The Iliad 'Prompt'ing Change

5th Century Iliad illustrated manuscript.

In “Toward an Aesthetics of Transition”, authors David Thorburn and Henry Jenkins declare “language is migratory across communication media and will endure.”  This enduring quality of language can be epitomized by the content of small pieces of papyri found in an ancient waste dump in Egypt.  Containing fragments of the Iliad, these pieces demonstrate the dynamic ability of this classic piece of literature to travel across the media of its time and the potential for it to do so across the media of today.

The Iliad tells the story of the final weeks of the siege of the city of Troy by the Greeks during the Trojan War.  Crafted in the form of an epic poem by the ancient Greek poet Homer, it was likely composed around the middle of the seventh century BCE.  However, it was not transcribed until the middle of the sixth century BCE.  This characteristic of the Iliad to easily migrate between oral and written forms highlights the focus of this exhibit.

Take for example the place where it is first believed the Iliad was recorded:  the Panathenaic Festival in Athens.  In a performance venue rather than an institution of learning or a setting conducive to the most accurate recording of the poem possible.   This vital clue suggests it was a performance piece foremost and a written piece second in the culture of its time.  Other clues to this relationship between written and spoken word can be found in the aforementioned fragments of the Iliad.

A fragment of the Iliad from the Oxrhynchus Papyri.  Currently found at Houghton Library at Harvard University.

Pictured to the left, this piece of the Iliad, now located in the Houghton Library at Harvard University, were discovered by the archaeologists Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt in 1898 in the Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus.  The fragments, along with many other historical finds at the ancient dump in this city, came to be known as the Oxrhynchus Papyri.  This piece, one of twelve found in Oxrhynchus, contains six lines of text on the back written in Greek likely between 175 and 300 AD.  Although it is hard to discern much from this text itself, features of the twelve pieces are suggestive of the function of this specific text within its time period.

Image of Grenfell and Hunt while in Egypt in 1896.

In Grenfell and Hunt’s detailed book of their findings, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, they note a specific sample of papyrus containing what appears to be a note about reading or studying the text written by a previous reader.  On another page containing text of the Iliad itself, there is writing on the reverse side in handwriting that dates a century after the original text on the front.  Although no mention was made in reports as to what this marginalia said, the give and take between reader and the text suggests it was seen as a dynamic piece rather than one to be left alone.

However, markings found on one slip of papyrus indicate that someone other than the original writer added “accents, breathings, stops, and marks of quantity” that would impact the pronunciation of words.  One could interpret this as a reader updating the text to reflect changes in language over time.  Another take is that such marks that focus on the spoken elements of the words could be related to suggestions as to how the piece could be verbally performed differently.  The give and take nature revealed by other marginalia along with this could be seen as an example of how the oral roots interacted with written forms of the Iliad to create a feedback loop between the two.

The font itself, known as uncial script, came to prominence when new surfaces like parchment offered smooth surfaces that allowed for the use of sing stroke letters.  However, the pieces featured in Houghton Library are on papyrus whose rough surface would require more effort to use uncial script than the less aesthetically pleasing scripts typically seen on parchment.  Thus raising the question:  why would someone go through such trouble to make the text of aesthetically pleasing?  Perhaps to showcase the artistic value of the Iliad? Or possibly to better facilitate its use in other arenas like public speaking where legible fonts are needed?  Either way, such an unconventional choice seems a unique aspect of this piece.

While the Iliad’s history as an oral tradition that later found itself written on the page is now widely accepted, it was not until the work of Milman Parry during the 1920s that this view because accepted in academia and beyond.  This is not shocking given that evidence from sources like the Oxyrhynchus Papyri are suggestive at best.  Parry looked examined scholar Peter Jones’ observation that at least a fifth of the Iliad was repeated content.  Parry addressed this mystery by first pointing out that Homer’s sentence structure emphasizes the number of vowel sounds in a sentence, not on the emphasis placed on particular words like in English verse.  This emphasis on the number of vowel sounds allows Homer to use repeating phrases at the end of sentences almost like anchors for the performer to return to.  The performer could then easily use anchoring phrases like “swift-footed Achilles” to revisit after improvising story elements.  This improvisational nature would account for inconsistencies between versions of the Iliad as performances differed from each other.  Parry’s work helps demonstrate the nature of the original Iliad as being that of an orator rather than a literary writer.  

A teleprompter being used during the filming of TV show Full Frontal Fashion.  

Thorburn and Jenkins’ image of language as a migratory entity held its own over the Iliad’s journey from spoken word to written text.  However, one wonders if the language of the Iliad scroll sample at Houghton Library could migrate into today’s world?  This description of the ancient scrolls designed for oratorical purposes seems to have found itself in the modern world in the form of the teleprompter.

The teleprompter was invented in 1948 and consisted of a suitcase that used machines to scroll through a roll of butcher paper with text on it.  This mechanized scroll was originally created to aid experienced Broadway actors who found the transition to live television difficult due to the rate of memorization.  The teleprompter over time has transformed.  Originally used off screen in entertainment production, technology evolved so that the text was reflected off glass inside the camera thus allowing actors to make eye contact with the audience while reciting lines.  In politics, teleprompters have evolved from highly visible distractions to nearly invisible pieces of glass.  Although a teleprompter may appear to be the modern day medium through which a written text with oral roots, like the Iliad, would be communicated, the compatibility of the teleprompter and the Iliad largely depends on the specific way in which it is being used.

Depiction of the setting and costume of a Kabuki Theater.  Consider how a setting like this would fare as a means of performing the Iliad.

First and foremost is the cultural transition the text would undergo.  As the research by Parry and others suggest, the Iliad was first a piece of oral tradition and second a written text.  Although elements of the Houghton Library sample are only suggestive that it was meant for oratorical purposes, the ability of it to serve as a text and as a means of reviving its spoken roots is evident.  Teleprompters provide audiences with the chance to primarily experience what is being communicated by means of public speaking or performance.  It serves as a means also by which to share the content of the speech due to the digital text fed into the teleprompter that can also be shared with audiences.  The ability of the teleprompter to preserve the oral tradition of the Iliad while preserving its textual base would thus make it culturally viable. 

However, it the cultural consistency would be on a case by case basis.  While the teleprompter may preserve the delivery of the piece, it has no control the content.  It is a technology that could be used in many forums whether it be movies, theater, politics, or beyond.  Yet each of these may create variations of the Iliad that are not true to the details or culture of the text.  Take for example the movie Troy (2004) that featured an all-white cast and selectively chose details to keep or eliminate.  Recently comedian Nick Offerman visited Harvard University and discussed his first acting role in a Kabuki theater production of the Iliad that featured an all-white cast.  As these cases demonstrate, even if a teleprompter were used in these settings, technology can only hold onto the cultural integrity of the piece so much.

Two teleprompters placed for use during a speech by President Obama.  Note the relation of President Obama's body to the two teleprompters.

However, limitations of the teleprompter would alter the performance of the piece.  Homer stressed the number of vowel sounds in a line, but teleprompters prove notorious to the intended cadence of pieces.  Because they often consist of glass pieces on the left and right, one must look side to side.  This creates a signature cadence as one tries to not skip over words while looking from one screen to the next.  In addition, one can control the rate at which a scroll is read through.  A teleprompter either functions at a pre-set rate, which would eliminate the chance for improvisation, or it requires someone else to scroll through the words for the person reciting them.