Sanctified Violence in Homeric Society: Oath-Making Rituals in the Iliad PDF
Preview Sanctified Violence in Homeric Society: Oath-Making Rituals in the Iliad
P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 SANCTIFIED VIOLENCE IN HOMERIC SOCIETY InSanctifiedViolenceinHomericSociety,MargoKittsexplorestheoath-making rituals and narratives of the Iliad and articulates a theory of ritualized vio- lence.Analyzingritualfeaturesthatarecommontoactsofreligiousviolence worldwide,shefocusesontheparadigms,coremetaphors,ritualfictions,and poeticregistersofHomericoath-sacrifices.Kittsseestheoath-sacrificingrit- ualperformanceasgeneratingasymbolictext,whichisinterwovenwiththe poetic text of the Iliad’s oath-sacrificing narratives. The resulting intertex- tualrenderingmaybeanalyzedforsemantictensions.Kitts’sinterdisciplinary approach enlists ritual and metaphor theory to help explain some of those tensions,includingthatbetweensacrificedanimalsandslainmen. Margo Kitts is lecturer at Iowa State University. A scholar of ancient Near Easternreligions,shehascontributedtoKernos,HistoryofReligions,Literature andTheology,JournalofRitualStudies,andMetis. i P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 ii P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 Sanctified Violence in Homeric Society Oath-Making Rituals and narratives in the Iliad MARGO KITTS IowaStateUniversity iii P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 cambridge university press Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo CambridgeUniversityPress 40West20thStreet,NewYork,ny10011-4211,usa www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521855297 (cid:1)C MargoKitts2005 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2005 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Kitts,Margo,1952– SanctifiedviolenceinHomericsociety:oath-makingritualsandnarrativesintheIliad/ MargoKitts. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. isbn-13:978-0-521-85529-7(hardback) isbn-10:0-521-85529-2(hardback) 1.Homer.Iliad. 2.Epicpoetry,Greek–Historyandcriticism. 3.TrojanWar–Literature andthewar. 4.Holy,The,inliterature. 5.Violenceinliterature. 6.Ritualinliterature. 7.Oathsinliterature. I.Title. pa4037.k47 2005 883(cid:2).01–dc22 2005014866 isbn-13 978-0-521-85529-7hardback isbn-10 0-521-85529-2hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityfor thepersistenceoraccuracyofurlsforexternalor third-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublication anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch Websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. iv P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 To my mother whose every story has an epic twist. v P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 vi P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 CONTENTS Acknowledgments page ix Introduction: Why Another Treatment of Greek Sacrifice?. . . . . . .1 1. Epics, Rituals, and Rituals in Epic: Some Methodological Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 2. Premises and Principles of Oath- Making in the Iliad. . . . . . . . . . . .50 3. Ritual Scenes and Epic Themes of Oath-Sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 4. Homeric Battlefield Theophanies, in the Light of the Ancient Near East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Appendix: Homeric Texts for the Principal Oaths Discussed 219 Bibliography 229 Index 241 vii Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 178.92.65.247 on Thu Sep 19 15:19:10 WEST 2013. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511814884 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2013 P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 viii Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 178.92.65.247 on Thu Sep 19 15:19:10 WEST 2013. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511814884 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2013 P1:JPJ 0521855292pre CB959-Kitts 0521855292 May1,2006 13:9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Attheageof20,IreadSorenKierkegaard’sFearandTremblingforaseminar on existentialism offered by John Williams at Raymond College (UOP Stockton, CA). I had scarcely any theological background, my previous exposuretobiblicalstoriesconsistingofabeautifullyillustratedchildren’s bookthatIhadencounteredatadoctor’sofficewhenIwaseightornine yearsold.Kierkegaard’spresentationofthepossiblementaltableauswith which Abraham may have prepared to sacrifice Isaac evoked a puzzling imageIrememberedfromthechildren’sbook.Itwasabacksideviewof Isaac following his father up a mountain trail. Isaac looked at his father’s back;hisfather,stoopedunderabundleofwood,lookedstraightahead. Theviewerwasallowedtoperceiveneithertheirfacesnortheiremotions, muchasthereaderofGenesisisgivennoindexofeither.Lackingthose emotionalsignals,thestoryconfoundedmeasachild,itfascinatedmeas ayoungadult,anditwasonetriggerformylaterinvestigationsofsacrifice andviolenceintheclassroom.Thoseinvestigationshaveculminatedina handfulofarticlesonritualizedviolenceandnowinthisbook.Although this book is on the Iliad, Ihope that the theory I present here will be seen to extend beyond Homer into the wider subject of sanctified violence,suchastheviolencethatAbrahamwaspreparedtoperpetrateon Isaac. Ofcourse,abookonHomercannotbeexplainedawaybyillustrations in children’s books. Other influences were more direct. One important influence was Professor Michael Nagler, who endured many semesters ofHomericGreekandoraltraditionalstudieswithmeduringmygrad- uate school days at UC Berkeley. My debt to him is obvious in this book.ProfessorRuggeroStefaniniwastrulyamentorwhoenduredjust as many semesters of Hittite language, rituals, and Homeric cross-over studies with me. Both professors indulged my obsession with the figure ix
The list of books you might like
