2017.12.21 | By Gregory Nagy I continue from where I left off in Classical Inquiries 2017.12.14. Here on the cover page, I focus on what Pausanias will be reporting at 1.11.1, where we read that a Greek king named Pyrrhos-son-of-Aiakidēs claimed as his ancestor, counting twenty generations backward in time, the Greek hero Pyrrhos-son-of-Achilles. I marvel at what seems to me such an intriguingly short span of time separating the… Read more
2017.12.14 | By Gregory Nagy I continue from where I left off in Classical Inquiries 2017.11.30. From the end of 1.6.1 to the end of 1.8.1, there is a lengthy digression about the dynasties founded by Attalos and Ptolemy. But I will be focusing on a passage that occurs before that digression, at 1.5.4, where Pausanias makes mention of three mythological figures: they are Procne, Philomela, and Tereus (more accurately… Read more
2017.11.30 (revised 2017.12.03) | By Gregory Nagy I continue from where I left off in Classical Inquiries 2017.11.09. Much of the text to be covered here, from the end of 1.3.5 to the end of 1.4.6, is a lengthy digression about the ancient Gauls, and, at the beginning of that digression, we find a passing reference to a myth that has intrigued me for four and a half decades. In… Read more
2017.11.12 / updated 2018.08.24 and 2020.01.19 | By Gregory Nagy This draft of mine is meant as a first step leading toward a more formal declaration shared by the three founding authors of A Homer commentary in progress: Douglas Frame, Leonard Muellner, Gregory Nagy. The signatures for our joint declaration are represented by thumbnail images of the covers for three books of ours centering on Homer. The books are listed… Read more
2017.11.10 | By Maša Ćulumović Olympian 5 is one of the few Pindaric odes that lack a mythical narrative. The focus, instead, is on the victor himself and on his role in the resettlement of his hometown of Kamarina. The ode refers also to other benefactions credited to the victor, especially the glory of two Olympic victories that made his homeland famous. Extended descriptions of Kamarina and of the victor’s… Read more
2017.11.09 | By Gregory Nagy My comments here continue from where I left off in Classical Inquiries 2017.10.18. Among the many points of interest noted by Pausanias in this stretch of text is his reference at 1.3.1 to a myth about the abduction of the beautiful young hero Kephalos by Eos, goddess of the Dawn. Read more
