Year: 1991
Type: article
Abstract: HomericGreek has an extensive vocabulary of terms that reflect the characters' compliance with attitudes or behavior considered socially or personally acceptable by others.^Thisessay examines the use of seven of these terms, one adjective and six nouns, in order to learn what they can reveal about Homeric ideas of proper behavior.The words selected address this issue from a series of related but distinct perspectives.Some have been studied extensively before; others have not.I propose to show that they illustrate the need for good and proper behavior, "propriety," as viewed by society and the individuals involved.While propriety as such is never defined in the Odyssey, it is illustrated from a broad variety of perspectives by a large number of terms, each of which may reflect the general principle in varying degrees of intensity.Propriety represents a strong sense that, while success is always important, how something is done can also be of great significance.The examples used in this essay are all drawn from the Odyssey} In the first section of the essay I will examine the basic ideas that are reflected by the selected terms, and in the second I will deal with selected aspects of the ways in which these terms are used.^Proper behavior and manners are not coextensive, and this essay is not concerned with * On the concept of ate in Homer see: J. M. Bremer, Hamartia (Amsterdam 1969) 99- 112; E. R. Dodds.The Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley and Los Angeles 1951) Chap.I; R. E. Doyle, S.J., "ATH: Its Use and Meaning (New
Author: Charles Fuqua
Language: English
Topic: Classical Antiquity Studies
Subfield: Classics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1517615136