Tradição na épica grega arcaica

Abstract

What was handed down to Homer is the source of ever-increasing disagreement amongst modern scholars, not only as to the “what” of his inheritance but even the “how”. Older dichotomies drew a sharp distinction between the repeated elements in Homeric poetry and the individual touches, labelling the former “tradition” and the latter “innovation”. More recent scholarship, however, has shown the essential and constant interrelation of these two concepts: there is constant individuality in the formation and deployment of even the most common of features, whilst the most apparentely  innovative elements of Homeric poetry show the influence of standardisation and typicality we have come to expect. In other words, tradition is always innovative, and innovation is always traditional.