Indo-European linguistics and classical philology
V. V. Fayer. The Art of Memory and Composition of “The Catalogue of the Ships” (pp. 895–906)
Author
V. V. Fayer (National Research University "Higher School of Economics", Poletayev Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities)
Keywords\n Iliad, the Catalogue of ships, composition, oral theory, mnemonics
Pages\n 895–906
Summary\n
“The Catalogue of the Ships” in the “Iliad” has distinct traces of concentric structure with Odysseus in the center of the episode, and Agamemnon and Achilles at an equal distance before and after him. The paper deals with the question: how can this fact comply with the obvious geographical principle of the “Catalogue”? I argue that Homer could have applied some type of mnemonics. Cicero and Quintilian independently report that Simonides used the art of memory, based on principles of loci. These loci serve as mnemonic anchors to store memorized items in one’s mind. In the course of a mental journey along this set of locations (“the house of memory”) the items are retrieved in the right order and without omissions. The poet possibly used this technique to construct a symmetrical “Catalogue” which is geographically ordered at the same time. The mental journey from Boeotia to Ithaca served as the house of memory, and the second part of the “Catalogue” is a collection of items arranged in the locations of the house. The “there and back again” technique allows concentric symmetrical structures to embrace a central episode even in the course of oral improvisation. The technique worked on micro and macro levels at the same time. The hypothesis also explains the fact that two apparently parallel episodes with Aeneas (in the books V and XX) are situated at an equal distance from the center of the epic poem. Some other possible parallels like “Shield of Achilles” (XVIII) and “Helmet of Hector”(VI) can also be the result of the same technique. Thus, the structure of the “Catalogue” might generally correspond to the composition of the “Iliad”, where some episodes form linear narrative only, while others contribute to the symmetrical framework of the poem.
References\n
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