“Through this Homer teaches”: The Exegetical Scholia on the Lessons of the Iliad

This paper surveys the lessons that the critics of the exegetical scholia drew from the Iliad and analyses the methodology by which they did so. Section II shows that while these critics promoted the conventional view that Homer imparted factual and practical knowledge, they were particularly committed to the idea that Homer aimed to impart ethical lessons. Section III explores the interpretive strategies these critics used to extract lessons from the Iliad . Section IV shows that the exegetical critics used didactic interpretation not only to maximize the text’s educational value, but also as a means of responding to Homer’s critics.