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Martin Litchfield West, (23 September 1937 – 13 July 2015) was a British
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
and classical scholar. In recognition of his contribution to scholarship, he was awarded the Order of Merit in 2014. West wrote on
ancient Greek music Music was almost universally present in ancient Greek society, from marriages, funerals, and religious ceremonies to theatre, folk music, and the ballad-like reciting of epic poetry. It thus played an integral role in the lives of ancient Greek ...
,
Greek tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...
, Greek lyric poetry, the relations between Greece and the
ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
, and the connection between shamanism and early ancient Greek religion, including the Orphic tradition. This work stems from material in Akkadian, Phoenician,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, Hittite, and
Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologist ...
, as well as Greek and Latin. West also studied the reconstitution of
Indo-European mythology Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested ...
and poetry and its influence on
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...
, notably in the 2007 book ''Indo-European Poetry and Myth'' (''IEPM''). In 2001, he produced an edition of
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
'' for the Bibliotheca Teubneriana, accompanied by a study of its critical tradition and overall philology entitled ''Studies in the Text and Transmission of the Iliad.'' A further volume on ''The Making of the Iliad'' appeared ten years later, and one on ''The Making of the Odyssey'' was published in 2014.


Life and career


Early life and education

Martin Litchfield West was born on 23 September 1937 at Eltham General Hospital ( Eltham,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
), the first child of Catherine ( née Baker Stainthorpe) and Maurice Charles West, a civil engineer. His younger sister, Jennifer Lesley West (now Bywaters) was born shortly after the war in 1947. His parents lived at that time in Orpington, but moved in 1939 to
Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...
, where his father was appointed resident engineer at the Metropolitan Water Board-operated waterworks. West father's family were from the
Home Counties The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often included ...
, and his mother's family from
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
and
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
. His paternal grandfather, Robert West, lectured in electrical engineering; his maternal grandfather, John Stainthorpe, was a railwayman from Pickering. Litchfield was the
maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also use ...
of his paternal grandmother. At the age of 4, West entered the private preparatory school of
Denmead Denmead is a village in Hampshire near Portsmouth, England. It is part of the City of Winchester district. As of 2005, it had a population of 6,457 and an electorate of 4,987. At the 2011 Census the population had increased to 6,736 Denmead occ ...
. At 11, he lost a scholarship at Colet Court (now
St Paul's Juniors St Paul's Juniors (formerly Colet Court) is an independent preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13 in Barnes, London. It forms the preparatory department of St Paul's School, to which most Juniors pupils progress at the age of 13. The School w ...
), but was offered a feepaying place instead. West discovered at Colet his interest in languages and invented at 14 a competitor of Esperanto he labelled 'Unilingua'. In 1951, he won a scholarship to the main school, St Paul's. Excelling at both linguistics and mathematics, he was advanced to the 'Upper Eighth' and sat for a scholarship to
Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
a year early. His tutors included Donald Russell, Michael Stokes and Russell Meiggs. Among his peers were future
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner Anthony J. Leggett, and future Permanent Secretary Peter Gregson.


Career

West married fellow scholar Stephanie Pickard in 1960 at
Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
, after meeting her at a lecture given by Eduard Fraenkel at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, whose seminars he attended. He became a junior research fellow at St John's College from 1960 to 1963. His doctoral thesis, a commentary on
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet ...
's ''
Theogony The ''Theogony'' (, , , i.e. "the genealogy or birth of the gods") is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contain ...
'', won the Conington Prize for the best classical dissertation of the year in 1965, and was edited as a printed book the following year. From the mid-sixties, West took especial interest in the relation of Greek literature to the Orient, and over several decades, culminating in his masterpiece ''The East Face of Helicon'' (1997), defended his view that Greek literature derives significant influences and inspiration from Near Eastern literature. He took up a position as tutorial fellow at University College, a position he filled from 1963 to 1974. In 1973 he became the second youngest person to be elected a Fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...
, at the age of 35. He obtained a chair at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, which he held from 1974 until 1991, when he became a fellow of All Souls College. West retired formally in 2004, but remained active in All Souls until the end of his life.


Death

West died of a heart attack in 2015 in Oxford at the age of 77."Professor Martin West"
Balliol College, 14 July 2015
Fellow Oxford academic Armand D'Angour paid tribute to him as "a man of few words in seven languages."


Works

West edited and commented
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet ...
's ''
Theogony The ''Theogony'' (, , , i.e. "the genealogy or birth of the gods") is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contain ...
'' and '' Works and Days''. In 1967, he published with Reinhold Merkelbach ''Fragmenta Hesiodea'', an edition containing other fragmentary poems attributed to Hesiod. He also edited a book on the fragments of the Hesiodic ''Catalogue of Women''. West edited
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
'' and ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...
'' for the Bibliotheca Teubneriana, and the ''
Homeric Hymns The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter— dactylic hexameter—as the ''Iliad'' and '' Odyssey' ...
'' for the Loeb Classical Library.


Awards and honours

*2000: Balzan Prize for Classical Antiquity *2002: Kenyon Medal for Classical Studies from the British Academy.British Academy: Medals and Prizes (Kenyon Medal)
/ref> *2007: A book of essays on ancient Greek literature written for West on his 70th birthday West was a
DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
and DLitt of
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, and was elected a
Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...
, a Corresponding Member of the Akademie der Wissenschaften, Göttingen, and a Member of the
Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...
, London. HM The Queen appointed him a Member of the Order of Merit (OM) in the 2014 New Year Honours.


Academic teaching and research history

* Emeritus Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford (since 2004) * Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford (1991–2004) * Professor of Greek,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
( Bedford College, later
Royal Holloway Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
and Bedford New College) (1974–91) * Fellow and Praelector in Classics,
University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
(1963–74) * Jr. Woodhouse Research Fellow, St. John's College, Oxford (1960–63)


Selected bibliography


Monographs

* ''Early Greek Philosophy and the Orient'', Oxford:
Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
1971, xv + 256 pp.; translation into Italian, Bologna 1993 * ''Textual Criticism and Editorial Technique Applicable to Greek and Latin Texts'' (Teubner Studienbücher), Stuttgart: B.G. Teubner 1973, 155 pp.; translation into Greek, Athens 1989; translation into Italian, Palermo 1991; translation into Hungarian, Budapest 1999 * ''Studies in Greek Elegy and Iambus'' (Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte 14), Berlin, New York:
Walter de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...
1974, ix + 198 pp. . * ''Immortal Helen: an inaugural lecture delivered on 30 April 1975'', London: Bedford College 1975, 18 pp. * ''Greek Metre'', Oxford 1982, xiv + 208 pp. * ''The Orphic Poems'', Oxford: Clarendon Press 1983, xii + 275 pp. ; translation into Italian, Naples 1993; * ''The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women: Its Nature, Structure, and Origins'', Oxford: Clarendon Press 1985, viii + 193 pp. * ''Introduction to Greek Metre'', Oxford: Clarendon Press 1987, xi + 90 pp. * ''Studies in Aeschylus'' (Beiträge zur Altertumskunde 1), Stuttgart: B.G. Teubner 1990, x + 406 pp. * ''Ancient Greek Music'', Oxford: Clarendon Press 1992, xiii + 410 pp ; translation into Greek, Athens 1999 * ''Die griechische Dichterin: Bild und Rolle'' (Lectio Teubneriana v), Stuttgart & Leipzig: B.G. Teubner 1996, 48 pp. * ''The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth'', Oxford: Clarendon Press 1997, xxvi + 662 pp. * ''Studies in the text and transmission of the Iliad''. München: K.G. Saur 2001 304 pp. * ''Indo-European Poetry and Myth''. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2007 480 pp. * ''The Making of the Iliad: Disquisition and Analytical Commentary''. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2011 441 pp. *''The Making of the 'Odyssey','' Oxford University Press 2014.


Editions, commentaries and translations

* Hesiod, ''Theogony'', ed. with
prolegomena In an essay, article, or book, an introduction (also known as a prolegomenon) is a beginning section which states the purpose and goals of the following writing. This is generally followed by the body and conclusion. Common features and techn ...
and commentary by M. L. West, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1966, xiii + 459 pp. . * ''Fragmenta Hesiodea'', ed.: R. Merkelbach et M. L. West, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1967, 236 pp. * ''Iambi et elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati. 1 : Archilochus. Hipponax. Theognidea'', ed. M. L. West, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1971, revised edition 1989, xvi + 256 * ''Iambi et elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati. 2 : Callinus. Mimnermus. Semonides.
Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων;  BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...
.
Tyrtaeus Tyrtaeus (; grc-gre, Τυρταῖος ''Tyrtaios''; fl. mid-7th century BC) was a Greek elegiac poet from Sparta. He wrote at a time of two crises affecting the city: a civic unrest threatening the authority of kings and elders, later recalled i ...
. Minora adespota'', ed. M. L. West, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1972, revised edition 1992 x + 246 pp. * ''Sing me, goddess. Being the first recitation of Homer's Iliad'', translated by Martin West, London:
Duckworth Duckworth may refer to: * Duckworth (surname), people with the surname ''Duckworth'' * Duckworth (''DuckTales''), fictional butler from the television series ''DuckTales'' * Duckworth Books, a British publishing house * , a frigate * Duckworth, W ...
1971, 43 pp. * '' Theognidis et Phocylidis fragmenta et adespota quaedam gnomica'', ed. M. L. West (Kleine Texte für Vorlesungen und Übungen 192), Berlin: Walter de Gruyter 1978, iv + 49 pp. * Hesiod, ''Works and Days'', ed. with prolegomena and commentary by M.L. West, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1978, xiii + 399 pp. * ''Delectus ex Iambis et Elegis Graecis'', ed. M. L. West, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1980, ix + 295 pp. * ''Carmina Anacreontea'', edidit Martin L. West ( Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana), Leipzig: Teubner 1984, xxvi + 64 pp.; corrected reprint with one page of Addenda, 1993 * Euripides, ''
Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness an ...
'', ed. with transl. and commentary by M. L. West, Warminster: Aris & Phillips 1987, ix + 297 pp. * Hesiod, ''Theogony, and Works and Days'', transl. and with an introduction by M. L. West, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1988, xxv + 79 pp. * Aeschyli ''Tragoediae cum incerti poetae Prometheo'', recensuit Martin L. West ( Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana), Stuttgart: B.G. Teubner 1990, lxxxv + 508 pp. * ''Greek Lyric Poetry. The poems and fragments of the Greek iambic, elegiac, and melic poets (excluding
Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...
and
Bacchylides Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) was a Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets, which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been noted ...
) down to 450 B.C.'', erse translationOxford: Oxford university Press 1993, xxv + 213 pp. * Homeri ''Ilias. Volumen prius rhapsodias I-XII continens'', recensuit Martin L. West ( Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana), Stuttgart & Leipzig: B.G. Teubner 1998, lxii + 372 pp. * Homeri ''Ilias. Volumen alterum rhapsodias XIII-XXIV continens'', recensuit Martin L. West ( Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana), K. G. Saur: Leipzig & Munich 2000, vii + 396 pp. * ''
Homeric Hymns The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter— dactylic hexameter—as the ''Iliad'' and '' Odyssey' ...
, Homeric Apocrypha, Lives of Homer'', edited and translated by Martin L. West. (The Loeb Classical Library 496) Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...
2003 * ''Greek Epic Fragments from the Seventh to the Fifth Centuries BC'', edited and translated by Martin L. West (The Loeb Classical Library 497). London Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press 2003 * Barrett, W. S., ''Greek Lyric, Tragedy, and Textual Criticism: Collected Papers'', ed. M. L. West (Oxford & New York, 2007): papers dealing with
Stesichorus Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abo ...
,
Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...
,
Bacchylides Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) was a Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets, which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been noted ...
and EuripidesTable of contents for Greek lyric, tragedy, and textual criticism : collected papers / W. S. Barrett ; assembled and edited by M. L. West
at catdir.loc.gov, accessed 15 August 2008
* ''The Hymns of Zoroaster: A New Translation of the Most Ancient Sacred Texts of Iran'', Leiden, 2010. * Homerus, ''Odyssea'', ed. M. L. West, ( Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana), De Gruyter: Berlin 2017 (posthumous)


Articles

His works also include contributions to dictionaries and books and more than 200 articles and papers since 1960. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


See also

* Lille Stesichorus


Notes


Bibliography

* * * *


Further reading


"Biographical Entry: Dr. Martin Litchfield West"
''
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'',
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Limited, 18–20 Hill Rise, Richmond, Surrey TW10 6UA United Kingdom


External links


M.L. West's page at All Souls College, Oxford
(archived 2015) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Martin Litchfield 1937 births 2015 deaths Academics of Bedford College, London British classical scholars Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of University College, Oxford Indo-Europeanists Members of Academia Europaea Members of the Order of Merit People from Hampton, London Classical scholars of the University of London Classical scholars of the University of Oxford Scholars of ancient Greek literature Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Translators of Homer Homeric scholars