Homer and His Iliad

Oxford historian Lane Fox (Augustine) examines in this enlightening account the origins and the lasting impact of Homer’s Iliad. Drawing on historical and archaeological evidence, he pinpoints the method and location of the poem’s creation, suggesting that it was an oral narrative, with portions sung, that was dictated not long after its composition, which occurred along the Aegean Coast of Asia sometime between 750 and 740 BCE. (He zeroes in on such a precise time frame because it is bounded on the late end by the earliest appearance of lines from the poem on pottery shards, and on the early end by political and social developments which Homer seems to reference.) According to Lane Fox, the Iliad has endured because of the universal appeal of its themes, including the male heroes’ fascination with kudos or fame, the divine intervention and intermittent absences of the gods, and the contrast between the glory of war and the futility of conflict. The shifting behavior of the hero, Achilles—from anger to rage to revenge and finally to pity and compassion—receives special attention. Combining a historian’s meticulous methodology with a lifelong appreciation of the Iliad, Lane Fox presents a thorough reassessment of the poem and a moving interrogation of its themes of pathos, pity, and irony. It’s a rewarding investigation. (Oct.)