Otto Maria Carpeaux e o início da literatura ocidental: uma visão sobre os gregos

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the life and work of Otto Maria Carpeaux in his book History of Western Literature, as well as his dedication to detailing the literature of Greece and its most important authors in his work History of Western Literature. With a theoretical framework based on the studies of Olavo de Carvalho (1999), Clistenes Hafner (2020), Eric Voegelin (2009), and Werner Jaeger (1994), we highlight the importance of this author, his life, and his work, as well as his considerations about the construction of Greek literature. From the beginning, with Homer, to the end, with Plutarch, Carpeaux navigates through various controversial points, drawing conclusions in a successive manner. When it seems like he is expressing his opinion about certain information, we soon discover that he has presented it as a "curiosity" for contextualization, as his opinion will follow shortly below, accompanied by more updated and secure information. In the end, after analyzing the information and the way Carpeaux describes each period, we conclude that he had the original ability to weave all historical events into a single successive thread without truncating the story to begin a new period or introduce a new author and move on to the next phase of history. We also realize that all authors are interconnected, and all thoughts and philosophies that served as the basis for inspiration are consequences of each other. The richness with which Carpeaux speaks about all the nuances of each period and author makes it one of the most comprehensive works in the history of literature.