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Homeric Recitation, with Input from Phonology and Philology*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2015

Avery D. Andrews
Avery D. Andrews*
Affiliation:
The Australian National University
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Extract

It is widely assumed that the aoidoi, the original performers of Homeric poetry or its antecedents, sang a chant restricted to three or four notes, to the accompaniment of a 4-stringed instrument (Danek and Hagel 1995, Marshall 2002). The prestigious later performers from classical times, the rhapsodes, did not have the instrument, and the vocal characteristics of their performances are quite uncertain. In this paper I will discuss various aspects of a conjectured rhapsodic style, based on the reconstruction of the Ancient Greek pitch accent by Devine and Stephens (1994), together with some consideration of issues concerning the hexameter rhythm. For some initial orientation, it might be useful to listen to the short sample on the CD accompanying this issue; various features of the style will be discussed with reference to that.

Type
Research Article
Information
Antichthon , Volume 39 , 2005 , pp. 1 - 28
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for Classical Studies 2005

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Footnotes

*

I would like to acknowledge Andrew Devine and Alan Prince for advice and encouragement on aspects of the metrical analysis of this material; Wendy Brazil, Peter Latona, Elizabeth Minchin and Christopher Mackie for organising various opportunities to perform; Elizabeth Minchin again for helping with the presentation of the analysis and other aspects of the preparation of this paper; and an anonymous reviewer for useful observations and bibliography. All errors and faults of exposition are, of course, due to me.

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