I am interested in a comparison of Cunliffe’s “A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect” and Autenrieth’s “A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges”.
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of both for committed beginners? Which one would you suggest?
Autenrieth is more of a beginner’s dictionnary. The definitions are very short. It’s an old book, from the XIXth century, and actually it’s a translation of German original work. There are nice illustrations, “plates”, that help you understand what those ship part names and other technical Homeric terms mean.
Autenrieth is in the public domain, so you can get it free on Perseus. Also an iPhone app called Lexiphanes includes Autenrieth. But you have to buy the book, if you want to get the illustrations too.
Cunliffe is for more serious readers. For every meaning of every word (or almost), it gives a list of all the places where it occurs in Homer. The definitions are longer, also. As it is more exhaustive, it takes of course a bit longer to find what you’re looking for than with Autenrieth.
So: Cunliffe is better, Autenrieth is quicker and has a few nice illustrations. I have both.
Both books are wonderful. Cunliffe is more helpful for cruxes and idioms.
[ αμφωτερα τα βιβλια καλα. Κυνλιφφε εστι ωφελιμωτερον περι των δυσκολων τοπων και των ιδιωματων. ]
I have only ever seen Cunliffe’s dictionary. I like it.
εγωγε ειδον μονο το βιβλιον το Κουνλιπικον. Αρεσει μοι.
εγωγε ειδον μονο το βιβλιον το Κουνλιπικον. Αρεσει μοι.
συμφημι δη σοι. εν δε τουτῳ τῳ λεξικῳ κἀγω ευδοκησα.
Cunliffe is way more comprehensive and cites specific lines from Homer where each word can be found, so it’s almost like a concordance. too. If my copy of it–the U. of Oklahoma edition currently available on Amazon–hadn’t fallen apart at the spine after a few uses, I’d recommend it wholeheartedly. If you don’t mind the pages falling out every time you use it, get Cunliffe.