Questions tagged [odyssey]
For questions about the book by Homer about the ten-year travels of Odysseus, a Greek hero, after fighting in the Trojan War.
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Is Emily Wilson's 2018 translation of Homer's Odyssey correct to say the sorceress Circe had nymphs as 'slaves' (Book 10 line 349)?
'10.349 Meanwhile, four slaves, her house girls, were at work around the palace. They were nymphs, the daughters of fountains and of groves and holy rivers'
Nymphs were semi-divine, usually immortal, ...
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Is there any evidence as to which incidents in the Odyssey were invented by Homer and which were existing legends (apart from the Trojan War)?
Homer's epic the Odyssey is mainly about the Greek hero Odysseus' adventures on his way home from the Trojan War, including raiding the Cicones at Ismaros, the lotus eaters, the Cyclops' cave, the ...
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Why are the Sirens the "muses of Hades"?
In Pietro Pucci's Song of the Sirens essay collection, he mentions in passing that the Sirens are "the muses of Hades" (chapter 9, page 132). As far as I can tell, there's no further ...
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Why did Odysseus not sacrifice poultry?
In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus is rich: he owns cattle, swine, sheep, goats. Kirkē asks Odysseus to sacrifice cattle and sheep, and to do libation with milk, honey, wine, flour; Teiresias asks Odysseus ...
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How much time is a generation in the odyssey and Iliad?
Prompted by the question How old was Nestor is there any reference to how much Homer considered a generation to be?
I cannot seem to find any good reference that is reliable and sourced correctly, ...
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How old was Nestor?
I am rereading the Iliad and I am wondering how old Nestor, Agamemnon, Odysseus etc. were. Nestor was and old man, but how old ? 60 ? What age was the prime of life, which I suppose Agamemnon and ...
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Did Helen and Stentor have voice-related "super-powers"?
Helen's Many Voices
In Odyssey 4.274-289 Menelaus recounts a story from the time that he and other leaders of the Greek forces at Troy were hiding in the famous decoy wooden horse which they used as ...
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Why is Circe in Aeaea?
In the Odyssey, the sorceress Circe lives a solitary life in Aeaea. Why is that? How did a goddess end up alone on an island? Can she leave the island, and if not, why?
Madeline Miller in her novel ...
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Why is Dante’s Odysseus different from Homer’s?
In Canto XXVI of the Inferno, Dante encounters Odysseus and Diomedes. Odysseus account of his exploits after Troy differ from the more familiar story in Homer’s Odyssey. Notably, Dante’s Odysseus does ...
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Why does Eumaeus singles out the nymphs and Hermes in his offerings?
In Odyssey 14 Eumaeus the swineherd is the first person that meets Odysseus upon his return to Ithaca. Although he doesn't recognize his master, he offers him shelter and treats him to a feast:
Then ...
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Has Odysseus ever used a bow prior to the archery contest in the Odyssey?
In Odyssey 21 Penelope famously proposes an archery contest to her suitors, a test of masculine skill with herself as the prize. The disguised Odysseus wins the contest and then proceeds to reveal ...
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The Odyssey lock scene (Book 21): Translations vs. original Greek?
Near the beginning of Book 21, most translators have used some peculiar language to describe Penelope's unlocking of the door behind which Odysseus' bow is kept. Fagles writes (lines 54–56)
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Why was Odysseus needed for killing the suitors in the Odyssey?
Is his kingdom so short on soldiers that the family can't deal with a few suitors?
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What did Odysseus and his men do to err Athena?
When Hermes arrives on Ogygia, she asks why he is visiting here:
Why have you come to see me, Hermes - honored, and ever welcome - for you do not visit me often?...
Retrieved, paragraph 7
Hermes ...
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Do gods know all other gods?
In the Odyssey, Hermes takes flight to Ogygia, Calypso's island, at Zeus's command to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go home. When he arrives Calypso recognizes him right away because:
the gods all ...
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