Manners in the Homeric Epic 9789004062238, 9004062238

Table of contents :
MANNERS IN THE HOMERIC EPIC
PREFACE
PART A
1 Apologies
2 Verbal Abuse
3 Courtesy
4 Gratitude
PART B
5 The manners of Menelaos
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Citation preview

MANNERS IN THE HOMERIC EPIC

MNEMOSYNE BIBLIOTHECA CLASSICA BATAVA COLLEGERUNT W. DEN BOER

• W.

J.

VERDENIUS

BIBLIOTHECAE W.

J.

• R. E. H. WESTENDORF

BOERMA

FASCICULOS EDENDOS CURAVIT

VERDENIUS,

SUPPLEMENTUM

HOMERUSLAAN

53,

SEXAGESIMUM

ZEIST

TERTIUM

I. M. HOHENDAHL-ZOETELIEF

MANNERS IN THE HOMERIC EPIC

LUGDUNI BATAVORUM

E.

J. BRILL

MCMLXXX

MANNERS IN THE HOMERIC EPIC BY

I. M. HOHENDAHL-ZOETELIEF

LEIDEN

E.

J. BRILL

1980

PREFACE The ways in which Homer's heroes relate to one another have led Dihle ('Antike Hoflichkeit und Christliche Demut,' p. 181) to speak of their 'con-ect demeanor.' This phrase presupposes that Homer knew fixed social rules, that the epic heroes abide by them, and that they thus provide good examples for all of us to follow. Frankel ( Dichtung und Philosophie, p. 92) escalates the praise: 'The human of the Iliad has refined manners.' Such general remarks raise questions: According to whose standards? And what about the way Diomedes shouts after Aphrodite, and Achilleus tells Odysseus and Aias to shut up and leave? Frankel continues, '[Homeric Man] does not feel restricted by the social rules, but ennobled by them, for they accord him dignity. He controls etiquette with a virtuosity that proves he is its ruler, not its slave. This becomes most apparent in the elegance of the speeches and the diplomatic finesse he can achieve.' These general impressions call for scrutiny. StraBburger ('Der Soziologische Aspect der homerischen Epen,' p. n2) contends, 'Nearly all confrontations of the heroes are courtly in the composure and selfdiscipline emanating from external and internal manners alike.' And Snell (Dichtung und Gesellschaft, pp. 45-46) observes that 'all of public life is closely connected with rigid conventional rites and forms, with what we tend to call 'external' practices-mistakenly so, for the discrepancy between internal content and external form, between disposition and gesture, has not yet erupted.' These statements present suppositions as certainties; in the following pages I consider some aspects of manners in the epics at greater depth. I examine Homer's conceptions of propriety, good manners, and courtesy, and discuss the way he puts them to use. I deal with the question of 'internal' manners, the extent to which ethics influence the way Homeric heroes treat one another in specific situations, and the way their internal and external manners are related. It is in this sense that I understand Frankel's statement 'An analysis of Homeric manners is an urgent want' (p. 92, n. 20). Many publications have described Homeric custom in regard to

VIII

PREFACE

hospitality, dinners, funerals, greetings and leavetakings, vocative expressions, and the like. Though such studies barely touch on the matter with which this book deals, they are basic to any survey of 'good manners'. Only W. Luther, in Wahrheit und Luge, takes an occasional step further by searching for the reasons that impel an individual to follow or fail to follow a certain custom. 1 I explore these motives and, in general, the social and psychological backgrounds of Homeric manners, in an attempt to find to what extent the propositions of Dihle, Frankel, StraBburger, and Snell are true and to develop a more differentiated picture of etiquette in Homer's time. This book is a revision and translation of a doctoral dissertation, Omgangsvormen in het Homerische Epos, written in Dutch, directed by Professor Dr. W. J. Verdenius, and presented to the University of Utrecht in April 1975. I am deeply grateful to Professor Verdenius for his inspiring guidance and encouragement throughout the writing of this English version ; to Professor G. J. de Vries for his helpful criticism, reflected in his article 'Phaeacian Manners', to Dr. Mary Boynton, who supervised my correction of English usage in Chapter I; to Dr. James Tyler and Matt Neuburg, who helped me correct Chapters II and IV; and to Mrs. Barbara H. Salazar for correcting Chapter II and Part B. Since I did not always follow their advice, I am responsible for any errors that remain. 1 For instance, pp. 20 (p 15) and 30 (x. 467); likewise, Reinhard, Herkommen und Hoflichkeit, pp. 270-71 (the 1tp1:a~e:l01:).

PART A

CHAPTER

ONE

APOLOGIES The epics present apologies in four categorically different forms: 1) the emphatic attestation of one's regret, bearing traits of an official formula; the declaration accompanied by a promise-or actual offering--of a conciliatory present; 2) a less emphasized, semi-official form with the bearing of a short expression such as "sorry"; 3) self-accusations; 4) the explanation of one's own conduct as a substitute for a formal apology. l

A representative of the first mentioned type occurs in Book 6; 1 Odysseus shows reluctance to participate in the Phaiacians' sporting contests, which prompts the Phaiacian Euryalos to abuse him. He utters his opinion that Odysseus is no hero, but a sailor in pursuit of commercial gain. Euryalos repeats for emphasis that Odysseus does not look like an athlete. (6 159-64) Odysseus protests energetically. He calls Euryalos 'reckless' 2 (166) and his mind 'worthless' (177), then joins in the games. Only after Odysseus proves to be victorious, king Alkinoos sides with him: 'No man would properly find fault with your excellence, if he knew in his heart how to speak sensibly'. Since Euryalos does not seem to have understood the hint, Alkinoos adds an unmistakable order for Euryalos; EupUotAoc; 8e eotU't'0V cxpE(j(j(Xa(}(J) E7t£E(j(jL IXotL 8wpw.3 Upon this, finally, he takes action and presents Odysseus with a sword (406) accompanied by the words: in-oc;8' et n-ep -rt 1 Greek capital letters refer to books of the Iliad; lower case letters to those of the Odyssey. 1 6 239/40; English translations of the Greek text are quotations from: Robert Fitzgerald, The Iliad; Homer, resp., Richmond Lattimore, The Odyssey of Homer, unless otherwise stated. 3 6 396 /7; Alkinoos declines to address Euryalos directly; for the discreet show of superiority accompanying the preference for indirect allocution, see Part B, pp. 173-77; cf., however, G. J. de Vries, Phaeacian Manners, Mnemosyne IV 30 (1977), p. n8.

4

APOLOGIES

~e~(XX't'(XL I 8m6v, 'may the stormwinds catch it away and carry it off'. This is the most circumstantial form of apologies that we encounter in the epics. The speaker recapitulates his offence and expresses his wish for its deletion. Further, he offers a present; in this case, it is a sword of solid bronze with handle and nails of silver in a cut-out ivory scabbard. (403-05) Within the range of the epics, this looks like a routine present. It does not necessarily strike one as more base or more royal than any other gift offered in the epics. But, of course, whenever the poet troubled to mention or describe gifts, they had to be lavish enough to be worthy of description, if only for the sake of an unproblematic relation between the bard and his audience. Thus, in the epics, the givers of presents were always generous, but this does not imply that members of the societies that Homer describes were never miserly. Nor does it imply that the Homeric society would regard valuable objects as the only acceptable gift-items. 4 In brief, although Euryalos' reconciliation-gift does not call for any particular attention among the presents mentioned in the epics, his gesture is great. The wish that the winds may grasp up and remove any big word uttered, is quite emphatic. The image of winds as annihilating agents for the impact of remarks may be common enough for stereotypical use; the same idea is expressed in the form µ.e:-r(Xµ.wvL(X (e.g. l!:.363). 5 But, as a whole, Euryalos' choice of words is no fixed formula. His apology is particular; it combines the ritual solemnity a formula can convey, with the courtesy of investing energy in finding a specific wording to suit the situation. The introduction ~1toc;;8' d 1tep n ~e~(XX't'(XL I 8e:LV6vhas caused some disagreement. Mireaux understands this clause as Euryalos' 4 However, cf. Snell, Dichtung und Gesellschaft, p. 45, 'Sobald jemand 'Freund' wird, kann er seine Freundschaft nicht sosehr durch Austausch von Meinungen und Gefiihlen bewahren, vielmehr muB er es . . . durch Tausch von Geschenken tun. [Es] sind nicht etwa kleine Dinge, die ihren Wert erhalten, weil sie Zeichen herzlicher Zuneigung sind, sondem wertvolle Stiicke, die man als Schatze vorzeigen kann'. 6 Luther, W ahrheit und Luge, p. 114, takes µe:-ra.µwvta.in the sense of 'nichtig', 'ungeschehen'. On p. 112, he discusses the expression