MONTBLANC 2018 Homage to Iliad (Homer) Limited Edition 1581Fountain Pen * Sealed *

Ref. 117887

Mod. M28517

Serial number: MBFJ5VY18 8 

Limitation number: 0015/1581 (VIP)

18k – 750 Medium (M) Nib (size #9, like Hemingway and Dumas)

Year: May 2018
* Still sealed *

 Made in Germany

“As is the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity.

The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber

Burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning!”

Homer, lliad VI. 146-149

This Writers Edition takes its main inspiration from the story of the Trojan horse. The overall shape is inspired by the horse, with the back and clip reflecting the spear. The engraving on the cone and rings borrows motifs from traditional Greek black-figured pottery. 

The coral color of the barrel also takes inspiration from pottery, while the engraved pattern on the cap is inspired by the armor of Archilles – the central figure of the Iliad. 

Full set configuration. All original boxes and papers are included. The pen comes still in sealed condition. Very low limitation number (#15).

Homer, the first and greatest poet of antiquity

The foundation of Western literature lies in two monumental epics – the lliad and the Odyssey. 

They were handed down under a name now firmly anchored in the collective cultural consciousness: Homer. He probably lived in the second half of the eighth century BC., tradition portrays him as a blind bard, just like Demodocus in the Odyssey. 

Homer's literary genius provided a rich legacy of themes and stories that would be revived again and again over the centuries. 

They tell of divine destinies, of heroes and mythologies - and above all, the gods and goddesses of Olympus.

By recording these myths in literary form, Homer himself earned a place in the annals of history.

Father of written poetry

Homer's works mark a unique period in Western history, when the old oral tradition gave way to a new written tradition. The Greeks had mastered the written word by about 800 BC. Homer's works, therefore, bridged both worlds. 

The new alphabet used to write down the great epics enabled dimensions and complexities that couldn't have been achieved in oral form. The pattern engraved on the Au 750 champagne-tone gold-coated cap of the edition is a reference to the scales on Achilles' armour echoed in the Greek black-figure pottery.

Homer's lliad and the wrath of Achilles

The lliad is both the earliest example of Western poetry and one of the most important works of world literature. In it, Homer depicts the Greek siege of the city of Ilion (Troy). The central theme of the epic is the wrath of Achilles. Around this theme, Homer tells the story of the Trojan War. The legendary spear of Achilles, which - as Homer writes - no other hero fighting at Troy was willing to wield, is the inspiration for the shape of the Au 750 champagne-tone gold-coated clip of the edition. The handcrafted Au 750 gold nib bears a fine engraving of a stylised horse in reference to the Trojan Horse, Odysseus' famous invention.

The adventures of Odysseus

The ten-year journey undertaken by the hero Odysseus, who was returning home from the Trojan War, is world famous. Homer's Odyssey is characterized by a complex fusion of plot lines and artful flashbacks. In a short but famous episode, the Odyssey refers to an ingenious strategy employed by the Greeks in the Trojan war. A huge wooden horse concealing Greek soldiers within was instrumental in their victory over the Trojans. The Trojan Horse, Odysseus' famous stratagem, is reflected in the edition's remarkable silhouette and engravings. A stylised Au 750 champagne-tone gold-coated head of a horse is set on the coral-coloured resin barrel.

Master of storytelling

Homer is regarded as the father of storytelling and rhetoric. His use of metre and formulaic phrases can be traced back to precursors in the oral tradition. Ancient bards used rhythm and rhyme as tools to help them remember long texts. The strict form of the hexameter used by Homer gives the verse its firm structure. It consists of six 'feet' of three syllables each, whereby the sixth foot contains only two syllables. The finely engraved Greek meander frieze on the Au 750 champagne-tone gold coated fittings of the Writers Edition Homage to Iliad 1581 is inspired by the six-foot structure of the hexameter. The edition is crowned by the Montblanc emblem in mother-of-pearl.

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