The Core Vocab word this month is aretē [ἀρετή], which Professor Nagy translates as ‘striving for a noble goal, for high ideals; noble goal, high ideals’. In the visual arts, aretē is often depicted as a female figure, while Phoenix tells Achilles “the might [aretē] and majesty [timē] of the gods are more than ours”. Let us explore this word to see how the texts illustrate its qualities in different… Read more
Inspired by Joel Christensen's CHS Open House discussion on 'Eris and Epos: Composition, Competition and the ‘Domestication’ of Strife' which concentrated on Homeric and Hesiodic examples, I thought it might be interesting to look at other texts and to compare uses of the word eris for this month's Core Vocab discussion. The definition from Professor Nagy is ‘strife, conflict’. I have included examples from Aeschylus and Euripides, relating to Helen… Read more
This month we will consider nēpios, plural nēpioi. In the Core Vocab, the definition is given as "‘disconnected’ (the disconnection can be mental, moral, or emotional)." Here is one example: "I killed the son of Amphidamas. It was involuntary. I was feeling disconnected [nēpios]. I got angry during a game of dice. But then [your father] the charioteer Peleus received me in his home, and he raised me in a… Read more
We continue our exploration of the Core Vocabulary terms with alēthēs (adjective) ‘true, true things’; alētheia (noun) ‘truth’. Here is one example: “...the very first thing that the goddesses said to me, those Muses of Mount Olympus, those daughters of Zeus who holds the aegis, was this wording [mūthos]: ‘Shepherds camping in the fields, base objects of reproach, mere bellies! We know how to say many deceptive things looking like… Read more
This is the next in a series of discussions exploring the Greek Core Vocabulary terms that are tracked in HeroesX and Hour 25. You can find links to the forum discussions from the Core Vocab page. This month we come to aitios ‘responsible, guilty’; aitiā ‘responsibility, guilt; cause, case’. Where are these terms used? How might we visualize them? Read more
