OCR Anthology for Classical Greek GCSE 2025-2026 by Judith Affleck;Clive Letchford;

Author:Judith Affleck;Clive Letchford; [Letchford, Judith Affleck and Clive]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781350161825
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK (Minor Textbooks)
Published: 2022-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

Final questions

•To what extent are we made aware that Cyrus is trying to seize power for himself?

•What characteristics does Cyrus display which would win the loyalty and respect of Greek mercenaries?

•Would Xenophon’s narrative work better as an eyewitness account, rather than a third-person narrative?

•What are Xenophon’s strengths and weaknesses as an author?

Homer

The Iliad and Odyssey emerged in their current form probably towards the end of the eighth century. Whether there was a person called Homer, and whether both works were by the same author or authors, has been disputed for well over 2,000 years. In many ways, it does not matter. The poems have been read and appreciated over the centuries for their deep understanding of human nature expressed in what the characters say and how they act. However, we can develop a fuller appreciation of the texts if we understand some of their background.

The earliest evidence we have of written Greek is Linear B, a syllabic system found in the Mycenaean palaces several hundred years before Homer. The texts we have show that Linear B was used by scribes to record inventories. With the disappearance of the Mycenaean palaces in around 1200, writing vanished from the Greek world. In an age that could not keep written records, memory was the repository of knowledge and consequently became highly developed. Anthropologists have documented this in studies of pre-literate societies. Stories were performed from memory or through improvisation before audiences by expert storytellers and handed down across the generations. The Iliad and the Odyssey were created toward the end of this long oral tradition.

We have evidence for this in the surviving texts of the Iliad and Odyssey. Within the poems, bards perform and can extemporize tales of gods and heroes, accompanying themselves on the lyre. There is evidence within the language itself of a long tradition. Standard elements are used repeatedly, as the poet is drawing on a stock of expressions suited to the rhythm of the poem. For example, the sea is often ‘wine-dark’, the Achaeans ‘long-haired’. We see standard phrases within common scenes – the dawn rising, the performance of a sacrifice, the launching a ship or a warrior arming. We also see alternative linguistic forms coexisting alongside each other, some of which suggest older forms have been retained from previous centuries. Tales could be told, retold and developed as they were handed down through the generations.

Writing was reintroduced into Greece in about 750, this time based on an alphabetical system used by one of their trading partners, the Phoenicians. It is probably no coincidence that these two poems date from the earliest period of writing. They come from the Ionian coast and, although they are closely related to the Greek of fifth-century Athens that you have been learning, you will see significant differences when starting to read Homeric Greek. While we know of other poems based on episodes from the Trojan War from the same period, none of them is anywhere near the length of the Iliad or Odyssey, nor do they show the same sophistication of overall structure or control of pace and shape.

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