Homer and the Resources of Memory: Some Applications of Cognitive Theory to the Iliad and the Odyssey

by Elizabeth Minchin

Overview

This study shows that the demands made on Homer, who relies neither on rote memory nor on written notes, have led him to adopt certain memory-based strategies which have left their traces in the text. What we discover is that the poet in an oral tradition makes intense and creative use of those resources of memory, which are available to us all—episodic memory, auditory memory, visual memory, and spatial memory—to assist him both in the preparation of his song and at the moment of performance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198152576
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/03/2001
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Australian National University, Canberra

Editorial Reviews

"Excellently written and organized, the book offers a lucid introduction to the potentially intimidating field of cognitive psychology and successfully demonstrates its relevance to Homer."— Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher