hand-washing

Best of all things is water

When Pindar says “Water is best, (ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ) and gold, like a blazing fire in the night, stands out supreme of all lordly wealth” in Olympian 1, he is not wrong. Life happens around water. It is hard to find an example that water… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.136–143: Dining, and serving food

We are pleased to share this segment in the Center for Hellenic Studies series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. In this segment, Gregory Nagy, Leonard Muellner, and Douglas Frame read Odyssey 1.136–143. Topics include: hand-washing before a meal, types of food, how the food was served, and more! Read more