In our survey of antiquity, we have encountered gods, great and small, who command the affairs of human beings. For example, in the Egyptian pantheon, we have uncovered gods of both life and death, including Osiris Winnefer and Amun Re, or the judge of the netherworld and god of the…
Thoughts on Odysseus and Achilles
Achilles is a man of many passions. He is often described as quick, or “swift-footed.” For Achilles –the warrior– his life is short and grim. His unfettered rage is drawn out and directed toward those who have offended him, especially those who have offended him most recently. He knows only friends…
Notes on the Odyssey Books I-IV: The Telemachia
In the Telemachia, the first four books of the Odyssey, we encounter a strange kinship between the speeches and actions of Telemachus and the warrior Achilles. Both are passionate and wrathful, for different reasons, yet as the character of Telemachus begins to emerge in this prelude to the story of…
What is the Rage of Achilles?
The rage, or menin (sometimes translated as “wrath”), of Achilles is the opening word of Homer’s Iliad and it bears crucial significance with respect to the rest of the epic. This singular opening word stands in contrast to the first line of the Odyssey, a text about a man, whose opening word…