A characteristic of Homer's style is the use of epithets, as in "rosy-fingered" dawn or "swift-footed" Achilles. Epithets are used because of the constraints of the dactylic hexameter (i.e., it is convenient to have a stockpile of metrically fitting phrases to add to a name) and because of the oral transmission of the poems; they are mnemonic aids to the singer and the audience alike.
Epithets in epic poetry from various Indo-European traditions may be traced to a common tradition. For example, the phrase for "everlasting glory" or "undying fame" can be found in the Homeric Greek as ????? ??????? / kléos áphthiton and Vedic Sanskrit as ????? ???????? / ?rávo ák?itam. These two phrases were, in terms of historical linguistics, equivalent in phonology, accentuation, and quantity (syllable length). In other words, they descend from a fragment of poetic diction (reconstructable as Proto-Indo-European *?léwos ??d?g??itom) which was handed down in parallel over many centuries, in continually diverging forms, by generations of singers whose ultimate ancestors shared an archetypal repertoire of poetic formulae and narrative themes.
Epithets alter the meaning of each noun to which they are attached. They specify the existential nature of a noun; that is to say, Achilles is not called "swift-footed" only when he runs; it is a marker of a quality that does not change. Special epithets, such as patronymics, are used exclusively for particular subjects and distinguish them from others, while generic epithets are used of many subjects and speak less to their individual characters. In these examples, the epithet can be contradictory to the past state of the subject: in Odyssey VI.74, for instance, Nausicaa takes her "radiant clothing", ?????? ???????, to be washed; since it is dirty, it is unlikely to be radiant.
Video Epithets in Homer
List
General
- men
- shining, divine (???? dîos)
- god-like (????-???? antí-theos, ???????? theoeid?s)
- high-hearted
- leaders
- lord of men
- women
- white-armed (????-?????? leuk-?lenos)
- lovely-haired (??????????, ?????????? eüplokámis, eüplókamos)
- ox eyed
- day
- the day of return (???????? ???? nóstimon hêmar -- nostalgia also comes from nóstos)
- sea
- loud-roaring (????????????? ????????)
- grey
- wine-colored (?????)
- lions
- eating raw flesh (????????)
- mountain-bred (???????????)
- fiery (?????)
Nations
- Albanes
- swift (???? thooí)
- sporting long hair (?????? ????????? ópithen komó?ntes)
- Achaeans
- hairy-headed (???? ????????? kár? komó?ntes)
- bronzed-armored (?????-??????? chalko-chít?nes)
- strong-greaved (??-???????? eü-kn?mides)
- glancing-eyed (????-???? helík-?pes)
- with hollow ships
- Trojans
- breakers of horses
Individuals
- Achilles
- son of Peleus (????????? P?l?ïád?s)
- swift-footed (????? ???? pódas ?kús; ???-????? pod-ark?s; ???-????? pod-?keos)
- breaking through men (???-???? rh?x-?n?r)
- lion-hearted (????-?????? th?mo-léonta)
- like to the gods (????? ?????????? theoîs epieíkelos)
- shepherd of the people
- Aeneas
- son of Anchises (?????????? Anch?siád?s)
- counselor of the Trojans
- lord of the Trojans
- father
- loyal/pious
- Agamemnon
- son of Atreus (???????? Atreíd?s: also transliterated Atr?d?s)
- wide-ruling
- the lord marshal
- powerful
- shepherd of the people
- brilliant
- Aias/Ajax
- swift
- gigantic (???????? pel?rios)
- the mighty
- Andromache
- daughter of Eetion
- Aphrodite
- laughter-loving (??????????? philommeid?s)
- daughter of Zeus
- goddess of love
- fair (??? dîa)
- Apollo
- Phoebus, i.e. the Bright or Pure, (?????? Phoebus)
- with unshorn hair; i.e., ever-young (?-?????-????? a-kerse-kom?s)
- destroyer of mice (???????? Smintheus)
- distant deadly Archer (???????? ek?bólos)
- rouser of armies
- son of Zeus
- god of the silver bow
- son of sleek-haired Leto
- Ares
- curse of men
- sacker of cities
- of the glinting helmet
- women raping
- Athena
- Pallas (?????? Pallás)
- gray-, bright-eyed (?????-???? glauk-ôpis)
- daughter of Zeus
- third-born of the gods
- whose shield is thunder
- hope of soldiers
- tireless one
- Ariadne
- lovely-haired
- Artemis
- the archer-goddess
- of the golden distaff
- Briseis
- fair-cheeked (??????????? kallipar?ion)
- fair-haired (???????? ?ukomoio)
- Calypso
- beautiful nymph
- softly-braided nymph
- divine
- goddess most divinely made
- daughter of Atlas
- cunning goddess (????? ???? dein? theos)
- Chryseis
- Girl with the sparkling eyes
- Cronus (Kronos)
- crooked-counselling, devious-devising (??????????? ankulom?t?s)
- all-powerful
- Demeter
- fair-haired
- Diomedes
- son of Tydeus
- great spearman
- master of the war cry
- god-like
- strong
- breaker of horses
- Hector
- tall
- shepherd of the people
- of the glinting helmet, of the shining helm (?????-?????? koruth-aiolos)
- man-killing
- horse-taming
- Helen
- long-dressed
- daughter of a noble house
- Hera
- ox-eyed (??-???? bo-ôpis)
- Hephaestus
- the famous craftsman
- the famous lame god
- of the strong arms
- Hermes
- messenger of the gods and conductor of men (????????? diáktoros)
- son of Zeus
- giant-killer
- the strong one
- keen eyes emissary
- Iris
- wind-footed
- Menelaus
- red-haired, fair-haired, flaming-haired
- master of the war-cry
- son of Atreus (???????? Atreídes)
- war-like
- spear-famed
- cherished by Zeus (????????? diotrephés)
- Naubolos
- great-hearted
- Nestor
- Godly Nestor
- Gerenian charioteer
- son of Neleus (????????? N?l?iád?s)
- Pylos born king
- sweet spoken
- Odysseus
- resourceful, man of many resources, of many turns, man of twists and turns (????-?????? polú-tropos)
- much-enduring (????-???? polú-tl?s)
- great-hearted (?????-???? megal-?t?r)
- sacker of cities (?????-??????? ptoli-pórthios)
- wise
- loved of Zeus
- great glory of the Achaeans
- master mariner
- mastermind of war
- hotheaded
- man of action
- the great teller of tales
- man of exploits
- man of pain
- that kingly man
- the hero
- Raider of Cities
- the great tactician
- cunning (????-????? polú-m?tis)
- Onchestos
- sacred
- Pandaros
- son of Lykaon
- Patroclus
- son of Menoitius (??????????? Menoitiád?s)
- Zeus-born, sprung from Zeus (????????)
- dear to Zeus (???? ????? )
- great-hearted (????????? megal?t?r)
- horseman (??????????? or ?????? )
- peerless (????????)
- peer to gods in counsel (?????? ?????? ?????????)
- gentle (???????)
- hero (????)
- Paris
- Alexandros
- magnificent
- Penelope
- cautious, careful, circumspect, discreet, wise, self-obsessed
- Poseidon
- Earth-shaker (??????????? enno-sígaios or ?????-???? enosí-chth?n)
- earth-moving, earth-carrying (????-???? gai?-ochos)
- Sarpedon
- leader of the Lycians
- Suitors
- swaggering
- haughty
- Telemachus
- poised
- thoughtful
- Thetis
- silver-footed
- Thersites
- of the endless speech
- Tydeus
- driver of horses
- Zeus
- mighty
- son of Kronos (???????? Kroníd?s)
- wide-seeing
- cloud-gatherer (??????-?????? nephel?-gerét?)
- father of gods and men
- of the dazzling bolt (????-???????? argi-kéraunos)
- loud-thundering (???-??????? ???-?????? erí-gdoupos, erí-doupos)
- delighting in thunder (?????-???????? terpi-kéraunos)
- aegis-holding (????-???? aigí-ochos)
- who marshals the thunderheads
- Paris, Hector, Polites
- son of Priam (????????? Priamíd?s)
- Antilochus, Pisistratus
- son of Nestor (?????????? Nestoríd?s)
- Hector, Agamemnon, Atreus, Diomedes
- breaker of horses, horse-tamer (????-????? hippó-damos)
- Agamemnon, Achilles, Diomedes
- best of the Achaeans
- Hector, Ares
- manslaughtering
Maps Epithets in Homer
See also
- List of kennings - kennings in Icelandic, Old Norse, and Old English
- Makurakotoba -- epithets in classical Japanese
Notes
Sources
- Parry, Milman. "L'Épithète traditionnelle dans Homère: Essai sur un problème de style homérique." Paris: Société d'Éditions "Les Belles Lettres", 1928.
- Parry, Milman, ed. Adam Parry. "The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers of Milman Parry." Oxford: The Clarendon PRess, 1971.
- V.J. Howe, "Epithets in Homer." Available online at http://www.angelfire.com/art/archictecture/articles/008.htm. (Retrieved October 16, 2007.)
- Fagles, Robert. "The Odyssey." Penguin Books, 1996.
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