Ή αφήγηση τοϋ 'Οδυσσέα και το ευρωπαϊκό μυθιστόρημα
Part of : Αρχαιογνωσία ; Vol.1, No.2, 1980, pages 353-365
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353-365
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Odysseus' story-telling and the european novel
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This paper discusses some aspects of the narrative art in Odysseus' tale and its influence upon Heliodorus and Achilles Tatius who influenced Renaissance writers (Cervantes and others). The first-person narration is pre-Homeric (it also occurs in Egyptian tales of the Middle Kingdom), and, whatever its functions might have been in traditional stories, in the «Odyssey» it is used in ways that are both innovative and artistically effective. Basically, with this form of narration the poet can build up tension and create emotional excitement, which he cannot do equally well, if at all, in the third-person narration, and he can aho present certain personal experiences in a distinct light (in spile of typified characters and situations). Proof of the poet's achievement is his lasting influence upon the novel. in his (fAethiopicai Heliodorus includes a first-person narration which exhibits the same artistic qualities and, as might be expected, a certain improvement, mainly owing to the influence of Greek tragedy. The same is also true of Achilles Tatius' narrative art in his «Leucippe and Clilophon» which is written entirely in the first person.
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