Holmes: New Article on the Homeric Poems

The following is a note from Mike Holmes that I’m happy to share here.

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Gunther Zuntz observed that the New Testament and Homer are the two “paramount examples of a ‘contaminated tradition’” (Text of the Epistles, 9). This circumstance alone is reason enough for NT textual critics to take notice the article recently published by CUP (on behalf of the Classical Association): “The Composition and Transmission of the Homeric Poems: A Summary.” (If I understand the fine print correctly, it is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license. Many thanks to the author, Jerome Moran.)

Readers will note at various points some significant similarities (as well as differences) between the transmission of the Homeric poems and the transmission of the Gospel narratives about Jesus that are well worth pondering.