Lexicon of Early Greek Epic (Homer Lexicon)

Deciphering an Artificial Language

Head of Homer (“Epimenides Type”). Replica of a Roman copy of the Greek original from the 5th century BC. Munich Glyptothek.

The Lexikon des frühgriechischen Epos (abbreviated: Homer Lexicon) deals with the earliest texts of Greek literature. These are essentially the Homeric epics Iliad and Odyssey, as well as the poems of Hesiod and the so-called Homeric Hymns. The texts of this earliest European literature are all composed in hexameter and stand at the threshold between orality and literacy.


The epic language is an artificial language that developed over a long period of time, incorporating archaisms and modern elements, and blending several dialects on a supra-regional level. On the one hand, Homer’s poetry marks the culmination of a long oral bardic tradition; on the other, it has decisively shaped the development of Western literature. Therefore, the thorough study of the Homeric language is a fundamental requirement of European literary scholarship.

The lexicon lists, with only a few exceptions (such as function words), all words and names found in the aforementioned corpus along with their occurrences. The entries generally include sections on etymology, metrical position, ancient interpretations, and modern secondary literature. At the centre of each article lies the analysis of meaning.

The long-term project was initiated in 1944 by the classical philologist Bruno Snell. From 1980 until its completion, it was overseen by the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The long-term research project was completed in 2010 with the publication of the fourth and final volume.

On the History of the Lexicon (article by Martin Schmidt, in German)
 

Research Team:

M. Meier-Brügger (Chief Editor) / W.A. Beck / R. Führer / V. Langholf / G. Markwald / H.W. Nordheider / J.N. O'Sullivan / M. Schmidt / N. Tichá / R. Kranz / V. Yntema †