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Reintroducing the
Iliad
A new interpretation of Homer’s Iliad revealing that the
secrets Homer’s characters cling to are as important as what
they tell
Homer’s
Iliad
is often considered a poem of blunt truthfulness, his
characters’ motivation pleasingly simple. A closer look, however,
reveals a complex interplay of characters who engage in an awful lot
of lies. Beginning with Achilles, who hatches a secret plot to destroy
his own people, Mark Buchan traces motifs of deception and betrayal
throughout the poem. Homer’s heroes offer bluster, their passion
linked to and explained by their lack of authenticity. Buchan reads
Homer’s characters between the lies, showing how the plot is
structured, looking at individual denial and what cannot be said.
“Original, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. Buchan does not get
mired in scholarly argument or in proofs of his own originality or
authority. Instead he goes right to work, interpreting the
Iliad
with
great perception and imagination.”—Louise Pratt, Emory University
has taught classics at the
University of Washington, Princeton Univer-
sity, and Columbia University. He has also
published on a wide range of topics within
Greek literature and philosophy. His main
scholarly focus has been on the Homeric
poems. He lives in New York.
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS
• SPRING 2012 •
Classics / Literature & Criticism
August 2012
LC: 2011047343 PA
192 pp. 6 x 9
Paper $29.95 s
ISBN 978-0-299-28634-7
e-book $19.95 s
ISBN 978-0-299-28633-0
W
ISCONSIN
S
TUDIES IN
C
LASSICS
William Aylward and Patricia A. Rosenmeyer,
General Editors
35
Of related interest
Essays in Search of Ancient and Medieval Authors
W
ISCCONSIN
S
TUDIES IN
C
LASSICS
“Characterized by profound originality of imagination and an assured command of the spectrum
of classical scholarship, the author’s dissection of select texts of Thucydides, Lucretius, Cicero,
Seneca, and the female Carolingan aristocrat Dhuoda constitutes a virtuosic display of insight
and analytical acuity.”—J. S. Louzonis,
CHOICE
Published January 2011
LC: 2010011574 PA 168 pp. 6 x 9
ISBN 978-0-299-24824-6 Paper $29.95 s ISBN 978-0-299-24823-9 e-book $19.95 s
PAPERBACK
ORIGINAL
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