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Donum natalicium

Can You Take the Hellenic out of the Panhellenic? The Case of Zhou China

back Alexander J. Beecroft, University of South Carolina Like many teaching fellows in “The Concept of the Hero in Greek Civilization” before and after me, I recall discussing with my students one of the key phenomena which Gregory Nagy elucidates for his students, and for his scholarly readers: the phenomenon of Panhellenic culture, where that strange assemblage of democracies and tyrannies, oligarchies and monarchies that is the Archaic and… Read more

Donum natalicium

“An Athenian in the American Civil War”: Looking Back on The Tyrant Slayers, A Memoir and Reflection after 37 Years

back Michael W. Taylor How much of the fatal policy of states, and of the miseries and degradations of social man, have been occasioned by the false notions of honor inspired by the works of Homer, it is not easy to ascertain … My veneration for his genius is equal to that of his most idolatrous readers; but my reflections on the history of human errors have forced upon… Read more

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A Note on Memory and Reciprocity in Homer’s Odyssey

back Anita Nikkanen [1] In this paper I explore the role of memory in Homeric epic in social contexts and, in particular, in reciprocity. [2] I focus on the Odyssey. Through analyzing the occurrences of mimnēskomai, ‘remember’, and other derivatives from the root mnē– in their contexts, I show that memory functions as an important principle in the maintenance… Read more

Donum natalicium

Philology

back Lizzie Nagy Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of this headline. And do it quickly please, I’m past Lenny’s deadline. With apologies, and without much skill, An ode to my father-in-law, F-I-L, or Phil. I love bumping into him, always hope he’ll cross my path, How many does he cheer each day? Just do the math! By some luck, a… Read more

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The Aiakidai, the Herald-less War, and Salamis

back Thomas Figueira It is tempting to justify this contribution in honor of Greg Nagy by invoking his interest in the Aiakidai, to whose appearance in several important literary contexts he has adverted in various works [1] and to whose Urvater, Aiakos, he has in some considerable part devoted a recent study. [2] That would perhaps overplay my topic,… Read more

PUBLICATIONS

Donum natalicium digitaliter confectum Gregorio Nagy septuagenario a discipulis collegis familiaribus oblatum – ToC

Donum natalicium digitaliter confectum Gregorio Nagy septuagenario a discipulis collegis familiaribus oblatum A virtual birthday gift presented to Gregory Nagy on turning seventy by his students, colleagues, and friends Acknowledgments The editorial team wishes to thank all the contributors for their hard work and patience over the five years that this project developed and matured. Over that time, we have had substantive assistance from many individuals, to the extent… Read more

Donum natalicium

G-R-E-G-0-R-Y N-A-G-Y

back Maureen N. McLane I first encountered “Gregory Nagy” as an orally-transmitted and recomposed meme, circulating widely at Harvard and beyond. As an undergraduate in the late 1980s, I would hear of this remarkable professor and his famous Core Course, “The Concept of the Hero in Greek Civilization”—also known, fondly and incorrectly, as “Heroes for Zeros.” I never took Greg’s course, but I entered Currier House at Harvard just… Read more

Donum natalicium

Women’s Lamentations and the Ethics of War

back Olga M. Davidson The two texts that I compare in this presentation are epics. One of them is Persian and the other one is Greek. The Persian epic is the Shāhnāma of Ferdowsi, composed in the 10th century CE. The Greek epic is the Homeric Iliad, compositionally shaped in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE and textually solidified in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. Each of these… Read more