#  Workshop: Sviatoslav Dmitriev, with a response from Matthew Ward 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **March 19, 2026** 

 12:00PM - 01:00PM EDT 

 



 

Sviatoslav Dmitriev (Ball State), "Homer and the Rhetorical Tradition" with a response from Matthew Ward (Cambridge)

- **Abstract**: Although ancient and Byzantine authors did not consistently credit Homer as the founder of rhetoric, Homeric poetry served as a foundational resource for rhetorical theory, education, and practice. Rhetorical manuals, grammarians, and critics treated Homer as a master of techniques later codified in the handbooks, such as characterization and *ekphrasis*. Across centuries, this reception constructed Homer not merely as a poet but as a paradigmatic authority across rhetorical sub-genres. This paper provides two more illustrations of the rhetorical significance of Homeric poems, offering a new interpretation of the role of Circe, Calypso, and Leucothea in *The Odyssey*, a popular topic in ancient and modern works, and tracing how the image of the all-wise Homer supported rhetoric’s claim to universal application.
    
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2025–2026 Works in progress talk (organizers: Jackie Arthur-Montagne and Giulia Maltagliati)



 

 



 

 

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