Description: The purpose of this book is to dispel misunderstanding about the genesis of the Homeric poems and other knotty problems in oral studies, such as the meaning of "orality," "literacy," "tradition," "memorization," and "text." The study is about the nature and history of writing--how it was used in the Ancient Near East, and especially in Greece, and its relationship to Homer. It suggests that a Semite invented the Greek alphabet, heir to an ancient bilingual Eastern tradition of recording poetry by dictation.
Brief description: Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His books include Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (1991 HB 0521371570; 1996 PB 052158907X).
Review Quotes: "...[an] important and wide-ranging book." The Classical Outlook