Line 331, when Odysseus finishes his long speach about the land of the dead, he askes to go to sleep and to join his ”companions”. I tought that, at this point, he had already lost all of them… Am I missing anything?
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Derek Walcott spent most of his life reading and rewriting Homer. He grew up next to the sea and, like Odysseus, has a strong feeling towards is country-island. I met him in Italy this summer and I definitely fall in love with his poetry. Here is an example, the beginning of his “Odyssey”.
Derek Walcott, Act One, […]
repetitions, authors and oral tradition
Published by Pietro September 13th, 2006 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments
So far, having translated not even hundred lines, we have already met so many repetitions: some verses show up exactly in the same way they appeared just a while before (for example everytime Circes calls Odysseus “seed of Zeus, son of Laertes” etc.). I’m wondering if this has something to do with the oral tradition […]
Rolling about and weeping (v. 499)
Published by Pietro September 8th, 2006 in Knowledge and Suffering. 1 Comment
The way Odisseus reacts to the sudden news of his journey to Hades is, in my opinion, typical of the Greek tragedy: an emphatic, uncontrolled, even exaggerated use of the body and then, when it’s time to speak, an absolut control of the words: because the fate has been already set for them, the reaction of […]
“Elpenor… went down to Hades”, K, v. 560
Published by Pietro September 8th, 2006 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment
I was impressed by the sudden death of poor Elpenor and, also, a little bit surprised of it: why to die in such a stupid way, being probably drunk, without any monster of dread goddess around, just by accident? Couldn’t it be that Homer, with this scene, is telling us something else, reminding us that […]
“epaines”, dread and praiseworthy
Published by Pietro September 4th, 2006 in Homeric language and vocabulary. 3 Comments
About the adjective “epaines” (book K, v. 491, when Circe describes Persephones), along with “dread” I also like the possibiliy to translate it with “praiseworthy” (see our notes): in the Latin tradition - and above all in Vergil - was quite common to call her “lovely” just to keep her quiet and to escape her fury. I’m wondering if […]
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