
This Volume Takes As Its Focus An Oft-neglected Work Of Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle's Lost Homeric Problems. The Evidence For This Lost Work Consists Mostly Of 'fragments' Surviving In The Homeric Scholia - Comments In The Margins Of The Medieval Manuscripts Of The Homeric Epics, Mostly Coming From Lost Commentaries On These Epics - Though The Series Of Studies Presented Here Puts Forward A Persuasive Case That Other Sources Have Been Overlooked. These Studies Focus On Various Aspects Of The Homeric Problems And Are Grouped Into Three Parts. The First Deals With Preliminary Issues: The Relationship Of This Lost Work To The Homeric Scholarship That Came Before It, And To Aristotle's Comments On Homeric Scholarship In His Extant Poetics; The Evidence Concerning The Possible Titles Of This Work; And A Neglected Early Edition Of The Fragments. Following On From This, The Second Part Attempts To Expand Our Knowledge Of The Homeric Problems Through An Examination In Context Of Quotations From (or Allusions To) Homer In Aristotle's Extant Works, And Specifically In The History Of Animals, The Rhetoric, And Poetics 21, While Part Three Consists Of Four Studies On Select (and In Most Cases Disregarded) Fragments. Collectively The Chapters Support The Conclusion That Aristotle In The Homeric Problems Aimed To Defend Homer Against His Critics, But Not Slavishly And Without Employing Allegorical Interpretation; Within The Context Of A Renewed Interest In Aristotle's Lost Works, The Volume As A Whole Brings Much Needed Illumination To A Virtually Unknown Ancient Work Involving Not One But Two Giants Of The Classical World. Part I: Preliminary Studies -- Part Ii: Studies Based On Aristotle's Extant Works -- Part Iii: Studies On Select (and Usually Neglected) Fragments. Robert Mayhew. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 195-205) And Indexes.
*This volume investigates the nature, content, and scholarly significance of Aristotle's lost work, Homeric Problems, by analyzing surviving fragments and contextual evidence.* Robert Mayhew, a scholar of ancient philosophy, employs a rigorous philological approach to reconstruct the arguments Aristotle likely presented in his defense of Homer. By synthesizing marginalia from medieval manuscripts with references found in Aristotle's extant treatises, the author constructs a framework for understanding how the philosopher engaged with Homeric criticism without relying on allegorical interpretation.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars recognize this volume as a specialized contribution to the study of Aristotle's lost corpus and his relationship with Homeric tradition. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for researchers and students of classical philosophy.
Page Count:
0
Publication Date:
1900-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
0191872660
ISBN-13:
9780191872662
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