Agonistic Exchange: Homeric Reciprocity and the Heritage of Simmel and Mauss

The concept of reciprocity or exchange is presented within the context of Homeric society & belief & examined from the perspective of the works of Marcel Mauss & Georg Simmel. Homeric society is portrayed as one limited in resources & having a view of reciprocity in which one person's gain stems from another's loss. In Mauss's conceptions of exchange, a broader perspective in terms of total social phenomena is taken & the existence of tensions is recognized, even in cordial reciprocity. In Simmel's work on exchange, the importance of sacrifice & resistance, management of public image, & power is emphasized. Mauss's & Simmel's conceptualizations are used to analyze examples of exchange in The Iliad & The Odyssey. The conclusion is presented that Homeric epics are connected by their emphasis on agonistic exchange. T. Turner, in A Commentary, discusses the Archaic Greek theory of exchange & relates it to the Homeric concept of agonistic exchange. 135 References. D. Generoli