Rhapsody 16

Homer commentary

A sampling of comments on Odyssey Rhapsody 16

2017.07.06 / updated 2018.10.12 | By Gregory Nagy Odysseus, because of his external appearance as an old beggar, cannot be recognized by his own son Telemachus. To make the recognition happen, the goddess Athena temporarily transforms the father into a young aristocrat. For Telemachus, however, the transformation itself can be read as the epiphany of a god. [[GN 2017.07.06.]] Read more

Homer commentary

A sampling of comments on Iliad Rhapsody 16

2016.11.09 / updated 2018.09.11 | By Gregory Nagy It seems at first as if everything is coming together here in Iliad 16. Achilles, best of the Achaeans, sends out his other self, Patroklos, to fight Hector and his Trojans, who are now on the verge of setting on fire and destroying all the beached ships of the Achaeans. Patroklos does in fact succeed in stopping the fire, which had been… Read more