Thoas the Aitolian and
the Practice of MUthoi

Joel P. Christensen (University of Texas, San Antonio)

After Hektor has been restored to battle in Iliad 15, a little-known basileús, Thoas the Aitolian, stands to propose a course of action to hamper the marauding Trojan. Before Thoas speaks the narrative establishes his authority with an extended introduction. He is validated as a warrior (he is best at the spear and good at close combat, 15.281-3) but he is also presented as an exemplary speaker: the narrative announces that “few of the Achaians could conquer him, whenever they used to strive over múthoi in the agorê” (15.283-4: ἀγορῇ δέ ἑ παῦροι Ἀχαιῶν / νίκων, ὁππότε κοῦροι ἐρίσσειαν περὶ μύθων). Even though few scholars have commented at length on this passage, its exceptional content and unique phrasing require further reflection.

This paper argues that Thoas’ introduction offers rare insight into the culture—and cultural assumptions—presented in the Homeric poems, in this case, education and the training of a Homeric man. I suggest that the lines of his speech-introduction reflect a training through play in the performance of authoritative speech, perhaps even a competitive gymnasium of speech akin to instruction and practice in sword-play and other martial skills. By presenting supplementary material from both Homeric epics, I propose that the poems depict a world in which young men achieve proficiency in speech by observing their elders, by mimicking their speech-patterns, by practicing similar strategies in lower-stake competitions with peers, and, finally, by performing in the agorê.

In order to support this argument, I begin by teasing out the implications of the diction of Thoas’ introduction and framing its content within the agonistic structure of the Archaic Greek world as depicted in its poetry with specific references to Hesiod’s Works and Days and the Homeric Hymns. Then, in order to sketch out characteristics of instruction in oral societies, I adduce comparative material from cultural anthropology (specifically Salmond 1975’s presentation of Maori oratory) which I will complement with discussions of oratory from Plato. Such a study offers new insight not only to the culture presented by the Homeric poems but also furnishes new perspectives on the development of rhetoric prior to its ‘invention’ by Tisias and Korax in the Fifth century BCE. Furthermore, a better conception of Homeric views on speech informs our reading of the Iliad especially the importance of the development of Achilles and Diomedes as speakers.