DOCSLIB.ORG

NESTOR and Tile HONOR of ACHILLES (Iliad 1.247-84) by Line 245 of the First Book of the Iliad the Quarrel Between Achilles and A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
NESTOR and Tile HONOR of ACHILLES (Iliad 1.247-84) by Line 245 of the First Book of the Iliad the Quarrel Between Achilles and A NESTOR AND TIlE HONOR OF ACHILLES (Iliad 1.247-84) by CHARLES SEGAL By line 245 of the first book of the Iliad the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon has reached an impasse. Anger has mounted stage by stage, the pitch of the insults has increased, and Achilles, drawing his sword, is restrained only by Athena. He swears solemnly that the Greeks will regret his absence (1.225-44) and hurls the gold-studded scepter to the ground (1.245-6). Agamemnon is equally gripped by "wrath" (1.247): 'A-'PELO'l1C; 0' E..EPWi}E\I E~1)\lLE. At this point Nestor arises, his intervention announced in the middle of line 247: -.oLG'L oE NEG''t'WP / f}OUE1t'i)C; c1\16pouG'£ (247-8). Nestor's speech (254-84) resembles in function the appearance of Athena: it brings no resolution, but .calms the rising passions: Yet, unlike Athena, Nestor is a mortal who addresses the entire assembly. Athena appeared to Achilles alone (OLctl cpaL\lO~E\I'l1, 198), but Nestor focuses the issue decisively on the public, rather than the private, realm.2 Homer obviously had to find some way of getting beyond the impasse of the quarrel and adjourning the assembly (cf. 305) in order to allow the action to advance. Nestor's speech not only performs this function, but also serves several additional purposes which relate to the presentation of Achilles at the very outset of the action. It is with these purposes that this paper is primarily concerned. Nestor's speech not only avoids the monotonous continuation of an already drawn out quarrel and prevents a premature climax; it also establishes the book's rhythmic alternation between tight, dramatic dialogue and broader, 1 See U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Die Was und Homer (Berlin 1916) 250-1; L.A. Post, "The Moral Pattern in Homer," TAPA 70 (1939) 174. 2 See Wilamowitz (preceding note) 251. Nestor and the honor of Achilles 91 more open scenes. In this easing, broadening function Nestor more closely resembles Hephaestus at the end of the book than Athena, to whom we have compared him above. Both Nestor and Hephaestus are mediators in a tense quarrel and restore a certain measure of harmony to a temporarily disrupted social order. The two speeches begin with a broader perspective and an assertion of shame or regret at the present quarrel (cf. 1.254-8 and 573-4).3 Like so many of the parallels between the human and divine action, this one too dramatizes the gulf between the urgency and finality of human affairs and the almost comic triviality of divine. Nestor's first line stresses the consequences of such a quarrel and places it within its social perspective (1.254): ... Ti IJ.EyCX 1tE'IIt}O~ , Axcxttocx YCXLCX'll i.Xa.'IIEt. The "Greek land" reminds the contestants of their responsi­ bilities to the entire army and its purpose. This concern with the Achaean cause as a whole bears indirectly on the character of Achilles. It had been Achilles, not the selfish Agamemnon, who first expressed a similar sense of communal responsibility. In fact, Achilles was the first to speak of the "Achaeans" collectively (61) as he tried to stir Agamemnon to take positive action against the plague {59-67). Nestor's similar concern with the welfare of the whole Achaean expedition at this crucial point brings up again the contrast between Achilles' generous motives and Agamemnon's selfish ones and thus prepares for the justification of Achilles which the speech implies.4 Nestor's theme is order: yielding and obeying.s That sense of order has both a spatial and temporal dimension: spatial in its appreciation of the strife between the" Achaean land" and "Priam and Priam's sons" (254-5); temporal in that it rests upon the traditions of the heroic past which is Nestor's recurrent theme in the Iliad. Again and again he cites the examples of the great heroes who are the paradigms of arete; and in this passage his exempla are, among others, Theseus, Peirithous, Caeneus. The battle against the bestial Lapiths, the "mountain-dwelling beast men" 6 whom these heroes "gloriously destroyed," affirms the worth and the duration of heroic achievement (1.267-8): 3 For the parallels between Nestor and Hephaestus see ]. T. Sheppard, The Pattern of the Iliad (London 1922) 27; E. T. Owen, The Story of the Iliad (Toronto 1946) p. 15 with n. 2. 4 So later in the poem Nestor is indirectly responsible for reawakening in Achilles a sense of responsibility for the army as a whole: see 11.656-805, especially 790-805. See also C. H. Whitman, Homer and the Heroic Tradition (Cambridge, Mass. 1958) 195. 5 Note the recurrence of 1te:£1}EW - 1te:£1}Ecr1}at in the early part of the book (33, 132, 150, 214, 218, 220, etc.), taken up in Nestor's speech (259, 273, 274), and given a climactic force in the replies of Agamemnon (289) and Achilles (296). 6 There is not unanimous agreement that the CP'l1pcrLV OPEcrXtfJOtcrt of 1.268 = 1}npcr' and means "beast" or "beast-men" (i. e. Centaurs), but this is extremely likely in 92 Charles Segal xap'tLO''tOL Il-E,\I £O'a\l xat xap'ttO''tOLe; EIl-&'XO\l'to, Cj>l)pO'tv OPEO'XtilOLO'L, xat EX1t&'y A.We; a.1t6A.EO'O'a\l. Nestor is describing a manly struggle of companions united against a recognized, dangerous foe. His account of his exploits in 262-8, then, is more than senile garrulity: it serves to recall us to the image of a unified heroic society undividedly directing its energies against an external aggressor, an image which, we may hazard, Nestor implicitly regards as valid for the present conflict between Greeks and Trojans with which the speech began (254-5). Against that proper use of heroic energy stand the present quarrel and its consequences for the heroic society to which Nestor belongs. Nestor's language also establishes a point of connection between Achilles and the heroes of Nestor's past. It is a special quality of Achille's that he is karteros, "strong," "valiant," while Agamemnon is pherteros. Agamemnon makes this distinction at 178, and Nestor repeats it at 280. Now this quality of "strength" is possessed by Nestor's heroes in the highest degree. Nestor calls them kartistoi three times in emphatic anaphoric repetition (266-7), and the word does not occur again until the fifth book. Achilles, then, is distinguished for his possession of this attribute of great, remote heroes. Yet we are reminded of his heroic prowess just when it has been insulted. Achilles, therefore, will withdraw from the heroic society in which he could display the karteria that he shares with the great figures of the past. At the same time the reminder of a great and noble battle of the past will add an edge to the longing for "the battle-cry and the fighting" which Achilles is soon to feel (l. 4 9 0-2). Nestor's list of heroes in 262-5 is also a reminder of the glory preserved in song and legend which such heroes win. Achilles, the greatest of the heroes before us, is especially concerned with such glory and is occupied with singing the "fame of heroes" (xAEa a.\lOpGw) when the embassy comes upon him in book 9 (9.189). Nestor's list is a small foretaste of that "rhythmed, name-studded hierarchy" which is the Catalogue of Ships.7 It thus bdngs together the ideal of heroic glory and the sense of a stable order reflected in the preserva­ tion of legend and perhaps in the combat against a bestial enemy. But it presents these themes just when Achilles has been forced to reject these ideals and when the rapacity of Agamemnon has violated the orderly proce­ dures and sanctions of heroic society. The first half of Nestor's speech, then, interprets the quarrel in terms view of It. 2.743 and Od. 21.295-304. See Waiter Leaf, The Iliad 12 (London 1900) a.d loco and the scholia ad loco 7 C. R. Beye, The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Epic Tradition (Garden City, N.Y. 1966) 121. Nestor and the honor of Achilles 93 of the large themes of heroic action, social order, and communal order. These are all issues which Achilles has to face and redefine in his own terms.s It is essential for our judgment of Achilles' position that we have some sense of how his peers view the quarrel. Nestor's is the only voice {since the inception of the quarrel) which we hear from the assembled army.9 He is the only chieftain, outside of the two contestants, to speak. To intervene between two angry, powerful, and violent kings is no task to be assumed lightly; and Nestor, aged, respected, calm and reasonable, is the inevitable choice, probably the only possible choice. This speech, therefore, carries the special burden of showing us how the quarrel might appear in the eyes of the assembled host. Ancient Nestor, the repository of the lore of the past, comes as close as is possible to being the voice of social expectation and approval. lO Agamemnon, now for the second time in the poem (cf. 1.21-2), £latly rejects that voice. Nestor's judgment, though couched in all the tact which this skilled, honey-voiced diplomat can muster, is unambiguous. It is Agamemnon, not Achilles, who has violated the heroic code.ll Agamemnon should not take the girl (1.275-6): (l.1rn: (]'U 't6vS' &,yaiM~ 7tEp EWV &'7tOa£pEO XOUPTJV, &,)..).: ea, wc, ot 7tpw'ta 86(]'av YEpa~ ULE~ 'Axa~wv' Nestor's allegiance must ultimately be with the established authority, Agamemnon, nor is it ever in the slightest doubt.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Iliad Teacher Sample
    CONTENTS Teaching Guidelines ...................................................4 Appendix Book 1: The Anger of Achilles ...................................6 Genealogies ...............................................................57 Book 2: Before Battle ................................................8 Alternate Names in Homer’s Iliad ..............................58 Book 3: Dueling .........................................................10 The Friends and Foes of Homer’s Iliad ......................59 Book 4: From Truce to War ........................................12 Weaponry and Armor in Homer..................................61 Book 5: Diomed’s Day ...............................................14 Ship Terminology in Homer .......................................63 Book 6: Tides of War .................................................16 Character References in the Iliad ...............................65 Book 7: A Duel, a Truce, a Wall .................................18 Iliad Tests & Keys .....................................................67 Book 8: Zeus Takes Charge ........................................20 Book 9: Agamemnon’s Day ........................................22 Book 10: Spies ...........................................................24 Book 11: The Wounded ..............................................26 Book 12: Breach ........................................................28 Book 13: Tug of War ..................................................30 Book 14: Return to the Fray .......................................32
    [Show full text]
  • Llt 121 Classical Mythology Lecture 36 Good Morning
    LLT 121 CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY LECTURE 36 GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO LLT 121 CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY IN WHICH WE TAKE UP PROBABLY THE SECOND OLDEST STORY IN THE BOOK, THE SECOND OLDEST GREAT EPIC IN WESTERN LITERATURE, THE ILIAD OF HOMER. THE GILGAMESH EPIC OF THE VARIOUS MESOPOTAMIAN PEOPLE IS OLDER. THIS IS NUMBER TWO. IT TRIES HARDER. WHEN LAST WE LEFT OFF ACHILLES WAS STILL POUTING BY THE SIDE OF HIS SWIFT, BLACK SHIPS WITH HIS FRIEND PATROCLUS. YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT ACHILLES HAS ALREADY TURNED DOWN ONE OFFER FROM AGAMEMNON FOR A COMPLETE APOLOGY, BRISEIS BACK, VALUABLE PRIZES, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS. JUST COME BACK TO US ACHILLES. WE NEED YOU. ACHILLES SAYS I'VE GOT TWO POSSIBLE FATES. ONE, I CAN DIE IN BATTLE, WIN LOTS OF GLORY, AND BE FAMOUS FOREVER AFTER. OR B, I COULD LIVE TO A LONG, GREAT OLD AGE, BE REAL HAPPY AND LEAVE BEHIND NO ARITAE OR VIRTUE AND HAVE NO KLEOS OR FAME AFTER MY DEATH. I MIGHT SAY NUMBER TWO IS LOOKING BETTER. SO THE GREEKS GET THEIR BUTTS KICKED FOR ANOTHER THREE OR FOUR BOOKS. FINALLY, NESTOR THE 300 YEAR OLD GUY WHO TALKS JUST ABOUT FOREVER COMES UP WITH AN IDEA FOR PATROCLUS. PATROCLUS, I'M GOING TO TRY TO PERSUADE YOU TO PUT ON THE ARMOR OF ACHILLES AND GO INTO BATTLE. PATROCLUS FINALLY AGREES TO GET NESTOR TO SHUT UP AND ALSO MAYBE IT'S NOT EASY TO BE GILLIGAN, SCOTTIE PIPPIN, OR ED MCMAHON, THE NUMBER TWO BANANA. YOU WANT TO.STAND IN THE LIMELIGHT AND DO A FEW OF THOSE ON PUBLISHERS CLEARINGHOUSE SWEEPSTAKES COMMERCIALS OF YOUR OWN.
    [Show full text]
  • 01. Pelling, Homer and Question
    Histos Supplement ( ) – HOMER AND THE QUESTION WHY * Christopher Pelling Abstract : Historiography’s debt to Homer is immense, especially in exploring matters of cause and effect. The epics trace things back to beginnings, even if those are only ‘hinges’ in a still longer story; they use speech-exchanges not merely to characterise individuals but also to explore features of their society; the interaction of human and divine is complex, but the narrative focus characteristically rests more on the human level; allusiveness to narratives of earlier and later events also carries explanatory value. Epic and historiography alike also cast light on why readers find such aesthetic pleasure in stories of suffering, brutality, and death. Keywords: Homer, historiography, causation, explanation, intertextuality. t is no secret, and no surprise, that Greek historiography is steeped in Homer: how could it not be so? Epic was the great genre for the sweep Iof human experience, especially but not only in war; Homer was the narrator supreme. There have been many studies of the ways that individual historians exploit Homer to add depth to their work. I have contributed one myself on Herodotus, 1 Maria Fragoulaki writes in this volume on Thucydides, and others have covered writers down to and including the Second Sophistic. 2 Still, when completing a monograph on historical explanation in Herodotus,3 I was struck even more forcefully than before by how many of the characteristic interpretative techniques—not merely what they do, but how they do it—are already there in the Iliad and Odyssey. As the similarity of title shows, this paper is a companion piece to that book, though a full treatment would itself have swollen to monograph proportions, and the points have relevance to many other historical writers as well as Herodotus.
    [Show full text]
  • CLA 2323A Greek Mythology
    Outline of the Iliad CLCV 2000A Classical Mythology Book 1 C. Hektor finds Andromache and Astyanax (369-502) I. The Quarrel (1-430) V. Paris and Hektor return to the fighting (503-529) II. Return of Chryseis to her home (430-492) Book 7 III. Balancing scene among the gods (493-611) I. Hektor and Paris return to battle (1-16) Book 2 II. Duel between Hektor and Aias (17-322) I. Agamemnon tests the army (1-154) III. Fighting halted to bury the dead (323-482) A. Odysseus recalls the troops (155-210) A. Greeks dig walls around ships (323-344) B. Thersites episode (211-332) B. Paris refuses to return Helen but offers other gifts (345-397) C. Nestor’s counsel (333-483) C. Greeks refuse Paris’ gifts (398-420) II. Catalogue of Greek Ships (484-785) D. Cremation of dead, Greeks build walls (421-482) III. Catalogue of Trojan troops (786-877) Book 8 Book 3 I. Assembly of gods; Zeus forbids gods to take part in battle (1-52) I. Truce by single combat between Paris and Menelaos (1-120) II. A day of fighting (53-349) II. The Teichoskopeia (Helen’s ‘View from the Wall’) (121-244) A. Battle begins with the scales of Zeus (53-65) III. The duel and the rescue (245-382) B. Nestor threatened by Hektor, rescued by Diomedes (78-166) IV. Helen and Paris (383-461) C. Advance of Trojans under Hektor (167-216) Book 4 D. Agamemnon rallies troops (217-334) I. Pandaros breaks the truce (1-122) E.
    [Show full text]
  • Troy Myth and Reality
    Part 1 Large print exhibition text Troy myth and reality Please do not remove from the exhibition This two-part guide provides all the exhibition text in large print. There are further resources available for blind and partially sighted people: Audio described tours for blind and partially sighted visitors, led by the exhibition curator and a trained audio describer will explore highlight objects from the exhibition. Tours are accompanied by a handling session. Booking is essential (£7.50 members and access companions go free) please contact: Email: [email protected] Telephone: 020 7323 8971 Thursday 12 December 2019 14.00–17.00 and Saturday 11 January 2020 14.00–17.00 1 There is also an object handling desk at the exhibition entrance that is open daily from 11.00 to 16.00. For any queries about access at the British Museum please email [email protected] 2 Sponsor’sThe Trojan statement War For more than a century BP has been providing energy to advance human progress. Today we are delighted to help you learn more about the city of Troy through extraordinary artefacts and works of art, inspired by the stories of the Trojan War. Explore the myth, archaeology and legacy of this legendary city. BP believes that access to arts and culture helps to build a more inspired and creative society. That’s why, through 23 years of partnership with the British Museum, we’ve helped nearly five million people gain a deeper understanding of world cultures with BP exhibitions, displays and performances. Our support for the arts forms part of our wider contribution to UK society and we hope you enjoy this exhibition.
    [Show full text]
  • The Homeric Epics: Strata Or a Spectrum?
    Colby Quarterly Volume 29 Issue 3 September Article 9 September 1993 The Homeric Epics: Strata or a Spectrum? Carol G. Thomas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq Recommended Citation Colby Quarterly, Volume 29, no.3, September 1993, p.273-282 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Colby. It has been accepted for inclusion in Colby Quarterly by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Colby. Thomas: The Homeric Epics: Strata or a Spectrum? The Homeric Epics: Strata or a Spectrum? by CAROL G. THOMAS rchaeologists have uncovered nine principal layers with forty-six strata at A Hisarlik, the site that many identify as Homeric Troy. The collective activity ofarchaeologists, philologists, historians and linguists has revealedjust as many, ifnot more, strata in the Trojan Warepics themselves. Detectable in the language, physical objects, institutions and geography described in the Iliad and Odyssey, the divisions between these strata may not be as hard and rigid as physical strata; still they are clear and numerous enough to suggest that even Homer may have been "stratified." Although the strata ofthe epics have been present from the poems' creation, a perceptionofthem has emergedonly gradually overlong centuries. The ancient Greeks neither sought nor found layers in their "best and most divine ofpoets" (Plato Ion 530b). They knew that a single poet had created the two poems that even Aristotle's keen scrutiny judged to surpass all other poems in diction and in thought (Poetics 1448b). This view ofHomerpassed to the Romans who, with Cicero, believed that "Homer, because of his outstanding excellence, made the common name 'poet' his own proper name" (Cicero Topica 55.5).
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 37 Welcome to LLT121 Classical Mythology
    Lecture 37 Welcome to LLT121 Classical Mythology. When last we left our heroes, the Homeric heroes of the Trojan War, which was really fought right around 1200 BC, I was discussing the concept of nostos or return home. I was being hassled. I was being haxed. I was being brutalized emotionally and intellectually by somebody who took exception to my remark that nobody actually won the Trojan War. Nobody did. Oh yeah, the Greeks got to sack the city, all right. There’s no denying that. Look at what happened to the Greeks when they went home. Let’s take Agamemnon, for example. What happened to him? He got killed. By who? That is pretty bad. What happened to his wife? Their son killed her. That was all right, because he’d killed her. Nope, he’s no winner. Menelaus—Mr. Helen—he actually did get back together with Helen. He took Helen back. They got on a ship and they were going to sail back to ancient Greece, but they were blown away by a storm and wound up living for seven years in ancient Egypt. I say ancient Egypt because even to the ancient Greeks, ancient Egypt was very, very ancient. Nestor made it home in one piece, too. Does anybody have a guess why Nestor made it home in one piece? Okay, go on and build on that thought, Jeremy. Well, yes and no. Oh, give me a break. Go back home. That isn’t bad. It isn’t right, either. I think, in his heart of hearts, Homer empathized with the old guy who talks just about forever.
    [Show full text]
  • Erwin COOK and Thomas PALAIMA New Perspectives on Pylian Cults Sacrifice and Society in the 'Odyssey' We Here Address a Tendency
    Erwin COOK and Thomas PALAIMA New Perspectives on Pylian Cults Sacrifice and Society in the 'Odyssey' We here address a tendency in modern scholarship to treat "Homeric Society" as monolithic. We also address the Grote-like 'rationalist' reaction to the Homeromania that prevailed in the study of the Linear B documents and Mycenaean archaeology in the years that followed the Ventris decipherment. We argue that Homer presents a more variegated view of the Greek world than is generally accepted. We identify important narrative reasons for this, but we also suggest that Homer's description of Nestor's Pylos includes distinctive features of the Bronze Age palatial culture that once existed on the acropolis at Ano Englianos that were preserved through a living tradition ultimately derived from the post-Mycenaean inhabitants of Messenia. The Pylian narrative in Homer is organized as a series of religious rituals bracketed by an arrival and departure scene. Telemakhos arrives at Pylos to encounter ritual feasting on a scale without precedent in Homer. Special prominence is awarded libation rituals and libation vessels, described interchangeably as depas and aleison. Both seem to be non- or pre-Greek loan words. A number of elements of the physical description help lend Homeric Pylos a BA patina, including most famously the political organization of Pylos as a confederation of nine cities under palatial control. To them can now be added Homer's presentation of the Pylian wanax. The centrality of cult to the ideology of the wanax has been demonstrated from the full Linear B textual documentation from the site of Pylos and the iconographical and architectural program of the Palace of Nestor.
    [Show full text]
  • Karns High School Honors English 9 Summer Reading List 2020-2021 Ms
    Karns High School Honors English 9 Summer reading list 2020-2021 Ms. Kerwin Summer is the perfect time to relax with a good book. This summer reading guide is to prepare students for their freshmen year in high school, as well as to ensure that valuable reading skills are not lost or dulled over the summer months. Students are responsible for obtaining their own copies of these works either from a bookstore, local library, Amazon, or can use an electronic copy. 1. All students should read The Odyssey by Homer (Robert Fagles’ translation) and complete the attached reading guide. The study guide provides important notes, summaries, concepts, and focus questions which are intended to help the students know what to look for in the text and to aid their understanding of important themes and passages. Written responses to the focus questions can be in note form or in bullet points; they do not need to be written out in complete sentences. Please note that the students’ reading begins with Book 1 on p. 77 (students are not responsible for reading Fagles’ Introduction). *Please note that Books 4,7,13,15,17-18, and 20 are summarized in the reading guide and do not have to be read independently. 2. Students should read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and write a five paragraph essay answering the question, “How do struggles and triumphs affect people’s ability to achieve their destiny?” When writing your essay, consider the ideas of fate vs. free will, as well as the idea of personal identity. Evidence from both texts must be used in the essay to answer this question.
    [Show full text]
  • Iliad Book I
    Iliad Book I 1. Who were the sons of Atreus? 2. Who asked Apollo to curse the Greeks and why? 3. Did the Achaeans know why Apollo plagued them at first? 4. What had to be done to stop the plague? 5. Why did Agamemnon refuse? 6. What are Myrmidons? 7. What did Agamemnon take and from whom to replace Chryseis? 8. Who stopped Achilles from killing Agamemnon? 9. Which Achaean leader claimed to know Theseus? Extra: Find Pylos on a map and read the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. 10. What did Agamemnon do instead of giving back Chryseis? 11. To whom did Achilles turn for help when he lost Briseis? Extra: Read the story of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis and the story of Achilles’ birth. 12. Why did Achilles think she could persuade Zeus? 13. What did Achilles want? 14. Where was Zeus? Extra: Find modern Ethiopia on a map. 15. What three actions did the Achaeans take at the temple to appease Apollo? 1. 2. 3. 16. How did Zeus indicate he would do as Thetis asked? 17. Who tried to change Zeus’ mind? 18. How did Hephaestus become injured? Iliad Book II 1. The evil or false dream was sent to Agamemnon by _______________. Extra: Keep a list of the gods/goddesses on each side of the war. 2. The dream came to Agamemnon as who? 3. Agamemnon’s staff had been made by whom? And how was it acquired? 4. When the Achaean troops assemble Agamemnon tells them that Zeus wanted them to do what? 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyrighted Material
    1 The World of Homer CHAPTER CONTENTS 1.1 A Funeral Scene on a 1.7 Households and Community 31 Dipylon Vase 28 1.8 Homeric Leaders 32 1.2 The Homeric Household (Oikos) 29 1.9 Kings, Council, and Assembly 33 1.3 Women and the Homeric 1.10 A Trial Scene WEB2 Household WEB1 1.11 Homeric Values: Honor and 1.4 Slaves and the Homeric Excellence 37 Household WEB1 1.12 Reciprocity and Guest-Friendship 1.5 The Measure of Happiness 30 (Xenia) 38 1.6 A Household in Trouble 30 1.13 A Bust of Homer WEB3 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Ancient Greece from Homer to Alexander: The Evidence, First Edition. Joseph Roisman. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Translations © 2011 John Yardley. Published 2011 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. RRoisman_c01.inddoisman_c01.indd 2266 11/25/2011/25/2011 88:30:17:30:17 PPMM THE WORLD OF HOMER 27 his chapter briefly surveys the so-called Homeric Question, including the relations between the Homeric epics and material evidence. Its major Tfocus, however, is on the society and institutions depicted in the epics, which are assumed here to be largely historic. On that assumption, Homer is a valuable source for two main reasons. Firstly, the poet describes institutions and practices that were likely to have existed no later than the early Archaic period. Secondly, his heroes often served as models for generations of ancient Greeks, especially members of the elite. The Homeric value system, then, was relevant to many Greeks far beyond his age. In general, the Odyssey is more informative on Homeric society, and the Iliad on political institutions and war.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Mythology Link (Complete Collection)
    Document belonging to the Greek Mythology Link, a web site created by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology Characters • Places • Topics • Images • Bibliography • Español • PDF Editions About • Copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. This PDF contains portions of the Greek Mythology Link COMPLETE COLLECTION, version 0906. In this sample most links will not work. THE COMPLETE GREEK MYTHOLOGY LINK COLLECTION (digital edition) includes: 1. Two fully linked, bookmarked, and easy to print PDF files (1809 A4 pages), including: a. The full version of the Genealogical Guide (not on line) and every page-numbered docu- ment detailed in the Contents. b. 119 Charts (genealogical and contextual) and 5 Maps. 2. Thousands of images organized in albums are included in this package. The contents of this sample is copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. To buy this collection, visit Editions. Greek Mythology Link Contents The Greek Mythology Link is a collection of myths retold by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology, published in 1993 (available at Amazon). The mythical accounts are based exclusively on ancient sources. Address: www.maicar.com About, Email. Copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. ISBN 978-91-976473-9-7 Contents VIII Divinities 1476 Major Divinities 1477 Page Immortals 1480 I Abbreviations 2 Other deities 1486 II Dictionaries 4 IX Miscellanea Genealogical Guide (6520 entries) 5 Three Main Ancestors 1489 Geographical Reference (1184) 500 Robe & Necklace of
    [Show full text]