Homer and the Cyclic Thebais

Abstract This article discusses several cases of phraseology shared by the Homeric epics and the Cyclic Thebais and explores three techniques (synergetic shaping, the interplay between analogy and difference, and metaphrasis) used for the construction of meaning. The diction employed by a post-Homeric epic such as the Thebais indicates that several individual expressions acquire an interpretive surplus when examined against the backdrop of the system of archaic Greek epic, a fundamental component of which is Homeric epic.