THE SILENCE OF TAMIRIS, THE LACONIC ACHILLES, THE SINUOUS ULISSES – HAUMASTON, POETRY AND MEMORY

Abstract

This article aims to present the different modes through which the Homeric epos gave rise to the wonder (thaumaston) in the epic discourse, highlighting, among others, three paradigmatic characters of The Iliad and The Odyssey who also appear in other genders (lyrical poetry, drama, myth etc.). Based on the comparison of Tamiris, Achilles and Odysseus attributes and, consequently, on the examination of their poetic voices in the general conception of the verses, there has been an investigation on the origins of the wonder related to the Muses and the memory in the epic discourse in Western literature. In other words, the analysis starts from the epic itself in lieu of later conceptualizations of the aforementioned thaumaston, as in Aristotelian Poetics or in Platonic Republic.