Homeric Truth

Abstract

The diction of truth in Homer reveals a conceptual system that distinguishes between the verifiable truth of everyday life (et- words), the certain future truth of prophets and gods (nemertes), the undistorted communication of truth (atrekeos), and a form of truth contingent upon the reciprocal negotiation of truth between speaker and audience (aletheia). In Homeric usage, aletheia is a way of speaking: an honest, authoritative and credible performance of memory. It is the criterion of truth for composition-in-performance. By the 5th century BCE, however, aletheia became objectified and absorbed the nuances of the other Homeric terms.