τέτλαθι δή, κραδίη—Odyssey 20.18 I’ve shared often these three words, rendered as Odysseus’ rallying cry to himself after he returns to Ithaca and prepares to battle the suitors, as I find them so resonant, especially in these strange days we are living through. What I find neat about them is how similarly they’re translated acrossContinue reading “Odysseus’ three timeless words”
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Penelope’s dream in the Odyssey
“But come, hear this dream of mine, and interpret it for me:I had twenty geese round the house, they came up from the waterand I fed them on wheat: the sight of them warmed my heart.But down from the mountain swooped a great eagle, with curved beak,broke all their necks and killed them. They layContinue reading “Penelope’s dream in the Odyssey”
The Odyssey’s Ino as hero
“But the daughter of Cadmus, Ino of the beautiful ankles, saw him, that, Leucothea, who formerly was a mortal of human speech, but now in the depths of the sea has won a share of honor from the gods. She was touched with pity for Odysseus, as he wandered beset with troubles, and she roseContinue reading “The Odyssey’s Ino as hero”
The Sirens’ temptation
“Come hither on your way, renowned Odysseus, great glory of the Achaeans; stop your ship that you may listen to the voice of us two. For never yet has any man rowed past the island in his black ship until he has heard the sweet voice from our lips; instead, he has joy of it,Continue reading “The Sirens’ temptation”
The Odyssey’s opening stanza
“The man, Muse—tell me about that resourceful man, who wandered far and wide, when he’d sacked Troy’s sacred citadel: many men’s townships he saw, and learned their ways of thinking, many the griefs he suffered at heart on the open sea, battling for his own life and his comrades’ homecoming. Yet no way could heContinue reading “The Odyssey’s opening stanza”