One of the study groups has been working on Odyssey 22, and in December 2020 Kosmos Society performed it as one of the groups taking part in the Reading Greek Tragedy Online: Odyssey ’Round the World event. This Gallery features some visual depictions of this episode, also known as the Mnēstērophoníā, or Slaying of the Suitors. Read more
In this part of our series on marriage in ancient Greek texts, we look at the courtship phase. Benveniste shows that there is no Indo-European term for marriage but a "persistence of usages inherited from a common past and of the same family structure, where the husband “led” the young woman, whom her father has “given” him, to his home." In the ancient Greek tradition, how do fathers reach the… Read more
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 1.113–117. Topics include: how Telemachus visualizes his father and the scattering of the suitors, expressing abstractions, Telemachus’… Read more
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 1.99–112. Topics include: dēmos in Homeric diction and dāmos in Linear B, the significance of Athena’s spear,… Read more
Penelope is waiting for Odysseus to come back. She is not a widow, Odysseus' death is unknown. She is not looking for a new husband. Yet, her house is full of suitors. She is not going back to her father to choose a new husband. Her status is ominous. She is the Queen of the blameless Odysseus who is missing for ten years after the Trojan War. Read more
