6 - Ghosts at Troy: Philostratus' Heroicus

Summary

Philostratus' Heroicus, written at some point after 217 ce, probably in the early 220s, is the chronologically latest text devoted to assessing Homer's historiographical qualities that I examine in this book, and perhaps the most curious and innovative as well. Framed as a contemporary dialogue between a Phoenician merchant and a Greek vine dresser in the Thracian Chersonese, it includes stories of present-day heroic epiphanies as well as an alternate history of the Trojan War, both deriving from information that the vine dresser has obtained directly from the ghost of Protesilaus, the first Greek soldier killed at Troy. Despite the acknowledged access to an ‘eyewitness’ source, much of the dialogue explores the history of the Trojan War and its heroes in counterpoint to Homer's account, frequently referencing the poet and his narrative. Philostratus presents this material in a far from linear fashion; the text is packed full of digressions (on giant skeletons, Amazons, athletes, etc.), and relates its new version of the Trojan War piecemeal through descriptions of individual heroes.

If one steps back and takes the Heroicus in with an eye to its overarching structure, one can detect at least a modicum of organization. The medium-length dialogue (92 pages [128–219] in Kayser's editio minor) begins with a leisurely introduction in which the two interlocutors meet, converse, and settle on the main topic of their conversation – Homer, the heroes, and the Trojan War – subjects that the vine dresser knows well, based on his friendship with Protesilaus' ghost (1–7).