Milman parry biography for kids

For his son, also sometimes known as Milman Parry, see Adam Parry.

American academic (1902–1935)

Milman Parry (June 23, 1902 – December 3, 1935) was an American Classicist whose theories on the origin of Homer's works have revolutionized Homeric studies to such a fundamental degree that he has been described as the "Darwin of Homeric studies".^[1] In addition, he was a pioneer in the discipline of oral tradition.

The making of homeric verse the collected papers of milman parry

Early life and education

Parry was born in 1902 in Oakland, California. He grew up in a house full of books, with a father who was self-taught and widely read. He and his siblings often recited poems from memory as a game.^[2]

He graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1919,^[3] and studied at the University of California, Berkeley (B.A.

and M.A.) where he became proficient in ancient Greek and the Classics.^[2] He then studied for a PhD at the Sorbonne in Paris and was a student of the lingui