Abstract

My dissertation contributes to the on-going discussion concerning the unity of Homer"s Iliad. In his Aesthetics, G. W. F. Hegel argues for this unity against the famous F. A. Wolf whose Prolegomena inaugurated the so-called analysis of Homeric poetry. In the first part of my dissertation, I highlight some fundamental conceptions of Hegel"s philosophy by discussing those paragraphs of the Phenomenology which deal with epic poetry. By focusing on Hegel"s definition of the terms "Vorstellung" and "Selbstbewußtsein", this discussion is a valuable resource for philosophers interested in the text of the Phenomenology because the philosophical commentaries on this opus only marginally refer to its philological background. After this terse introduction to Hegel"s thought, the importance of the Iliad for the first and third part of the Aesthetics is shown. Hegel bases his philosophy of art chiefly on ancient Greek epic and tragic poetry, since these works of art constitute, according to Hegel, the peak and perfection of art as such. In the final chapter, I develop an idealistic interpretation of the Illiad by summarizing Hegel"s different statements about epic poetry and by adding my own observations. In deviating from Hegel, I lay more stress upon the tragic structure of this epic. The appendix deals with Hegel" philosophy of tragedy and the basic concepts, i.e. "guilt" and "justice," he uses in interpreting these poems