We step into a universe where Ancient Greek mythology was built through speech and lived through narrative. In this session, we will explore Homer’s poetry, the nature of storytelling, the sacredness of the word, and the role of the bard as the bearer of speech. Homer is not merely a poet, but a system of memory and a vessel of cultural consciousness. This meeting aims to shed light on the birth moment of mythopoietic thought.

• Rhapsodes and the oral tradition of storytelling
• Who is Homer? His historicity and myths
• The birth of narrative: the link between speech, melody, and memory
• Homer’s language: formulaic expressions and the hexameter
• The narrator – bard – god triangle
• Heroism and praise in Homer
• Divine–human relations in Homer
• The concept of hospitality (xenia)
• Power, wrath, and transgression in Homer
• Character analysis: Achilles, Agamemnon, and Hector
• The rhythm of storytelling and the function of repetition
• Homer as the founding voice: “in the beginning was the word”