Mērionēs

By Gregory Nagy, H24H

The Upgrading of Mērionēs from Chariot Driver to Chariot Fighter

2015.05.08 | By Gregory Nagy In my posting of 2015.05.01, I analyzed the Homeric passage at Iliad 17.608–625 where a hero named Koiranos is killed while driving the chariot of Idomeneus, king of the Cretans. After the killing, which happens at verses 610–612, the hero Mērionēs suddenly appears at verses 620–621, as if out of nowhere, and he grabs the chariot reins dropped by the mortally wounded charioteer. Read more

By Gregory Nagy, H24H

Mērionēs Rides Again: An Alternative Model for a Heroic Charioteer

2015.05.01 | By Gregory Nagy The date for my putting together a posting for this week, 2015.04.30, coincides with the date of a special day set aside for celebrating the life and accomplishments of Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, whose premature death on 2014.06.14 deeply saddened me as her friend, colleague, and former teacher. But this day of celebration, at McGill University in Montréal, gives me the happy opportunity to tell about… Read more