The Iliad: A Commentary: Volume 1, Books 1-4

This Commentary will be an essential reference work for all students of Greek literature.

G. S. Kirk (Edited by)

9780521281713, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 February 1985

436 pages, 3 maps 1 table
22.9 x 15.3 x 2.5 cm, 0.627 kg

'Kirk's chief merit as an expositor is his awareness of the subtlest nuances of poetic technique … The introduction and commentary as a whole form an excellent companion to Books 1-4.' J. T. Booker, JACT Review

This is the first volume of a projected six-volume Commentary on Homer's Iliad, under the General Editorship of professor G. S. Kirk. Professor Kirk himself is the editor of the present volume, which covers the first four Books of Iliad. It consists of four introductory chapters, dealing in particular with rhythm and formular techniques, followed by the detailed commentary which aims at helping serious readers by attempting to identify and deal with most of the difficulties which might stand in the way of a sensitive and informed response to the poem. The Catalogues in Book 2 recieve especially full treatment. The book does not include a Greek text - important matters pertaining to the text are discussed in the commentary. It is hoped that the volume as a whole will lead scholars to a better understanding of the epic style as well as of many well-known thematic problems on a larger scale. This Commentary will be an essential reference work for all students of Greek literature. Archaeologists and historians will also find that it contains matters of relevance to them.

List of maps
Preface
Abbreviations
Editorial introduction: the methods and aims of the commentary
Introduction
1. The making of the Iliad: preliminary considerations
2. The structural elements of Homeric verse
3. Aristarchus and the scholia
4. The first four Books of the Iliad in context
Commentary
Book 1
Book 2
Special index to commentary on the Achaean and Trojan catalogues
Book 3
Book 4
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]