La figura del maestro in Omero

The book deals with the theme of paideia and the relationship between teachers and pupils in the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey. The work is divided into two main parts: the first is about the Iliad, analysing in two different chapters the didactic figures of Achilles’ pedagogue, Phoenix, and the old Greek military teacher , Nestor; while the second section is dedicated to the Odyssey, studying separately the 'Telemachia' and the figure of the faithful nurse Eurycleia. In particular, three main purposes are investigated within each chapter: first of all the 'ways' of teaching (methods, such as exempla or lessons, and the kinds of relationships between teachers and pupils); secondly, the 'contents' of teaching (technical instructions but also moral education, deeds and military action but also words and rhetorical skills); and finally, the 'sense' of teaching, that is the meaning of the figure of didaskalos in Ancient Greek Epic Poetry (paying attention, for example, to the effects of teaching on pupils’ development). A separate analysis of different Homeric situations leads to coherent answers, drawing a literary picture of an archaic but already rich pedagogy.