Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 1 of 3: I. Prolegomena II. Achæis; or, the Ethnology of the Greek RacesGladstone, W. E. (William Ewart)
History
Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 1 of 3: I. Prolegomena II. Achæis; or, the Ethnology of the Greek Races
Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart)
Civilization, Homeric; Epic poetry, Greek -- History and criticism; Homer
But moreover it is supported by particular instances. Troy, for
example, had its Pergama on a lofty part of the site where it stood:
and from the epithets αἰπείνη, ὀφρυόεσσα, ἠνεμόεσσα, applied to the
name Ἴλιος but never to Τροίη (of course I mean when this latter word
is used for the city, the only class of cases in point), it may justly
be inferred that Ilus[148] built the Pergama when he migrated into the
plain. But the wall surrounding the entire city was only built in the
next generation, under King Laomedon, who employed Neptune and Apollo
for the purpose.
Another, and perhaps more marked instance, is to be found in the case
of Thebes. We know from Thucydides[149] that Bœotia was, from its
openness and fertility, more liable to revolutions from successive
occupancy than other parts of Greece. With this statement a passage
of the Odyssey[150] is in remarkable accordance. Homer tells us that
Amphion and Zethus, probably among the very earliest Hellic immigrants
into Middle Greece, first settled on the site of Thebes; and, he adds
specially, that they fortified it. But apparently it could not have
been the usual practice of the time to surround entire cities, at
least, with fortifications, because he goes on to assign the special
reason for its being done in this case, namely, that, even powerful as
they were, they could not hold that country, so open (εὐρύχορος, Od.
xi. 265) and rich, except with the aid of walls. This would appear to
be a case like the Λαρίσση ἐριβώλαξ of the seventeenth Iliad, and both
alike were probably exceptions to the general rule.
I have now done with the direct notices of the Pelasgi in Homer. But
we have still a considerable harvest of indirect notices to gather.
Particularly, in discussing the meaning of the name Ionians, we shall
hereafter find reason to suppose that Homer’s Athenians were Pelasgic:
and I propose here to refer to some similar indications with respect to
the Arcadians.
_The Arcadians in Homer._
Like the Pelasgians, the Arcadians are, as we have seen, happy in never
being mentioned without Homer’s commendation. In Il. ii. 611 they are
ἐπιστάμενοι πολεμίζειν. In Il. vii. 134 they are ἐγχεσίμωροι.
_The Arcadians Pelasgian._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account