Homer's Ancient Readers

These seven essays expore the ways in which the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" have been read from the time of Homer through the Renaissance. The contributors explore the questions that early readers expected the texts to answer and examine how these expectations changed over time.

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Although the influence of Homer on Western literature has long commanded critical attention, little has been written on how various generations of readers have found meaning in his texts. These seven essays expore the ways in which the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" have been read from the time of Homer through the Renaissance. By asking what questions early readers expected the texts to answer and looking at how these expectations changed over time, the authors clarify the position of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" in the intellectual world of antiquity while offering historical insight into the nature of reading.