This collection of essays investigates how the reception of Homeric epics functioned as a central mechanism for defining and challenging the boundaries of the Western literary canon throughout the twentieth century. Editors Barbara Graziosi and Emily Greenwood, both established scholars in classical reception, curate a series of academic inquiries that examine how Homer was simultaneously positioned as a foundational Western ancestor and a bridge to non-Western or oral traditions. The contributors utilize historical analysis and comparative literature to argue that the twentieth-century cultural landscape fundamentally altered the interpretation of Homeric texts while those texts simultaneously shaped modern debates on orality and global literature.

Scholars and students of classical reception frequently cite this volume as a critical resource for understanding the modern transformation of ancient texts. Experts highlight the academic density of the prose and the interdisciplinary approach as particularly useful for those studying the intersection of oral tradition and written canon.