Odysseus

Open House | Odysseus and the Poetics of katábasis, with Stamatia Dova

We were pleased to welcome Stamatia Dova, Hellenic College Holy Cross, for an Open House on Odysseus and the Poetics of katábasis. You can watch the video in the frame below or on our YouTube channel. The psūkhē of the fleet descendant of Aiakos knew me and spoke piteously, saying, ‘Resourceful Odysseus, noble son of Laertes and seed of Zeus, what deed of daring will you undertake next, that you venture down… Read more

Homeric Ithaca

A guest post by David Long ….The deep-sea-going ship Made landfall on the island … Ithaca at last. There on the coast a haven lies, named for Phorcys, The old god of the deep – with two jutting headlands, Sheared off at the seaward side but shelving towards the bay. Odyssey 13.95–98 (Fagles translation) Atheras Bay (Phorcys Bay) from Atheras Atheras beach This is Atheras Bay, up in the northwestern… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.93–98: Variants in Telemachus’ visits, Nestor, and Athena

We are pleased to share this segment in the series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve ever wanted to read Homer in ancient Greek, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime studying these works. Together they help even new readers… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.80–92: Epithets of gods, of cattle, of Achaeans, and of Odysseus

We are pleased to share this segment in the series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve ever wanted to read Homer in ancient Greek, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime studying these works. Together they help even new readers… Read more

Thersites: An Unbridled Tongue

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