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Homeric Memnon
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This chapter uses Homer to triangulate the relationship between inscriber and statue. Memnon is a ghost from the epic past anchored in the Egyptian present; what better way to honor him than to inscribe Homer’s words on his body? This evocation of Homer is not restricted to a narrow class of visitors. Imperial authors such as Lucian and Philostratus engage with Homer but write specifically for an elite audience. The Memnon inscriptions that echo Homer, however, are created by and for a more diverse public. All the inscriptions participate at some level in reactivating the mythical past, as if the trip to Thebes paralleled an epic trip to the Underworld. The chapter argues that visitors who sought out the statue were hoping precisely for such a “close encounter,” an experience that would connect them with the Homeric past, and that this experience transcended differences in social status and educational background.
Title: Homeric Memnon
Description:
This chapter uses Homer to triangulate the relationship between inscriber and statue.
Memnon is a ghost from the epic past anchored in the Egyptian present; what better way to honor him than to inscribe Homer’s words on his body? This evocation of Homer is not restricted to a narrow class of visitors.
Imperial authors such as Lucian and Philostratus engage with Homer but write specifically for an elite audience.
The Memnon inscriptions that echo Homer, however, are created by and for a more diverse public.
All the inscriptions participate at some level in reactivating the mythical past, as if the trip to Thebes paralleled an epic trip to the Underworld.
The chapter argues that visitors who sought out the statue were hoping precisely for such a “close encounter,” an experience that would connect them with the Homeric past, and that this experience transcended differences in social status and educational background.
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