Traditional echoes in the Iliadic catalogue of fallen heroes

Author(s)

Danilo de Sousa Tolentino Villa

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2018-10-17

Examining board members

Christian Werner; Fernando Rodrigues Junior; Lucia Sano; Leonardo Medeiros Vieira

• Advisor: Christian Werner

Abstract

The present work aims to understand the typical scene of multiple fallen heroes in the Iliad, having as its basis recent revisions of the Oral Theory whose enphasis is in the traditionality of the Homeric poems and its reception. Particularly, it contrasts the structure of this typical scene with the structure of the epic catalogue, following the analysis established by the seminal article of Beye (1964). One of the most influential results of his article was the demonstration that the structure of the Catalogue of Ships and the typical scene of fallen heroes is the same, which is the reason why it is common to speak of a \"catalogue of the dead\" in the Iliad. However, a discussion of what is a catalogue in epic poetry and if it\'s really possible to classify all the sequences of defeated heroes as such has not happened yet. Seeking to fufill that purpose, this dissertation uses more recent developments of the Oral Theory. They are responsible for renovating the interpretation of the Homeric catalogues by using multiple approaches that centers around performance and orality. A catalogue may be perceived as a great feat of memory that astonishes the audience, a tool that help the singer in the act of composition and even as the unifying principle of the Homeric poetics. Each one of this approaches were used with the objective of answering to what extent it is possible to talk about a catalogue of the dead in the Iliad. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/04266-3 - Traditional echoes in the Iliadic catalogue of fallen heroes
• Grantee: Danilo de Sousa Tolentino Villa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master