Nikoletta Kanavou - The Names of Homeric Heroes: Problems and Interpretations

Nikoletta Kanavou

The Names of Homeric Heroes

Sozomena

Studies in the Recovery of Ancient Texts

Edited

on behalf of the Herculaneum Society

by

Alessandro Barchiesi, Robert Fowler, Dirk Obbink and Nigel Wilson

Volume 15

ISBN 978-3-11-040997-0

e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-042197-2

e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-042202-3

ISSN 1869-6368

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.

2015 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

www.degruyter.com

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(Od. 8.552- 4)

The purpose of this book is to contribute to the appreciation of the linguistic, literary and contextual value of Homeric personal names. This is an old topic, which famously interested Plato, and an object of constant scholarly attention from the time of ancient commentators to the present day. Aside from numerous articles, there are a few books dedicated to particular aspects of the subject, notably von Kamptz (an etymological study), Peradotto (on names and narrative in the Odyssey) and Higbie (on name and identity). The present discussion considers both epics and is structured around the character and action of selected heroes in their Homeric contexts (in the case of the Iliad , a heroic war; the Odyssey chapter encompasses more than one planes of action). It offers a survey of modern etymologies, set against ancient views on names and naming in order to reconstruct (as far as possible) the reception of significant names by ancient audiences and further to shed light on the parameters surrounding the choice and use of personal names in Homer. The introductory chapter presents the particularly complex set of factors that affect all efforts to interpret Homeric names. Two chapters follow, one on each epic, which discuss main heroes and other memorable figures. A third chapter treats selected word-plays and potential puns and links among minor names from both epics. Finally, an Appendix touches on the under explored career of Homeric personal names as historical names, offering data and a preliminary analysis. The vastness of the material involved imposes a selection, with a view to discussing names of main characters (particularly the obscure names) at length, and to offering a taste of the rest; it is hoped that this work will provide impetus for further research.

The book is based on the first part of a DPhil thesis, which was completed in Oxford under the supervision of Dr S.R. West and has been thoroughly revised, extended and updated (a monograph based on the second part, on significant Aristophanic names, was published by De Gruyter in 2011). Special thanks go to the Foundation for Education and European Culture (IPEP) for financial support during the final stages of this books preparation. Martin and Stephanie West read the whole manuscript, made valuable suggestions and saved me from a number of errors; I was extremely fortunate to receive their comments and advice. I am also grateful to Athanassios Vergados, who offered useful insights on the introductory chapter as well as on numerous Homeric names, and to Peter Thonemann who read and commented on the Appendix. Finally, I should like to thank the editors of the Sozomena series, especially Dirk Obbink, for accepting my book for publication in the series. Athens, October 2014

Abbreviations

Names of ancient authors and works are abbreviated as in LSJ.