11 Homer and the Ekphrasis
Naples National Archaeological Museum, public domain.
“Sing, O muse, of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans.”
The Writers Ekphrastic
Eking out a description, seeping out of its shape - lucid and vividly describing something made - a thing of inspiration - a dance, a song, a box on a wall - even a wheelbarrow - red by the chickens - Writers - observing - dialoging - reading and responding - all ~
Homer
Living in the 9th or 8th center BCE, Homer was born in Ionia. Most known for the epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, his literary feats have been influencing writers for ages. Because his poems were used widely for educative purposes, he was highly influential in shaping Western culture with ideals connected with unity and heroism. Throughout time, Homeric phraseology, meter, as well as content has provided structure for various thinkers and writers alike.
It is well known that the Homeric tradition originated as an oral one. Poetry - in its very beginnings was fashioned to be proclaimed and passed down by word of mouth from one generation to another. The reciter and the responder, were each important to the continuous cycle of learning and valuing of words and sound and story. Without writing - the words lived like fire - burning down and and being rekindled by the great poets of old. For Homer, the poet is aoidos, “singer.” Poets of his works such as Phemius and Demodocus in the Odyssey sang both for the nobles and for the commoners too. Unlike Homer’s epics, these poems were short, for singular occasions.
Today, I highlight Homer because I am in the middle of my study regarding the ekphrasis, and his name came up. Homer is recognized as being the first to write an ekphrasis. In Book 18 of the Illiad from lines 478 to 608, Homer sings of the shield of Achilles - the shield used in battle between Achilles and Hector. He writes, and words describe image, illuminating the object.
There is a story that goes with this shield. It is brand new, fashioned by Hephaestus, the smith-god of the underworld, at the request of Thetis, a sea-nymph and the young Achilles’ mother. When Achilles receives the shield, Homer stops the narrative nature of his poem, and moves into minute detail. He describes the weight of this shield and the shape of it: it is round and heavy. He talks about the shine of it and the design of it. The shield is shining and glittering and has folds. After this basic introduction to the object, the poet speaks of what this god modeled into the metal: the world including the sky and the seas. The cosmos too: the sun, the moon, stars and their constellations. And two cities are depicted, one a city at war and one at peace.
I am amazed at the length of these poems The Illiad and The Odyssey especially in light of the fact that they were composed during the time of oral poetry. They could not easy be recited at one sitting. I suppose they were told in sequences, and perhaps are collections of a life time of this important poet, Homer.
Resources
Brouwers, Josho. “The shield of Achilles.” Ancient World Magazine. 27 July 2015. https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/the-shield-of-achilles/ Assessed 10 September 2021.
James A. W. Heffernan. “Ekphrasis and Representation.” <i>New Literary History</i>, vol. 22, no. 2, 1991, pp. 297–316. <i>JSTOR</i>, www.jstor.org/stable/469040. Accessed 6 Sept. 2021.
Heffernan, James A. W. Museum of Words: The Poetics of Ekphrasis from Homer to Ashbery. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2008. Print.
"Homer." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 14 Nov. 2019. school-eb-com.scsl.idm.oclc.org/levels/high/article/Homer/106285. Accessed 6 Sep. 2021.
Homer, The Iliad. https://flamingo-aqua-klf6.squarespace.com/config/pages/606efa9c796b2013faf0dcd7 Assessed 6 Sept. 2021
Williams, Julie A. “Homer.” Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2021. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=88258768&site=eds-live.
Questions
What do you know about Homer?
Have you ever read or listened to anything written by Homer?
Does Homer inspire you?