Rhapsody 3

Homer commentary

A sampling of comments on Odyssey Rhapsody 3

2017.03.30 / updated 2018.10.06 | By Gregory Nagy Aided by the goddess Athena, young Telemachus becomes an ideal guest for his host, the elderly Nestor. Telemachus dearly needs the diplomatic skills of Athena, since Nestor is a prime devotee of the god Poseidon, who is not only a major rival of the goddess but also a relentless antagonist of Odysseus. Nestor’s stories about the travels of the Achaeans as they… Read more

Homer commentary

A sampling of comments on Iliad Rhapsody 3

2016.07.07 / updated 2018.08.16 | By Gregory Nagy The Master Narrator of the Homeric Iliad is looking here at Helen for the very first time—or, to say it more accurately, as if for the very first time. Just as Rhapsody 2 needed a new Catalogue of Ships—or, again to say it more accurately—a renewed Catalogue, so also Rhapsody 3 needs a new look at Helen. It seems as if the… Read more