Description
Book SynopsisThe Hippos of Troy: Why Homer Never Talked About a Horse deals with one of the most famous episodes of the whole of Classical mythology, the Wooden Horse of Troy. Thanks to the analysis of words, images and wrecks, the author proposes a new interpretation of what Homer actually intended when he spoke of the
hippos used by the Greeks to conquer the city of Troy. The archaeological, iconographic and philological evidence discussed by the author leads to the conclusion that Homer never talked about a giant wooden horse, nor a war machine. In fact, Homer referred to the use of a particular ship type, a merchant ship of Levantine origin in use in the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age Mediterranean, used to pay tribute to Levantine kings, as well as to trade precious metal around the Mediterranean coast.
Table of ContentsPreface ;
Introduction ;
Archaeology at Troy ;
Was it a horse? ;
The Naval Dimension of Homer ;
The Nautical Dimension of the Homeric World ;
Homer as a Source for Naval Archaeology ;
The Naval Context of the Homeric Narration of the Last Night of Troy ;
The Wooden Horse in Ancient texts ;
The original version of the δουρατέος ἵππος of Troy: Homer ;
Structural elements of the δουρατέος ἵππος of Troy: Vergil ;
The Wooden Horse of Troy in Classical Art ;
The Iconography of the Wooden Horse in Ancient Greece ;
The Iconography of the Wooden Horse in Rome ;
The Hippos Ships in the Ancient Mediterranean ;
Textual evidence of the ἵππος ship ;
Iconography of the ἵππος ship ;
Direct evidence of the ἵππος ship ;
The ἵππος ship and the Trojan War ;
Why Homer never talked about a horse ;
Homer’s words in their proper context ;
The deception planned by Athena Pallas ;
From the Ship to the Wooden Horse of Troy ;
Bibliography ;
Ancient Authors
