#  Hellenic Studies Folio #8 from the Center for Hellenic Studies 

 





February 22, 2021

 

 

   ![Illustration of a scene from the return of Odysseus in Ithaca before revealing his real identity, surrounded by his son Telemachus and his loyal swineherd and friend Eumaeus.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/chsgreece/files/the_return_of_ulysses.jpg?itok=UjTeR_gg) 

 

 "[The return of Ulysses](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_return_of_Ulysses.gif)" E. M. Synge (1860–1913); illustration in M. B. Synge, On the Shores of the Great Sea, Edinburgh, 1909. Image via Wikimedia Commons. ##  Meeting the Challenge of *Ainos*

- How do Homeric and Hesiodic figures communicate selectively through riddling or cryptic speech?
- What are the prerequisites for understanding a coded message such as an ancient Greek *ainos*, which can occur also in tragedy, not only in epic?
- How is the plot of the myth of the Sphinx relevant to the plot of the drama *Oedipus Tyrannus*?

###  Introduction to examples of riddling speech found in the songs of the two great poets of ancient Greece, Homer and Hesiod

 Read §§4–24; reading of approximately 3,600 words.

   ![Relief depicting Odysseus talking with the swineherd Eumaeus.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/chsgreece/files/odysseus_talking_to_eumaeus.jpeg?itok=gvYGbaHq) 

 

  
[*Ainoi* in the songs of Homer and Hesiod](https://classical-inquiries.chs.harvard.edu/homeric-ainoi-in-latin-literature-parti-homer/#%C2%A75)###  Discussion of the mental and emotional processes of understanding a coded message

 Video of approximately 4 minutes.

Embed



 



###  "Extra credit" video viewing:

 [Watch a discussion of the cryptic speech of the Sphnix and the understanding of Oedipus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiCzj9XevMM&ab_channel=TheCenterforHellenicStudies); video of approximately 9 minutes (watch from the beginning through about 09:00).

 [Learn more about the Hellenic Studies Folios and the previous installments of the series](/hellenic-studies-folios-series).



 

 

 



 

 

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