The World of Odysseus

This relatively short work by the famed ancient historian M. I. Finely remains as influential and important today as it was when it was published over 30 years ago, no small feat in field that has seen major shifts in opinion over the same time period. Finley is one of those unique authors that can combine solid historical scholarship within an engaging framework that makes his works accessible to all, from the lay reader to a student of the field. I found the book to be both an interesting companion to The Odyssey as well as an interesting read in its own right, although I have been know to be a bit partial to Greek history. Regardless of ones interests, Finley is a very accessible author who consistently leaves me craving more. The main goal of the book is too illuminate the obscure world of Greek prehistory using the later of the two major epic poems attributed to Homer, The Odyssey. Finley set himself no small task, for both the Iliad and The Odyssey have been regarded as representing a picture of the Greek Bronze Age to varying degrees since the founding of modern historical scholarship and indeed even before. What Finley proposes is a departure from this line of thought, namely that the epics of Homer recall the memory of the `Heroic Age of the Greeks' that is traditionally associated with the Mycenaean civilization of the later Bronze Age. Instead he suggests that the poems represent a time closer to Homers own, thought to be c. 800-750 B. C. The time period in question is known by various names but is most often called the Greek Dark Age, the period of time between the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization c. 1200 B.C. and the onset of the Archaic Age c. 750. Through an examination of the texts in combination with modern archeological findings, Finley paints a very convincing picture of what life was like in the Mycenaean and Dark Age and how The Odyssey much more closely reflects the latter. Outlining his thesis and the marked resistance it has met from a good portion of the scholarly community, Finley methodically addresses criticisms and in a good many cases turns the table on those that would rather reject his work. Being that the poem is concerned mainly with the exploits, travels, and trials of Odysseus, mythical King of Ithaca, the social, economic, and cultural conditions exposed are necessarily not representative of the vast majority of the people living in the society. This is something we must be content with in a comparison of text and archeology of this sort, as a rule of thumb epic poems, our only written record of the time, can have nothing to do with the lives of most people, only those at the very apex of society. Although this certainly has its limitations, any light provided for this period no matter how narrow the focus shines a bit more on all the other parts. Particularly interesting are the sections dealing with ancient economy of the ruling class, primarily characterized in a reciprocal gift giving

This is a fantastic account of an epoch in which the worlds of history and mythology merge together. The historical significance of myriad passages in Homer are discussed and elaborated on. One cannot but stand in awe of Finley's perspicuity in deciphering the historical importance of even the minutest details.This is a superb reference guide to assist one's journey thru the archaic but wonderous historical niche of the ancient Greeks. For those who have already read the works of Homer, the present work is a very useful tool to examine more closely the subtle information provided in even the most remote passages of the epics.This book is highly recommended to anyone who has ever read Homer, as well as anyone who would ever like to. For students of Greek history and literature, this one is a can't miss!

Finley only briefly ventures into archaeology in the beginning of _The World of Odysseus_, and only to demonstrate that Mycenean Greece is not the world of the Homeric heroes. From this conclusion he guesses that Homer is likely describing a world that existed between the Mycenean era and the poet's own time. Finley then goes literary, eschewing anthropology and archaeology and instead analyzing the texts of the Iliad and the Odyssey. From the stories of Homer, he reconstructs the sort of society in the Homeric heroes lived, in terms of its economy, its social structure, and its morals and values.The picture he draws is interesting and compelling, above all because it is consistent. Its consistency is, of course, an argument in favor of the view that the Homeric world really did exist (i.e., that gods and magic and specific names aside, the cultural world described by Homer is authentic, and not an artistic creation). Moreover, because the culture is consistent, an understanding of it helps a reader to interpret sometimes puzzling actions on the part of Homer's heroes. This is therefore important secondary reading to accompany any reading of Homer.

Moses Finley's WORLD OF ODYSSEUS is that rarest of rarities: it is a work of historical-literary scholarship that so far hasn't dated hardly at all. As such, it makes the perfect edition to the NYRB Classics series: this nifty little study gives the reader a very informative (and mostly very accurate) overview of life during Homer's age, the so-called "Dark Ages" of ancient Greece. The iconoclasm of Finley's approach--his daring refusal to believe the Homeric epics gave accurate portraits of the Mycenaean Age they purported to describe, and his insistence that they rather spoke to Homer's own time--still seems brave and innovative fifty years later, and Bernard Knox does a superb job contextualizing the impact of Finley's study.

Like most liberal arts graduates of the "Baby Boomer" generation, I know a little about Homer's poems "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad" from reading excerpts in high school, and possibly college, and of course the movies "Helen of Troy", and "Ulysses" starring Kirk Douglas. Those means merely scratched the surface of the magnificant works upon which they were based, and this book, beautifully and insightfully written, is a wonderful aide to understanding the poems in their actual context. This work shows how the poems related to "real life" at the time of their composition, and how "reality-based" they may have been. There is the agrument for whether or not there actually was a "Trojan War", and if so, where was it fought. The ancient Greek era is examined in detail, and the customs and mores of various ages are discussed insofar as they relate to portions of the poems. I learned significantly more about these works than I imagined when I began the book, and now I have a heightened admiration for the person or persons known as Homer, and of course for the erudite author of this interesting work of scholarship.