical aspects of the Homeric poems, there has been no full-scale examination of Homer as an educator for rulers. The present study presents many facets of the topic, ranging from Homer's original pedagogical intent, to classical, medieval and modern views of Homer as a guide for those in positions of authority.(...) Moving from the Homeric to the modern period, this book offers a broad look at Homer's influence on educating the ruler and on pedagogy in general. (...) each chapter makes a worthy contribution to the topic, and the book opens many further avenues for study." Scott Goins, CJ-Online 2019.09.06.
Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors Homer and the Good Ruler in Antiquity and Beyond: Introduction Jacqueline Klooster and Baukje van den Berg The Birth of the Princes’ Mirror in the Homeric Epics Irene J.F. de Jong Between Gods and Mortals: The Piety of Homeric Kings Will Desmond A Speaker of Words and Doer of Deeds: The Reception of Phoenix’ Educational Ideal Jacqueline Klooster Plato’s Homer as a Guide for Moderation and Obedience Patrick G. Lake The Problem with the Prince: Agamemnon in the Ancient Exegetical Tradition on Homer Elsa Bouchard Educating Kings through Travel: The Wanderings of Odysseus as a Mental Model in Polybius’ Histories Maria Gerolemou Some Critical Themes in Philodemus’ On the Good King According to Homer Jeffrey Fish Eumaeus, Evander, and Augustus: Dionysius and Virgil on Noble Simplicity Casper C. de Jonge Speaking Homer to Power: Anecdotes of Greek Intellectuals and Their Rulers in Plutarch’s Symposia David F. Driscoll Homeric Ideals Versus Roman Realities? Civil War, Autocracy, and the Reception of Homer in Silius Italicus’ Punica Elina Pyy Homer and the Good Ruler in the ‘Age of Rhetoric’: Eustathios of Thessalonike on Excellent Oratory Baukje van den Berg On the Good King According to Homer: A Sixteenth-Century Treatise by Christophoros Kondoleon Filippomaria Pontani ‘Royal Blood Will Stain My Spear’: Satire, Trauma, and Semi-barbarous Princelings in Robert Graves’ The Anger of Achilles Laura McKenzie Index Locorum General Index
