Homeric Warriors and Battles: Trying to Resolve Old Problems

Abstract

Homeric battle descriptions have long eluded satisfactory interpretation. Major problems include the mode of fighting, the role of commoners in battle, the extraordinary duration of battles lasting entire days, and the use of chariots. A better understanding is possible by taking the poet’s narrative techniques seriously (such as alternation between panoramic and scenic perspectives or common use of formulaic or type scenes). The latter, for example, help explain the “epic overextension” of battles by stringing together “normal battles,” corresponding to a familiar reality, and chaotic-fantastic flight and aristeia scenes, where gods and chariots are much more prominent than elsewhere.