How Do We Know That Epic Poems Were Recited from Memory?
This is how the books of the Odyssey are structured:<p>TROY<p>----<p>1. Kikones (innocent city is ambushed)<p>2. Lotus Eaters (temptation, delay)<p>3. Cyclops (monster)<p>4. Aeolus (greedy crew delays journey)<p>5. Laestrygonians (monster)<p>6. Circe (temptation)<p>7. HADES<p>8. Sirens (temptation)<p>9. Scylla (monster)<p>10. Cattle/Sun (greedy crew delays journey)<p>11. Charybdis (monster)<p>12. Calypso (temptation, delay)<p>13. Phaecia (innocent city is ambushed)<p>----<p>ITHACA<p>The episodes make a perfect reflection across the Hades episode; Circe and Sirens are both forms of temptation, Scylla and Laestrygonians are both monsters, etc. Also notice the smaller reflections inside of this large one: Scylla and Charybdis are similar monsters in the same way that the Cyclops is similar to the Laestrygonians.<p>It's perhaps easier to remember a number like 12140904121 than it is to remember a series of random digits.