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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What is the fight between Odysseus and Achilles?
I remember reading in the Odyssey about a bard retelling the story of Odysseus and Achilles having a fight. It had Odysseus put his head down in tears as the bard sang the story. But it didn't say ...
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Why did Zeus take half the goodness out of a man?
I found something online mentioning a passage from the Odyssey, Book XVII. I checked it against my own Odyssey translated by Samuel Butler. The passage holds true.
"...Servants never do their work ...
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Why would Athena fear Poseidon?
In the end of Book VI of the Odyssey, Odysseus sends up a pray to Athena, the Greek goddess of Wisdom and Warfare. It then says Athena does not openly acknowledge him. The reason being that she feared ...
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Why does Ino help Odysseus?
In Book V of the Odyssey, Ino saves Odysseus from drowning by giving him a magic veil.
Why? Ino is a water deity, I'd expect her to be aligned with Poseidon's wishes. What reason does she have to ...
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Identifying the places in the Odyssey
I suppose there have been academic attempts to identify all the places mentioned in the Odyssey by Homer, specially after Heinrich Schliemann found Troy.
I would like to know if there's any kind of ...
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Did Greeks bow to their gods?
Is there an instance in which a Greek (or related, Roman, Trojan...) would bow to a god if they appeared? I would think not.
Iliad
Athena appears to Achilles, did not bow.
Athena appears to Odysseus,...
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Why is Heracles in the Underworld?
Odysseys during his travel to the Underworld in Book XI of the Odyssey meets the "phantom" of the deified Heracles:
And after him I marked the mighty Heracles—his phantom; for he himself among the ...
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How did Odysseus's ship get wrecked, and how did Odysseus himself land to Ogygia?
I have tried to read Homer's Odyssey and commentaries to find out details about how Odysseus's shipwreck happened, how many men were involved and saved and so forth. It looks like the first book ...
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Is there an Egyptian Old Man of the Sea?
In Book VI of the Odyssey, the sea-nymph Eidothea identifies her father Proteus, the Old Man of the Sea, as an Egyptian:
"'Stranger,' replied she, 'I will make it all quite clear to you. There ...
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Did the gods think Poseidōn's vengeance on Odysseus was just excessive, or entirely unfair?
The beginning of the Odyssey, the Olympian gods all want to allow Odysseus to return from his long exile, only Poseidōn is against that. So Zeus, as king of the gods, overrules Poseidōn on Athēnē's ...
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What does Nausicaa symbolize in the Odyssey?
There was an interesting question in Lit regarding the meaning of her name, and in my research, I came across some interesting speculation on Nausikaa's distinctness. For instance, she is the one ...
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Odysseus raid on the Cicones at Ismaros (Odyssey Book 9 lines 40-66)
Open question for thoughts and explanations re Odysseus’ raid on the Cicones (also called Kikonians) while on his way home from the Trojan War, on any of my questions below and/or other thoughts of ...
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Was there an epic or drama detailing Menelaus's return?
In book IV of the Odyssey (translator Robert Fitsgerald), Menelaus mentions he spent 7 years returning to Sparta. This seems like it would be something that somebody in ancient times would write about....
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How did Helen get back from Troy?
The nostoi, or journeys home, of many of the heroes of the Trojan War are recounted by Homer -- most famously that of Odysseus -- or were known in antiquity but later lost. Is anything known about how ...
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Roughly, where was Ogygia?
There was an island, called Ogygia. Apparently, It was an island where Calypso was cursed to stay on forever, because she supported her father, Atlas, in the Titan war.
Roughly, where is it?
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Correct version of the Sirens scene in "The Odyssey"?
In Roman Mars's podcast, 99% Invisible, in Episode 79: Symphony of Sirens, Revisited, from 00:23-01:00, Mars recounts the Sirens scene in Homer's The Odyssey:
In Homer's Odyssey, there's a story ...
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Why did Odysseus pretend to be Helen's suitor if he wanted to win Penelope?
An important point in the story of the Iliad is that Odysseus (hoping to win the hand of Penelope, King Tyndareus niece), proposes an "Oath of Tyndareus", which binds all the suitors of Helen to join ...
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Who translated the Iliad or the Odyssey to Latin first?
Who was the first person to translate part or all of Homer's works, the Iliad and/or the Odyssey, to Latin? Have these translations survived to current times?
My original motivation for the question ...
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In the Odyssey, why didn't Penelope simply turn away her suitors?
If I remember the story correctly, Penelope spends over a decade telling her suitors that she will choose one of them as a husband some day, but continues inventing elaborate reasons why she cannot ...
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