Mixing bowl (volute krater)Museum of Fine Arts of BostonAccession Number 03.804 He is one of those bit players in Homer who are so unforgettable. Caustic, repulsive, and comedic all at the same time, Thersites has always been the source of controversy. Who was he? And was he intended to be dangerously insurrectionist or only entertaining? It is an often overlooked aspect of the Thersites story that he was said by post-Homeric… Read more
A guest post by Sarah Scott I have become interested in the role of the herald. Does this carry a special status and have particular responsibilities? Is a herald the same as a messenger, or do they have separate functions? They are different words in Greek, κῆρυξ, plural κήρυκες, dual κήρυκε [kērux, kērukes, keruke], and ἄγγελος plural ἄγγελοι [angelos, angeloi]. Here are a few examples to start the conversation. But Agamemnon did not… Read more
Bourdelle, Telemakhos at Nestor’s Palace in Pylos, Plaster (1883) Bourdelle Museum Nestor in the Odyssey is home in Pylos. He got a safe nostos, he is surrounded by his beloved wife and his children: six boys and several daughters and daughters-in-law. He seems ageless. In this passage from the Sourcebook, a wonderful scene with his guests and family is shown. The setting is perfect. The sacrifice is detailed beautifully. Athena herself is… Read more
We would like to share some online resources from the Center of Hellenic Studies. The Center has online publications that you can access free of charge. You can visit Publications which include the Hellenic Studies Series, Classics@, Curated Books, Curated Articles, and Classical Inquiries. Hellenic Studies Series include: Monographs, collections, and proceedings of colloquia published in the Hellenic Studies series and The Milman Parry Collection. Titles are available in print via… Read more
A guest post by Sarah Scott Our Core Vocab term this time is hubris [ὕβρις], defined as “‘outrage’; the opposite of dikē [δίκη].” We discussed dikē in an earlier forum thread when we touched briefly on hubris. But now it might be interesting to look at this word in more detail. For many English speakers, we think of the term in its modern usage, as given in this definition from the Concise Oxford… Read more