In this video clip, Professor Gregory Nagy discusses the epic cycle, as a body of oral poetry, and helps us to understand how the ancient Greeks viewed their tradition of composition in performance through the metaphor of the chariot wheel, the κύκλος [kuklos, ‘circle, cycle, chariot wheel’].
You can watch on our YouTube channel, or in the frame below
References:
Albert B. Lord: Singer of Tales
Gregory Nagy: Homeric Questions
Gregory Nagy: Poetry as Performance: Homer and Beyond
Image credit
Chariot wheel on the Parthenon Sculptures. Photo: Claudia Filos