Tag: homer
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Nature and Order in Homer
It has been argued that Homer represents a significant turning point for philosophy, especially toward politics and nature. Odysseus, the man that most closely resembles Socrates, is identified as a well traveled man knowing many cities and many men’s minds. He is fascinated by these minds of the men he encounters. He yearns to learn […]
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Persuading Achilles: Books IX, XVI, XXIV Considered
In Book IX of the Iliad, the Achaeans have been stricken with Panic (“panicos” meaning pertaining to Pan, the god of shepherds and wild animals). In the absence of Achilles on the battlefield, Hector has beaten back the Achaeans nearly to their ships. All that is left is to burn the Achaean ships into the […]
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On the Homeric Gods
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 sun. The gods appear to […]
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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 drawn towards those who have offended him, especially those who have offended him most recently. He knows only friends and enemies. Rather than pursuing […]
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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 Odysseus’s homecoming, so does his […]
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What is the Rage of Achilles?
The rage, or menin sometimes translated as “wrath”, of Achilles is the opening word of the Iliad and bears crucial significance with respect to the remaining content of the epic. This opening word stands in contrast to the first line of the Odyssey, a text about a man, whose opening word is andra, meaning “man.” If we take […]
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