Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with homer

And a hecatomb of sheep for you...

aetg — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:21:50 -0800

Do you know any epithets that are used commonly for celebrities? I am teaching a unit for middle school students that involves reading some in-depth Homer. I want to start my unit by talking about people who are larger than life: sports athletes, singers (hip-hop, primarily), actors and actresses. Particularly, they need to have an epithet that the students might recognize. I will be using this to move into a discussion of clever Odysseus and grey-eyed Athena.

Bonus points for any references to African American culture that might be used as a comparison tool.

What is the authority for Homer's texts?

londongeezer — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:34:27 -0800

The 'original Greek text' of Homer's Odyssey and/or Iliad: what actually is meant by this? And what is the authority for this 'original'? It's a common enough phrase. But to what text, exactly, does it refer? I mean, to what physically-existing book or book-equivalent?

My internet research reveals that the first printed edition of Homer's work appeared in 1488, in Italy. Is this the 'original Greek text'? Or some other publication?

In any case, any printed version of Homer's work is going to post-date the composition by about 2000 years. So what is the authority for any printed work? For example, do actual fragments of BCE papyrus exist to cover the entire text of the Odyssey and Iliad? Or do we, in fact, take an enormous amount on trust of some mediaeval or renaisasance scribe?

I'm sure Homer has said great things.

typewriter — Thu, 17 May 2007 23:52:34 -0800

Help me with a Homer Simpson-esque quote for a keynote speech! (Please.) I am giving a keynote speech to about a thousand people very very soon. I am writing said speech right now. The tone of the whole thing is pretty casual and funny and hopefully inspiring. The beginning of the speech, I send up the cliches of graduation speeches with their overused quotations from old dead guys and that 'go into the world young man' attitude. I then go into what I think is practical advice. I would like to end coming back to a quirky inspirational quote from something completely pop-culture and unexpected, like Homer, or Stewie, or South Park or Spiderman or something like that. So the end would be something like: "Seemingly an inspirational quote from old dead writer - Homer Simpson, Season 5." And maybe some laughs, and then I congratulate them and boot off the stage, taking care not to trip on the damn gown. Anyway, any suggestions for a quote like that?

Ancient Greek epics for children?

expialidocious — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 12:13:22 -0800

I'm looking for a book retelling the Odyssey that's appropriate for an elementary-school-aged child. My daughter (8 years old, but reading maybe 2 years ahead of that) loves the Odyssey, and asks me to tell stories from it a lot. I don't dwell on gore, but neither do I neutralize the violent parts. I find that she can handle scary things in written or spoken narrative much better than in visual form. Is there a children's edition in which the text is pretty complete (no major plot points left out), not too bowdlerized, and any illustrations are not that scary?

Bonus question: How about an edition of the Iliad that also fits these criteria?

Homer Simpson Drooling

thirdparty — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 15:24:30 -0800

How would you transcribe Homer's drooling sound into the written (or typed) word?

The Simpsons and US Culture

rschram — Sat, 20 Dec 2003 15:26:45 -0800

What episodes of "The Simpsons" reflect an aspect of US culture the best? Do you find that "The Simpsons" is a good reflection of US culture, or do you think its ideologically distorting?