Date of Completion
2015
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Classics
Thesis Type
Honors College, College of Arts and Science Honors
First Advisor
Angeline Chiu
Second Advisor
Mark Usher
Third Advisor
Eric Lindstrom
Keywords
Homer, Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Color, Odyssey, Blue
Abstract
Why does it seem like Homer was stuck in a Kandinsky painting? The Odyssey contains several strange descriptions of color--from green-faced men to iron-colored sheep--that have confused scholars for centuries. This thesis explores the possibility of a texture-based theory of color, and how those color descriptors have come down to us through Modern Greek language. By exploring the understanding of ancient color through a Modern Greek translation of the Odyssey (by D.N. Maronitis), both the ancient and modern languages argue in favor of a more physical experience with color.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Benson, Alana R., "Wine-Dark Sheep: Ancient Color in a Modern Greek Odyssey" (2015). UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses. 90.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/90
Comments
The full contents of this thesis are available only in the Honors College office.