GRAZIOSI, Barbara. Homero. Traduçãode Marcelo Musa Cavallari e MariaFernanda Lapa Cavallari; prefáciode Teodoro Rennó Assunção. 2.ed.rev. Araçoiaba da Serra: EditoraMnēma, 2022. ISBN: 978-65-991951-4-3

Abstract

This review presents and analyzes the work Homer by Barbara Graziosi—translated by Marcelo Musa Cavallari and Maria Fernanda Lapa Cavallari, with a preface by Teodoro Rennó Assunção, and published in Brazil by Editora Mnēma. The book addresses key issues surrounding the figure of Homer and the poems attributed to him—specifically the Iliad and the Odyssey—without reducing the subject to a mere biography or attempting a definitive answer to the so-called "Homeric Question." The work is structured in three parts: the first is dedicated to the search for the poet, examining textual and material clues as well as the representation of poetic activity within the poems themselves; the second focuses on the Iliad, discussing the wrath of Achilles, the Trojan War, and the tragic trajectory of Hector; and the third turns to the Odyssey, exploring the multifaceted nature of Odysseus, the interplay of women, monsters, travel, and homecoming, as well as the hero's descent into the underworld. Throughout the book, Graziosi highlights the importance of oral tradition, textual transmission, and the various ways the poems have been read and appropriated, all of which have ensured Homer's enduring presence in the Western tradition. This approach also sheds light on themes such as authorship, identity, memory, violence, mortality, and homecoming, presenting the Homeric poems as intellectually vital and historically malleable objects. Accessible language, concise chapters, and suggestions for further reading make the book particularly well-suited for students and readers wishing to embark on the study of Classics. A limitation of the work is that its brevity precludes an in-depth exploration of complex debates regarding orality, authorship, textual transmission, archaeology, and reception. Nevertheless, the book successfully fulfills its introductory purpose, offering an organized and stimulating overview of Homeric studies and demonstrating why the question of Homer's identity and the interpretation of his poems remain relevant.