Overview

In this penetrating new look at the use of language in the Iliad, Hilary Mackie examines the portrayal of the opposing forces in terms not only of nationality but of linguistics. The way the Greeks and the Trojans speak, Mackie argues, reflects their disparate cultural structures and their relative positions in the Trojan War. While Achaean speech is aggressive and public, intended to preserve social order, Trojan language is more reflective, private, and introspective. Mackie identifies the differences between Greek and Trojan language by analyzing poetic formulas, usually thought to indicate a similarity of language among Homeric characters, and conversations, which are seen here to be of equal importance to the numerous speeches throughout the Iliad. Mackie concludes with analyses of the two great heroes of the Iliad, Hektor and Achilles, and the extent to which they represent their own cultures in their use of language.

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9780847682553

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Reviews

...is written with intelligence... -- Thomas Weidemann, University of Nottingham The Classical Review Hilary Mackie provides a reading of classical epic in terms weel-informed ( and no way disadvantaged) by the insights of socio-linguistics and philosophy of the language. It is a novel and provocative approach. -- Owen Cramer, Mississippi State University The Classical Outlook, Fall 1999, Vol.77, No.1 This book is a detailed analysis of the speeches of the principal characters in the Iliadfrom a social and cultutral perspective. -- Leslie Threatle, University of California Berkeley Language and Society, Vol. 27, N0. 4 1998

Hilary Mackie provides a reading of classical epic in terms weel-informed ( and no way disadvantaged) by the insights of socio-linguistics and philosophy of the language. It is a novel and provocative approach.--Owen Cramer The Classical Outlook, Fall 1999, Vol.77, No.1

Author Information

Hilary Mackie is Assistant Professor of Classics at Rice University.

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