Greek mythology and poetics By Gregory Nagy (review)

BOOK NOTICES 237 terest advanced researchers. [Paul Saka, University of California, Berkeley.] Greek mythology and poetics. By Gregory Nagy. (Myth and Poetics, 2.) Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1990. Pp. xi, 363. This book, the second volume in the Myth and Poetics series edited by Nagy, incorporates essays on the Hellenization of the Indo-European (IE) heritage between the eighth and fifth centuries B.C. Part I (Chs. 1-3) concentrates on the development of poetics in Homeric and Hesiodic tradition . The problem of the thematic disparity associated with major Homeric heroes and with gods in other IE epic traditions is solved (Ch. 1) through examples of cognate themes in both traditions. The correlation between formula and meter is then analyzed (Ch. 2), proposing a methodology used in linguistics (the synchronic approach is followed by a diachronic one). Ch. 3 focuses on the universal acceptance of Homer and Hesiod in classical times despite the diversity of Greece at the time. Aspects such as the generic poetic persona and the Ionic heritage point to a phenomenon of 'Hesiodic poetry' that would be the culmination of a process of universalization . Part II (Chs. 4-10) focuses on the Hellenization of IE myth and ritual. Using comparative evidence, N proves that cremation is a theme founded upon IE concepts of afterlife (Ch. 4). In Ch. 5 he confronts the question of Homeric uniqueness by comparing cognate expressions about imperishable fame that reflect the IE notion of everlasting poetic tradition. The funeral of Sarpedon illustrates this theme, with data from archaeology, comparative linguistics, and the study of oral poetry. In Ch. 6 the IE root *h2es- serves as the pivotal point for six studies of sacral vocabulary related to the fireplace. In Ch. 7 N discusses the IE mythical theme of the association of the thunderbolt with wood and stone. Using a methodological approach suggested by Benveniste, he shows next (Ch. 8) how the meaning of sema 'sign' is cognate with the meaning 'thought' in Indie dhyama. Further problems of reading concerning the interpretation of the white rock of Leukas are explored in Ch. 9 through the parallelism of mythic themes such as Phaethon's fall and Sappho's plunge. In the last chapter of Part II N discusses the metaphorical interpretation of Actaeon's death, using comparative IE lexical evidence. The three essays in Part III deal with the Hellenization of IE social ideology. First N analyzes the role ofthe poet, an exponent ofjustice, who associates the apportioning of meat with the notion of social order basic to the 'polis' (Ch. 11). Then N challenges the consensus against the tribal heritage of the 'polis' (Ch. 12), proposing instead a notion of passage from tribe to 'polis' and explaining discrepancies between phases in terms of adaptive needs. Finally, he shows in Ch. 13 that idioms about unattainable wishes that disturb our notions of the Hellenic ideal conveyed by epic are a metaphor for the Hellenization of IE social ideology. To summarize, this book provides a very good illustration of the application of principles from other disciplines to the field of Indo-European studies. [Marta Gomez Diaz, University of South Carolina.] Practicing linguist: Essays on language and languages 1950-1985, vol. II: On languages. By Ernst Pulgram. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, 1988. Pp. vi, 346. On Languages is the companion volume to Pulgram's 1986 collection of essays (cf. Lg 64:439-40). Here he addresses questions of relatively specific interest—but not exclusively LANGUAGE-specific questions, since On Languages contains such generally applicable discussions as 'What is a diphthong?" and The reduction and elimination of redundancy'. Designed to complete and complement the material in Vol. I, which was entitled On Language , On Languages is organized into four sections, F-I (following the A-E of Vol. I): 'On languages, past and present' (22 articles); 'On languages, future' (3 articles): 'Epilogue' (a reaffirmation, called 'Pulgram's progress', of certain of his fundamental attitudes towards the study of language, which was first delivered as a presidential address to LACUS) and 'References for Volume ?G. The first section, in turn, is subdivided into 'Dialects and diasystems' (3 articles), 'Segmental phonology' (5), 'Non-segmental phonology (prosodies)' (8...