Homer and the Good Ruler in Antiquity and Beyond

Jacqueline J.H. Klooster, Ph.D. (2009) University of Amsterdam, is assistant professor of Greek Language and Literature at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. She has published widely on ancient literature, including Poetry as Window and Mirror. Positioning the Poet in Hellenistic Poetry (Brill, 2011).Baukje van den Berg, Ph.D. (2016) University of Amsterdam, is a postdoctoral researcher in Byzantine Studies at the University of Silesia in Katowice. Her main research interests are Byzantine (classical) scholarship and the reception of ancient literature in Byzantium.Contributors are: Baukje van den Berg, Elsa Bouchard, William Desmond, David F. Driscoll, Jeffrey Fish, Maria Gerolemou, Irene J.F. de Jong, Casper C. de Jonge, Jacqueline J.H. Klooster, Patrick G. Lake, Laura McKenzie, Filippomaria Pontani, Elina Pyy.

"This fine collection of papers examines the Homeric poems as Mirrors for Princes. Although other works have studied pedagogical aspects of the Homeric poems, there has been no full-scale examination of Homer as an educator for rulers. The present study presents many facets of the topic, ranging from Homer's original pedagogical intent, to classical, medieval and modern views of Homer as a guide for those in positions of authority.(...) Moving from the Homeric to the modern period, this book offers a broad look at Homer's influence on educating the ruler and on pedagogy in general. (...) each chapter makes a worthy contribution to the topic, and the book opens many further avenues for study." Scott Goins, CJ-Online 2019.09.06.

• Notes on ContributorsHomer and the Good Ruler in Antiquity and Beyond: IntroductionJacqueline Klooster and Baukje van den BergThe Birth of the Princes’ Mirror in the Homeric EpicsIrene J.F. de JongBetween Gods and Mortals: The Piety of Homeric KingsWill DesmondA Speaker of Words and Doer of Deeds: The Reception of Phoenix’ Educational IdealJacqueline KloosterPlato’s Homer as a Guide for Moderation and ObediencePatrick G. LakeThe Problem with the Prince: Agamemnon in the Ancient Exegetical Tradition on HomerElsa BouchardEducating Kings through Travel: The Wanderings of Odysseus as a Mental Model in Polybius’ HistoriesMaria GerolemouSome Critical Themes in Philodemus’ On the Good King According to HomerJeffrey FishEumaeus, Evander, and Augustus: Dionysius and Virgil on Noble SimplicityCasper C. de JongeSpeaking Homer to Power: Anecdotes of Greek Intellectuals and Their Rulers in Plutarch’s SymposiaDavid F. DriscollHomeric Ideals Versus Roman Realities? Civil War, Autocracy, and the Reception of Homer in Silius Italicus’ PunicaElina PyyHomer and the Good Ruler in the ‘Age of Rhetoric’: Eustathios of Thessalonike on Excellent OratoryBaukje van den BergOn the Good King According to Homer: A Sixteenth-Century Treatise by Christophoros KondoleonFilippomaria Pontani‘Royal Blood Will Stain My Spear’: Satire, Trauma, and Semi-barbarous Princelings in Robert Graves’ The Anger of AchillesLaura McKenzieIndex LocorumGeneral Index