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Why does Odysseus laugh at Zeus' sign before killing the suitors?

This is 21.414: γήθησέν τ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔπειτα πολύτλας δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς then rejoiced the long-suffering divine Odysseus Homer. Odyssey 21.414. My translation. A. T. Murray (1919) translates the line as "...
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6 votes

Why does Telemachus hang the women instead of following Odysseus' instructions?

The explanation given by Telemachus at 22.462–464 is that death by the sword is καθαρός (“clean, spotless”), and this is too good for the women who rebuked Telemachus and Penelope and had sex with the ...
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3 votes

What does "spiked with coughing death" mean in "The Odyssey"?

The difficult line is 21.60: … πολλοὶ δ᾽ ἔνεσαν στονόεντες ὀϊστοί many groan-causing arrows were in it [the quiver] Homer. Odyssey 21.60. My translation. The arrows are described as στονόεντες, for ...
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4 votes

Bathing and marriage in ancient Greek culture

Book 6 of the Odyssey seems to be organized in the form of a marriage of Nausicaa and Odysseus—not a real wedding, but the individual steps of a wedding, in play or mock. There are several theories ...
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3 votes
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Bathing and marriage in ancient Greek culture

One translation (The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes) Nausicaa, how comes it that thy mother bore thee so heedless? Thy bright raiment is lying uncared for; ...
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