sententiae antiquae Profile picture
Oct 1, 2020 10 tweets 4 min read Read on X
.@PeterGainsford @theo_nash @ProfThibodeau

Friends, I have been following the janko discussion and as a homerist with some interest in traditional and formulaic language, I just wanted to add my two cents. Sorry to butt in! But...you know...

#JankyHomer
I have not taken Janko’s methods or his results seriously for decades because (1) it is based on deeply problematic premises and (2) the dataset will never be sufficient

#JankyHomer 2
For (1) his method and model assumes (a) a static and (b) hierarchical relationship between texts that (c) does not entertain multiple performance traditions development different levels of fixity over time

#JankyHomer 3
In addition for (1) the approach considers conscious archaism but insufficiently considers the interrelationship between audiences and performers and expectations of conventionality over time

#JankyHomer 4
For (2) the data set is IMHO not (a) large enough or reflective enough of local traditions to give good results and is (b) tainted by regularizing editing forces in the (i) Panhellenizing, (ii) Hellenist, (iii) Byzantine periods...

#JankyHomer 5
not to mention the misconceptions and reconceptions of editing authoritative texts from the Renaissance to today.

#JankyHomer 6
So, I think Janko’s method and book is a fascinating testament to a period of approaching Homer statistically, but it says little to me about any real relationships between the poems

#JankyHomer 7
Even if the method were applied with more or less good data, it would still only give really relative relationships and would add very little interpretive value if we understand the story traditions as responding to each other over time.

#JankyHomer 8, end
And I think it would be great to get @caseyduehackney in on this conversation too
also, @ArftJustin

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More from @sentantiq

Apr 25, 2023
Ok, one more thread on Achilles and Odysseus and how we should read Homer then I promise I will chill

The reason I am profoundly unchill about this is the confusion of rich epic narrative for simple paradigmatic propaganda
Homeric poetry is like a philosophical dialogue, a tragedy, or a piece of visual art: it invites audiences to explore its narrative through their experiences, and to compare their experiences to epic
No one reads, hears, or experiences the epic at any given time and no one comes away with the same conclusions—we bring our experiences and expectations closer together through conversation
Read 21 tweets
Apr 24, 2023
A little more: Odysseus is not a "hero" or anti-hero. Those terms are anachronistic

He is a "man" (andra) at the beginning of the epic, apoem thematically part of exploring the END of the race of heroes

Audiences are supposed to think about how he fucked up his life
At the beginning of the poem, the narrator says he tried super hard to rescue his men, but failed, "because they died thanks to their own recklessnesss" (gr. σφῇσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν)
25 lines later, Zeus complains

“Mortals! They are always blaming the gods and saying that evil comes from us when they themselves suffer pain beyond their lot because of their own recklessness.”
Read 6 tweets
Feb 16, 2023
I wrote up a little bit about the Duals. Its a draft part of a chapter in a book about how Homeric language functions like a biological organism

sententiaeantiquae.com/2023/02/16/epi…
To summarize the problem, in a passage in book 9 of the Iliad dual forms--nominal and verbal forms meant for two people--are used for more than two people in overlap with plural forms.
Read 19 tweets
Jun 24, 2022
It is easy to dunk on absurd theories that make Achilles a culture warrior representing some kind of prelapsarian ubermensch. Let me tell you why that’s dangerous.
1.Jocular, attacking dismissals let those desperate hatemongers feel persecuted and feeds their sense of righteous outsider position
2.It implies in a damaging way that there is a correct and singular interpretation of an ancient poem (or really any work of art)
Read 15 tweets
Aug 29, 2021
Joining @FlintDibble and @rogueclassicist and others in a call for @AntigoneJournal to drop their problematic platforming of eugenicist.

Antigone can do great work and the journal is doing a disservice to its other authors by standing behind a bad decision
All of us who move into this new, fast digital space make mistakes trying to respond and adapt. I have have RT'd some bad stuff, said stupid things, and thought better of earlier stances.
A good journal should have a public editorial board and a clear statement on where their funding comes from.

They should also consider their constituents.
Read 6 tweets
Aug 29, 2021
#AcademicTwitter #ClassicsTwitter

Let's normalize sharing our work when people ask for it and asking scholars for their work.

Friends, if there's an article out there you want to read and you don't have access, just reach out!
1. Academic publishing is a cartel. Sometimes it is benevolent and helpful, but mostly it gatekeeps

2. Most academics are FLOORED when people ask because that means that 11 people will now have read articles we spent years on
3. Many of us can't post all our work publicly without getting in trouble, but we can share if someone sends an email

4. Not all academics are free to publish open access: some departments and institutions still expect certain journals for tenure and promotion
Read 4 tweets

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