Allegorical Interpretation in Homer: Penelope's Dream and Early Greek Allegoresis

Abstract

The invention of allegorical interpretation is usually attributed to Theagenes of Rhegium (6th century b.c.e.), who, Porphyry reports, interpreted the Homeric battle between the gods (Il. 20) as the opposition among physical elements. I argue that the practice of allegorical interpretation is present in Homer's text itself. I first establish the procedures and rationale behind allegorical interpretation in Theagenes, Metrodorus, and the Derveni Papyrus. I then reveal the presence of this interpretative practice in the interpretation of Penelope's dream in Od. 19. This result elucidates the Homeric text and indicates that our earliest instance of allegorical interpretation is to be found in a Homeric depiction of a dream interpretation.

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