This lecture discusses the listing of female names from early Greek epic literature and beyond. While female names in a catalogue may be part of a systematic register attached to political identity for entire families, the list as a whole also acquires an emotional register in becoming part of a larger structure in epic poetry. When reading such lists from a trauma theory perspective, we recognize that they appear in moments of crisis and become a mechanism for the poet to present narratives that navigate crisis management (e.g., Il. 18.39–49; Hom. Hym. Dem. 406–33). Lists have their visual counterparts when figures are placed next to each other iconographically, as in a parade (from ancient depictions of the “Nekyia” to later Byzantine hagiography as any Greek church today can showcase). Furthermore, this paper explores (from a comparative and anthropological perspective) how and why such enumerations turn into a powerful performance, arguing for the creation of sacred mental spaces.

Prof Andromachi Karanika, UC Irvine