Poets, lawgivers, and the beginnings of political reflection in archaic Greece

Raaflaub, Kurt A.

doi:10.1017/chol9780521481366.004

Cited by 43 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…53 See esp. Snodgrass 1965Snodgrass , 1993Latacz 1977;Pritchett 1985;Ulf 1990, 138-53;Singor 1991Singor , 2009van Wees 1992van Wees , 1994van Wees , 1996van Wees , 1997van Wees , 2000avan Wees , 2004Bowden 1993;Mitchell 1996;Raaflaub 1997cRaaflaub , 1999Raaflaub , 2005bRaaflaub , 2008Raaflaub , 2011Hellmann 2000;Cartledge 2001, 153-66, 225-8;Franz 2002;Schwartz 2002Schwartz , 2009Lendon 2005, chap engage in combat (such as that between Diomedes and Glaucus with which I began this paper). Much of this appears rather unrealistic.…”

Section: Illmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For rare exceptions, see Raaflaub 2008,481 n. 43. Vaughn 1991Jackson 1991, though mostly for a later period.…”

Section: VImentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the historicity of 'epic society', see further esp. Morris 1986;Ulf 1990;van Wees 1992;Raaflaub 1997a. 9 E.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…11 I use ray discussion of these problems in Raaflaub 1998 as a starting point. My other articles on the present subject matter are listed in the bibliography at the end of this article.12 Raaflaub 2006; below at n. 29, and see n. 33.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Patzek 1992). In the much more restricted conditions of the Dark Ages, wars and the audiences' interests and world views would have been more limited(Raaflaub 2003).34 On the question of whether the poet addresses primarily an elite audience or a much broader one of citizens of early poleis, seeMorris 1986; Raaflaub 2000, 27-34, 57-9; Grethlein 2010, 130-1.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Riding on Homer's Chariot: The Search for a Historical ‘Epic Society’

Raaflaub¹

2011

Antichthon

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This paper continues the author's long-standing quest to define the historicity of ‘epic society’ and to understand epic warfare and battle descriptions. It summarises the range of questions involved and a number of aspects on which some agreement has been achieved. Further progress is only possible by using new approaches. One of these, the comparative study of epic traditions, has recently yielded important results that are briefly summarised. Another new approach, overlapping with that of narratology, aims at understanding the working methods and conventions of the epic singer's art. The application of this approach to the narrative of epic battles has made it possible to distinguish between two large type scenes: ‘normal battles’ and ‘flight andaristeiaphases’. The former are essentially historical and thus help us understand early Greek fighting, while the latter are essentially fantastic. Three elements occur predominantly or almost exclusively in these fantasy scenes: thearisteiaiof the greatest heroes, the active intervention of gods in battle, and the use of chariotsin battle.The demonstration, provided in the final section of this paper, that the latter — a component of Homeric battle that has long resisted convincing explanation — is part of the singer's arsenal of fantastic entertainment and ‘special effects’, removes it from historical consideration and further facilitates the explanation of epic battles and their historicity.

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