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Hellenic Studies Folio #1 from the Center for Hellenic Studies

October 1, 2020
Painting of Achilles -who was disguised as a woman- discovered among the daughters of King Lycomedes after reacting to the weapons that were stood in front him.
Painting of Achilles -who was disguised as a woman- discovered among the daughters of King Lycomedes after reacting to the weapons that were stood in front him. In the painting, Odysseus stands on the left with a basket containing Achilles's weapons. Achilles stands on the right holding his sword and thereby revealing his identity while the other characters looking on in astonishment. An elegant woman in the foreground offers him a string of pearls from the finely decorated jewelry box in an attempt to cover up his error.
The Discovery of Achilles among the Daughters of Lycomedes 1664 Oil on canvas, 129 x 179 cm. Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Odysseus, his reputation, and his re-integration into society

Welcome to the first issue of a new digital series from the Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies: Hellenic Studies Folios (HSF).

The goal of the HSF series is to make the Center's great wealth of Classics-oriented digital resources more accessible to the general public. Here you will find dialogues, performances, thought-provoking questions, and more, as well as the occasional essay that goes more in-depth. The HSF series will release a new issue every three weeks. We begin with a figure known to all, who nonetheless has many sides...

  • Is Odysseus a trickster violating social norms?
  • What is the relationship between noos (thinking) and nostos (homecoming)?
  • How does Odysseus show the capacity for regeneration and revival?

Discussion of an ancient plot summary of the lost epic Iliou Persis

The text can be found in the video description; video of 6 minutes.

Conversation about the reputation of Odysseus and about the symbolism embedded in the Odyssey

Video of 25 minutes.

"Extra credit" in-depth reading:

Gregory Nagy's commentary on Odyssey 9; text totaling about 3,500 words. The commentary is color-coded by level of difficulty; see the top of the linked page for the key to the colors.