Metaphor in Homer : Time, Speech, and Thought

Employs conceptual metaphor theory to investigate the use of metaphors of time, speech, and thought to compose and structure the Iliad and Odyssey, and thereby illuminates broader questions concerning the alleged 'primitive' quality of the Homeric conceptual system and the process of composition in performance.

How are time, speech, and thought presented in the Iliad and Odyssey? What role does metaphor play in these portrayals? How might metaphor have aided the poet in the production of his song? In this book, Andreas T. Zanker considers these and other questions from the perspective of conceptual metaphor theory, investigating the commonalities and differences between the ancient and modern conceptualizations of, for example, the passing of time, communication of information, and internal dialogue. In so doing, he takes a stance on broader questions concerning the alleged ''primitive'' quality of the Homeric conceptual system, the process of composition in performance, and the categories of the literal and the figurative. All Greek is translated, and readers in disciplines beyond classics and cognitive linguistics will find something of interest in this investigation of the conceptual metaphors lodged within a corpus of extremely early poetry.