M. Díaz de Cerio, C. Cabrillana & C. Criado (eds.), Ancient Epic: Linguistic and Literary Essays, CSP Newcastle upon Tyne 2015

This book adopts a broad and multifaceted approach to that most preeminent of classical literature genres: Epic. Set in the ancient world, from archaic Greece to imperial Rome, the scope of interest here extends, for comparative purposes, to Vedic and Sanskrit poetry as well as Mediaeval epic. This collection of papers by classicists from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) embraces key themes in recent scholarship, such as the character of the hero, defined in terms of the conflict of power central to the epos, the metapoetic function of the bard as a literary reflection of epic style, and the manipulation of epic myth to fulfil new functions such as retelling contemporary history and conveying mystic symbology. Also dealt with are topics rooted in archaic poetry, such as the reutilisation of the ogre character embodied in the Cyclops and the journey into the Underworld. In all these studies, the intertextual nature of ancient writing is consistently addressed through discussions of the revisiting of Homeric poetry by authors such as the Greek tragics, Empedocles, Plato, Virgil, Ovid, Seneca, Lucan or Valerius Flaccus. The analysis of heroic narrative offered in this volume includes both literary phenomena and the language of epic itself; the reader is thus afforded the widest possible view of critical perspectives in current classical literature and linguistics. Such a comprehensive treatment of the master genre of ancient times grants the reader powerful insights into the way in which ancient literature was composed. This collection of studies, while making a substantial contribution to scholarship in the field, is intended to appeal to a varied academic readership, including researchers on classical literature and linguistics as well as students of literary theory.

1 Revolt vs. dharma: Western Heroes (José Virgilio GARCÍA TRABAZO)
27 What is Expedient (τὸ συμφέρον) in the Iliad (Maria José MARTÍN VELASCO)
57. Socrates’ Descensus ad inferos: the Nekuia in the Works of Plato (Mercedes DÍAZ DE CERIO)
101. The Subordination of the Epic to Mystic Poetics: the Example of Polyphemus in Love (Yolanda GARCÍA)
139. The Theban Fratricidal Wars. The Mythic-Historical Approach of Ovid, Seneca and Lucan (Cecilia CRIADO)
165. Vates in fabula: Chiron and Orpheus in Valerius Flaccus (Antonio RÍO TORRES-MURCIANO)
185. Direct Speech and Lexical Presence of esse in Virgilian Epic (Concepción CABRILLANA)
215. Homerus Callaicus (Juan José MORALEJO)
237. Notes on Contributors
241. Index Locorum
259. General Index