Catalogue of Ships

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The Catalogue of Ships (νεῶν κατάλογος; neōn katalogos) is a passage in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad (2.494-759) which lists the contingents of the Achaean army which sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the name of the leader of each contingent, describes his home city, and gives the number of ships he led to Troy. A similar, though shorter, Catalogue of the Trojans and their allies follows (2.816-877).

In the debate since antiquity over the Catalogue of Ships, the core question has concerned the extent of historical credibility of the account, whether it was written by Homer himself, whether it reflects a pre-Homeric document or memorized tradition, surviving perhaps from Mycenaean times, or whether it is a result of post-Homeric development.J.K. Anderson, 1995. "The Geometric Catalogue of Ships," pp. 181-191 in Carter and Morris, eds., The Ages of Homer, (Austin: University of Texas Press).

If taken to be an accurate account, the Catalogue provides a rare summary of the geopolitical situation in the region in either the Bronze Age or the eighth century BCE. Following Milman Parry's theory of Homeric oral poetry, some scholars, such as Denys Page, argue that it represents a pre-Homeric recitation incorporated into the epic by Homer.Page, pp. 132, 134. Few argue that it dates as early as the time of the Trojan War in the mid 13th century BC, however.For an example, see Page. Others contend that the Catalogue describes the time of Homer himself in the eighth century BCE and represents an anachronistic attempt to impose contemporary information to events five centuries earlier.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

An intermediate theory is that the catalogue developed through a process of accretion during the poem's oral transmission and reflects gradual inclusion of the homelands of local sponsors by individual singers^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}. In the most recent extended study of the Catalogue, Edzard Visser, of the University of Basel, concludes that the Catalogue is compatible with the rest of the Iliad in its techniques of verse improvisation, that the order of the names is meaningful and that the geographical epithets evince concrete geographical knowledge. Visser argues that this knowledge was transmitted by the heroic myth, elements of which introduce each geographical section.Visser, Edzard, 1997. Homers Katalog der Schiffe (Teubner). W. W. Minton places the catalogue within similar "enumerations" in Homer and Hesiod, and suggests that part of their purpose was to impress the audience with a display of the performer's memory.Minton, pp. 292-309.

Contents

1 The Catalogue
2 Footnotes
3 References
4 External links

The Catalogue

The Catalogue lists twenty-eight contingents accounting for a total of 1186 ships, corresponding to a force of some 100.000 to 140.000 men. It contains 50 toponyms and 150 ethnonyms.

1. (II.494) Boeotians first led by Thersander, then by Peneleos, Leitus, Arcesilaus, Prothoenor and Clonius: 50 ships with 120 men each
2. (II.511) Minyans led by Ascalaphus and Ialmenus: 30 ships
3. (II.517) Phocians led by Schedius, Epistrophus and Iphitus: 40 ships
4. (II.527) Locrians led by Ajax the Lesser: 40 ships
5. (II.536) Abantes of Euboea led by Elephenor: 40 ships
6. (II.546) Athenians led first by Menestheus, then by later by Acamas and Demophon, the sons of Theseus: 50 ships, together with 12 ships of Salamis led by Telamonian Ajax
7. (II.559) Argives/Achaeans of Argos and Tiryns, led by Diomedes: 80 ships
8. (II.569) Argive forces led by Agamemnon, from Mycenae and Corinth: 100 ships
9. (II.581) Lacedaemonians, led by Menelaus: 60 ships
10. (II.591) forces from Pylos led by Nestor: 90 ships
11. (II.603) Arcadians led by Agapenor: 60 ships
12. (II.615) Elians (=Epeans) led by Amphimachus, Thalpius, Diores and Polyxeinus: 40 ships
13. (II.625) Dulichium led by Meges: 40 ships
14. (II.631) Cephallenian forces of Ithaca and nearby islands, led by Odysseus: 12 ships
15. (II.638) Aetolians led by Thoas : 40 ships
16. (II.645) Cretans led by Idomeneus: 80 ships
17. (II.653) Rhodians led by Tlepolemus: 9 ships
18. (II.671) Symians led by Nireus: 3 ships
19. (II.676) Cos and nearby islands led by Pheidippus and Antiphus: 30 ships
20. (II.681) Myrmidons led first by Achilles, later by Neoptolemus: 50 ships
21. (II.695) Phulacians led by Protesilaus, later by Podarces: 40 ships
22. (II.711) Pherae and Iolcus led by Eumelus: 11 ships
23. (II.716) Meliboea and Methone led by Philoctetes, later by Medon: 7 ships with 50 archers each
24. (II.734) Oechalians led by Machaon and Podalirius, sons of Asclepius: 30 ships
25. (II.738) Ormenians led by Eurypylus: 40 ships
26. (II.748) Lapiths led by Polypoetes and Leonteus: 40 ships
27. (II.756) Enienians and Perrhaebians led by Gouneus: 22 ships
28. (II.760) Magnetes (=Magnesians) led by Prothous: 40 ships

Footnotes

References

J.K. Anderson, 1995. "The Geometric Catalogue of Ships," pp. 181-191 in Carter and Morris, eds., The Ages of Homer, (Austin: University of Texas Press).
Austin, J. N. H. 1965. Catalogues and the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad, (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Page, D.L., 1959. History and the Homeric Iliad (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Visser, Edzard, 1997. Homers Katalog der Schiffe (Teubner).

External links

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