goddess

Topic for Discussion

Mothers and sons in epic | Part 1: Divine mothers

In these posts we are looking at the way the relationship between mothers and sons is portrayed in Homeric epic. In this first post we look at some divine mothers: Aphrodite, mother of Aeneas, and Thetis, mother of Achilles; Hera and Hephaistos, and the role Thetis played in caring for Hephaistos. Because Aphrodite’s and Thetis’ sons have mortal fathers, their sons are also mortal, and will die. Both these mothers… Read more

Word Study

Core Vocab: nemesis

In our Core Vocab definitions, found in The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours[1] and the associated Sourcebook[2], Gregory Nagy provides the following definition: “nemesis indicates the process whereby everyone gets what he or she deserves.” Here are some passages in which the word is used, as a starting point for further exploration and discussion of the word. When Penelope complains about the bard Phemios’ song: [345] “Mother,” answered the… Read more