Evan and his companions leave Pylos and head to Messenia, a region protected by mountains. Ancient Messenia is located in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese, and founded in 369 BCE. The site was settled in the Early Bronze Age, though it may date back to the Late Neolithic period. Today the site is protected…
The legend of Atlantis begins with Plato who wrote two Socratic dialogues Timaeus and Critias. These are the only two existing written records which refer to the lost continent. The fact that Plato wrote about the fabled city gives credence to the existence of such a place. Like Homer before him and the legend of Troy,…
I was surfing the web curious as to how many variations of Homer’s Iliad been made into a movie. What I found was surprising. A total of four movies; correction, three, one was a television series. Dickens’ Great Expectations, on the other hand, had seven movies and three television series created. I won’t even attempt…
‘The world does not have tidy endings. The world does not have neat connections. It is not filled with epiphanies that work perfectly at the moment that you need them.’ Dennis Lehane Considered one of the greatest western literatures in the world, the Iliad still generates enthusiasm and intellectual discourse. A story which spans almost…
‘In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons.’ Herodotos How does one reconcile the loss of so many offspring, the destruction of their home and the death of their people? Such personal suffering could never be healed. These events litter the history books and still wars happen. Power, greed, the desire…
Have you ever said something so profound or honest in your convictions and not believed? It happened and still does, though I’d like to think we are more broadminded and perceptive. I am however reminded of the story of Peter and the Wolf, and the whoppers he told. There’d be a lesson, one for Peter…
‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.’ The Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:2-17 When it comes to infidelity, there will be always the one who’d been wronged and they’ll…
There are a number of plot twists in the Iliad, causation’s for many key events in the story. Each have a significant role in the final outcome of the story and perhaps one of the more pivotal scenes was the death of Patroklos. It changed the losing team into a winning one and saw the…
Agamemnon praises the elderly warrior King Nestor of Pylos: ‘Father Zeus, Athene and Apollo, give me ten such advisers as Nestor, and the town of lord Priam would soon be captured, sacked and turned over to Greek hands!’ Homer, The Iliad, Book 2, Lines: 371-374 ancient greek mythologyFather ZeusGreek Gods and GoddessesheroesHomerhomer the iliadKing Nestormyths…
There were many characters in the story of The Iliad and I’m not counting the Olympian gods! The bards in Homer’s time, before and since, had unique mnemonic tricks to remember these legends as well as music to provide cues during the telling. The tale contains over 15,600 lines and though not considered the longest…
Luciana Cavallaro 