Introduction to tragedy III§1. In considering the traditions of tragedy, it is important to keep in mind that the medium of tragedy in particular and of drama in general was the central context for the evolution of traditions in poetry, song, and dance in Athens during the classical period of the fifth century BCE and thereafter. The primary setting was a synthetic festival in honor of the god Dionysus. This… Read more
Hour 16. Heroic aberration in the Agamemnon of Aeschylus The meaning of atē 16§1. The key word for this hour is atē, the meaning of which can be interpreted as ‘aberration, derangement, veering off-course; disaster; punishment for disaster’. In Homeric poetry, as we saw in Iliad XIX 91 as quoted in Hour 1 Text C, atē is perceived as a noun derived from the verb aâsthai, ‘veer off-course’. A basic… Read more
Hour 4. Achilles as lyric hero in the songs of Sappho and Pindar The meaning of aphthito- 4§1. The key word for this hour is aphthito- in the sense of ‘imperishable’. And, by the time we reach the end of this hour, we will see that aphthito- can also be interpreted as ‘unwilting’ in some specialized contexts. We already saw this word when we were reading Text A in Hour… Read more
Hour 5. When mortals become ‘equal’ to immortals: death of a hero, death of a bridegroom The meaning of daimōn 5§1. The key word for this hour is daimōn (plural daimones), which I translate for the moment simply as ‘superhuman force’. This word is used to refer to an unspecified god or hero intervening in human life. The word daimōn is to be contrasted with theos, ‘god’, which is used… Read more
Hour 6. Patroklos as the other self of Achilles The meaning of therapōn 6§1. The key word for this hour is therapōn, ‘attendant; ritual substitute’. And the key passage comes from a climactic moment in the Iliad when Achilles, while praying that Zeus should preserve Patroklos from harm, uses the word therapōn in referring to his nearest and dearest friend: Hour 6 Text A |233 “King Zeus,” he [= Achilles]… Read more
Hour 7. The sign of the hero in visual and verbal art The meaning of sēma 7§1. The key word for this hour is sēma (plural sēmata), meaning ‘sign, signal, symbol; tomb, tomb of a hero’. An important word that derives from this noun sēma is the verb sēmainein, ‘mean [something], indicate [something] by way of a sēma’. Modern words that derive from sēma include semantic and semiotic. 7§2. As… Read more
Hour 8. The psychology of the hero’s sign in the Homeric Iliad The meaning of psūkhē 8§1. The key word for this hour is psūkhē, as used in the context of the key word for the previous hour, sēma. This word psūkhē can refer either to the life of someone who is alive or to the disembodied conveyor of someone’s identity after that someone dies. [1]… Read more
Hour 9. The return of Odysseus in the Homeric Odyssey The meaning of nostos 9§1. The key word for this hour is nostos, ‘return, homecoming; song about homecoming; return to light and life’. The last of these meanings is mystical, having to do with ideas about immortalization after death. Our first impression is that such ideas are foreign to Homeric poetry. When we take a second look, however, we will… Read more
Hour 10. The mind of Odysseus in the Homeric Odyssey The meaning of noos 10§1. The key word for this hour is noos. A simple translation could be ‘mind’ or ‘thinking’, though these words are too broad in meaning to fit many of the Homeric contexts of noos; other translations could be ‘perception’ or even ‘intuition’, but these words are in many ways too narrow. In any case, the meaning… Read more
Hour 11. Blessed are the heroes: the cult hero in Homeric poetry and beyond The meaning of olbios 11§1. They key word for this hour is olbios, which as we will see means ‘blessed’ or even ‘blissful’ for those who are initiated into the mysteries of hero cult but simply ‘prosperous, happy’ for the uninitiated. As we will also see, the cult hero is olbios, ‘blessed’, after he… Read more
