Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea

by Thomas Cahill

  THE GREEK ALPHABET

  PRONOUNCING GLOSSARY

  Achaeans (a-kee-unz): One of Homer’s terms for the Greeks who attacked Troy. Also called Argives and Danaans.

  Achilles (a-kil-eez): Son of Peleus and Thetis, a sea nymph; greatest of the Greek warriors at Troy.

  Aegisthus (ee-jis-thus): Son of Thyestes, lover of Clytemnestra, murderer of Agamemnon.

  Aeneas (e-nee-as): Son of Aphrodite and Anchises; sails from Troy to Italy to found a dynasty that will produce Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

  Aeschylus (ee-skull-us): Athenian writer of tragedies (525/24–456 B.C.).

  Agamemnon (a-ga-mem-non): Son of Atreus, brother of Menelaus, commander in chief of the Greek forces at Troy, murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra.

  Agathon (a-ga-thon): Fifth-century B.C. Athenian writer of tragedies, character in Plato’s Symposium.

  Agave (a-ga-vee): Mother of Pentheus, king of Thebes.

  Alcibiades (al-suh-bye-a-deez): Athenian general and statesman (c. 450–404 B.C.), pupil of Socrates.

  Alcman (alk-mun): Seventh-century B.C. lyric poet of Sparta.

  Alexander the Great (al-ek-sand-er): Macedonian conqueror of the Greek city-states (356–323 B.C.), son of Philip II, pupil of Aristotle.

  Anacreon (a-nak-ree-on): Lyric poet born c. 550 B.C.

  Anaxagoras (a-nak-sag-ah-rus): Philosopher born c. 500 B.C.

  Andromache (an-drom-ah-kee): Wife of Hector, mother of Astyanax.

  Aphrodite (a-fro-dye-tee): Goddess of love and beauty.

  Apollo (a-pol-oh): God of light, music, and prophecy, son of Zeus and Leto, brother of Artemis.

  Apuleius (a-pyoo-lay-us): Roman writer born in Numidia c. A.D. 130.

  Arcadius (ar-kay-dee-us): Roman emperor, A.D. 395–408.

  Archilochus (ar-kill-oh-kus): Seventh-century B.C. lyric poet, writer of lampoons.

  Ariadne (a-ri-ad-nee): Daughter of Minos, king of Crete; helps Theseus.

  Aristophanes (ar-i-stof-a-neez): Athenian writer of comedy (444–388 B.C.).

  Aristotle (ar-i-staht-ul): Philosopher (384–322 B.C.), pupil of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

  Artemis (ar-te-mis): Virgin goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus and Leto, sister of Apollo.

  Astyanax (a-stye-a-naks): Son of Hector and Andromache.

  Atreus (ay-tryoos): Father of Agamemnon and Menelaus.

  Bacchae (bak-ay): Tragedy written by Euripides.

  Boeotia (bee-o-sha): District in ancient Greece northwest of Athens.

  Calchas (kal-kas): Prophet who accompanied the Achaeans to Troy.

  Cassandra (ka-san-dra): Trojan prophetess of Apollo, daughter of Priam and Hecuba.

  Chryses (krye-seez): Trojan priest whose daughter is carried off by Agamemnon as a war prize.

  Chrysippus (krye-sip-us): Stoic philosopher (c. 280–207 B.C.).

  Circe (sir-see): Enchantress who turns Odysseus’s men into swine.

  Clytemnestra (klye-tem-nes-tra): Wife of Agamemnon; murders her husband.

  Cnossos (knos-os): City on the northern coast of Crete.

  Cronus (kro-nos): Titan, father of Zeus and son of Uranus and Gaea.

  Cupid (kyoo-pid): Roman god of love, equivalent of Eros.

  Daedalus (dee-da-lus): Athenian architect who designs the labyrinth in Crete, father of Icarus.

  Demeter (de-mee-tur): Goddess of agriculture, mother of Persephone, sister of Zeus.

  Democritus (dem-ok-ri-tus): Fifth-century B.C. philosopher.

  Demodocus (dem-od-ik-us): Phaeacian bard in the Odyssey.

  Demosthenes (de-mos-the-neez): Athenian orator (384–322 B.C.).

  Dionysus (dye-o-nye-sus): God of fertility, wine, and drama, son of Zeus and Semele.

  Diotima (dye-ot-i-ma): Legendary priestess of Mantinea and teacher of Socrates.

  Electra (e-lek-tra): Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, sister of Orestes and Iphigenia.

  Empedocles (em-ped-o-kleez): Fifth-century B.C. philosopher and statesman.

  Eris (er-is): Goddess of discord.

  Eryximachus (er-ik-sim-a-kus): Fifth-century B.C. medical doctor, character in Plato’s Symposium.

  Euboea (you-bee-a): Island off the coast of eastern Greece.

  Euripides (you-rip-i-deez): Athenian writer of tragedies (485–406 B.C.).

  Evander (e-van-der): Arcadian king whose son Pallas fights beside Aeneas.

  Exekias (eks-ee-kee-us): Sixth-century B.C. Athenian potter and vase painter.

  Hades (hay-deez) God of the underworld, brother of Zeus, husband of Persephone; also, by attribution, the name given to the underworld.

  Hector (hek-tor): Greatest of the Trojan warriors, son of Priam and Hecuba, husband of Andromache, brother of Paris.

  Hecuba (hek-you-ba): Wife of Priam, mother of Hector, Paris, and Cassandra, queen of Troy.

  Hegelochus (hay-gel-o-kus): Athenian tragic actor.

  Helen (he-len): Wife of Menelaus, daughter of Zeus; her affair with Paris ignites the Trojan War.

  Hephaestus (he-fees-tus): God of fire, metallurgy, and the forge, husband of Aphrodite.

  Heraclitus (her-a-klye-tus): Philosopher of Ephesus, lived c. 535–475 B.C.

  Herodotus (her-a-doh-tus): Fifth-century B.C. historian, author of The Persian Wars.

  Hesiod (hee-see-od): Eighth- to seventh-century B.C. author of the Theogony and Works and Days.

  Hippocrates (hi-pok-rah-teez): Fifth-century B.C. physician, “the father of medicine.”

  Hippolytus (hi-pol-i-tus): Son of Theseus, accused of rape by his stepmother, Phaedra.

  Icarus (ik-a-rus): Son of Daedalus, ignores his father’s warning not to fly too close to the sun.

  Jocasta (joh-kas-ta): Mother and wife of Oedipus, widow of Laius.

  Kritios (krit-ee-us): Fifth-century B.C. sculptor.

  Laertes (lay-ur-teez): Father of Odysseus.

  Laius (lay-us): First husband of Jocasta, father of Oedipus.

  Laocoon (lay-ok-oh-on): Trojan priest who warns the Trojans not to take the Wooden Horse into the city.

  Leucippus (loo-sip-us): Fifth-century B.C. philosopher, joint author with Democritus of the Atomic theory.

  Lysippus (lye-sip-us): Fourth-century B.C. sculptor.

  Lysistrata (lis-is-tra-ta): Comedy written by Aristophanes (411 B.C.).

  Marsyas (mar-see-us): Satyr who engages in musical contest with Apollo.

  Medea (me-dee-a): Colchian witch, wife of Jason.

  Menelaus (me-ne-lay-us): Brother of Agamemnon, husband of Helen.

  Mycenae (mye-see-nee): City in ancient Greece, home of Agamemnon.

  Nausicaa (naw-si-kay-a): Phaeacian princess, daughter of Alcinous and Arete; befriends Odysseus.

  Niobe (nye-o-bee): Mother whose children were all slain by the arrows of Apollo and Artemis, because she had boasted that her many children made her more important than their mother, the goddess Leto, who had only two children.

  Odysseus (o-dis-yoos): King of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus.

  Oedipus (ee-di-pus, e-di-pus): Son of Laius and Jocasta, king of Thebes.

  Orestes (o-res-teez): Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, brother of Electra and Iphigenia.

  Ovid (ov-id): Roman author (43 B.C.–17 A.D.) of the Metamorphoses and Ars Amatoria.

  Paris (pa-ris): Trojan prince, son of Priam and Hecuba, brother of Hector; abducts Helen from Menelaus.

  Parmenides (par-men-i-deez): Fifth-century B.C. philosopher and poet.

  Patroclus (pa-tro-klus): Companion of Achilles, killed by Hector.

  Pausanias (po-say-nee-us): Lover of Agathon, character in Plato’s Symposium.

  Peleus (peel-yoos): Father of Achilles, husband of the sea nymph Thetis.

  Penelope (pe-ne-lo-pee): Faithful wife of Odysseus.

  Pentheus (penth-yoos): Young king of Thebes, ripped to shreds by his mother, Agave.

  Pericles (per-ik-leez): Greatest of Athenian statesmen; ruled Athens from 460 to 429 B.C.

  Persephone (pu
r-se-fo-nee): Queen of the underworld, wife of Hades, daughter of Zeus and Demeter.

  Phaeacians (fee-ay-shuns): Inhabitants of the island Scheria who offer hospitality to the shipwrecked Odysseus.

  Phaedra (feed-ra): Wife of Theseus, stepmother of Hippolytus.

  Phaedrus (feed-rus): Pupil of Socrates, character in Plato’s Symposium.

  Phidippides (fye-dip-a-deez): Runner sent by the Athenians to Sparta in 490 B.C. to secure aid against the Persians.

  Philostratus (fil-os-tra-tus): Sophistic writer of the second century A.D.

  Phoebus (fee-bus): Epithet of Apollo, “the shining one.”

  Pisistratus (pye-sis-tra-tus): Tyrant of Athens from 560 B.C. to 527 B.C.

  Plato (play-toh): Philosopher (428–347 B.C.), pupil of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle.

  Pnyx (pniks): Open-air setting in Athens where assemblies of the people were held.

  Polemarchus (po-le-mar-kus): Pupil of Socrates, character in Plato’s Republic.

  Poseidon (po-sye-don): God of the sea and earthquakes, brother of Zeus and Hades, son of Cronus.

  Praxiteles (prak-si-te-leez): Fourth-century B.C. Athenian sculptor.

  Priam (prye-am): King of Troy, husband of Hecuba, father of Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.

  Psyche (sye-kee): Wife of Cupid; her name means “soul.”

  Pythagoras (pi-thag-o-ras): Sixth-century B.C. mathematician, philosopher, and religious leader.

  Sappho (saf-oh): Lyric poet born on the island of Lesbos c. 612 B.C.

  Scaean (see-an) Gates: Main gates of Troy.

  Socrates (sok-ra-teez): Athenian philosopher (469–399 B.C.), teacher of Plato, Xenophon, and Alcibiades.

  Solon (so-lon): Athenian statesman and legislator (c. 640–560 B.C.).

  Sophocles (sof-oh-kleez): Athenian writer of tragedies (496–406 B.C.).

  Thales (thay-leez): Ionian philosopher (c. 635–546 B.C.).

  Theodosius the Great (thee-o-doh-shus): Emperor, A.D. 378–395.

  Theognis (thee-og-nis): Sixth-century B.C. elegiac poet.

  Theseus (thees-yoos): King of Athens, husband of Phaedra, father of Hippolytus.

  Thespis (thes-pis): Father of Greek tragedy, contemporary of Pisistratus.

  Thessalonians (thes-a-lon-i-anz): Inhabitants of Thessalonica (also called Salonika), a seaport in northwestern Greece.

  Thetis (thee-tis): Sea nymph married to Peleus, mother of Achilles.

  Thrasymachus (thra-sim-a-kus): Fifth-century B.C. Sophist, character in Plato’s Republic.

  Thucydides (thoo-sid-a-deez): Fifth-century B.C. historian, author of The Peloponnesian War.

  Thyestes (thye-es-teez): Brother of Atreus, father of Aegisthus.

  Xanthippe (zan-thip-pee): Wife of Socrates.

  Xenophanes (zen-o-fa-neez): Philosopher and poet; founded the Eleatic school (c. 560–480 B.C.).

  Xenophon (zen-o-fon): Historian (c. 430–c. 354 B.C.), disciple of Socrates.

  Zeus (zyoos): King of the Olympian gods, son of Cronus, husband of Hera.

  NOTES AND SOURCES

  What follows is not an exhaustive bibliography of all the books I consulted (which would perilously weigh down this modest book), merely what I found most valuable and wish to point out to readers interested in the further pursuit of particular themes. In approaching my overall subject, I found especially helpful a book by a gifted amateur, Charles Freeman, The Greek Achievement (London and New York, 1999), and another by a collection of distinguished scholars at the top of their game, Literature in the Greek World, edited by Oliver Taplin (Oxford and New York, 2000). Both books review in different ways principal theories of current scholarship, the latter focused on the “receivers” of the literature, whether readers, spectators, or audiences. The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization, edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth (1993), and The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, edited by M. C. Howatson (1990), provided indispensable checklists. Because the various parts of our ancient world were hardly sealed off from one another, I found that my old friend the six-volume Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York, 1992) also came in handy, as well as, from time to time, The Oxford Companion to the Bible (1993). Everyone’s old friend Edith Hamilton’s Mythology (New York, 1942) was useful in choosing the myths that introduce each chapter, as were innumerable other sources. For original Greek texts, my usual source was the Loeb series (see the notes for Chapter I).

  INTRODUCTION

  Besides the books listed above, the following were useful in preparing the Introduction and throughout my study: The Oxford Illustrated History of Greece and the Hellenistic World, edited by John Boardman et al. (1988); Oswyn Murray, Early Greece (Cambridge, MA, 1993); Thomas R. Martin, Ancient Greece (New Haven and London, 1996). An exciting example of insightful scholarship from the middle of the last century is Stringfellow Barr, The Will of Zeus: A History of Greece from the Origins of Hellenic Culture to the Death of Alexander (Philadelphia and New York, 1961).

  There is at present a raging controversy over the origins of the Greeks. The high likelihood of their racial origin in the Caucasus, as well as the certainty of their linguistic origin as a branch of the Indo-European tree, was perverted by the Nazis to confirm their racial theories—somehow, the Greeks turned out to be Germans. This perversion has impelled some contemporary scholars, especially among the French, to search far and wide for other (if not racial or linguistic, at least cultural) antecedents. There can be little doubt that both Africa and Asia exerted pervasive, if somewhat distant, influence on the formation of Greek culture, Africa through Egyptian-Nubian-Ethiopian connections, Asia through Sumerian-Akkadian connections. But, despite scholarly special pleading (by, for example, Martin Bernal in his fashionably notorious Black Athena), these connections—save for similarities between certain Sumerian-Akkadian myths and corresponding Greek myths and between narrative elements of the Epic of Gilgamesh and that of the Odyssey—are difficult to demonstrate.

  One can easily exhaust the reader by alluding to one too many scholarly controversies. I cannot refrain, however, from at least mentioning that many reputable scholars—Peter Ucko, Ruth Tringham, Mary Lefkowitz, and Colin Renfrew, to name a few—doubt (or even vigorously dispute) the importance of earth goddess worship in prehistoric Greece.

  I: THE WARRIOR

  I was lucky to be able to quote from Robert Fagles’s fresh translations of the Iliad (New York and London, 1990) and the Odyssey (New York and London, 1996), which can hardly be praised too highly. The introduction and notes to each volume, by Bernard Knox, are also uncommonly valuable. As to the Greek originals, I consulted the texts as published in four volumes of the splendidly never-ending Loeb Classical Library, published by Harvard. (The series of “Loebs” was my usual source for the Greek texts referred to throughout this book.)

  The subjects of the Greeks at war and their influence on the military traditions of the Western world are ably covered, I found, in several books by Victor Davis Hanson, the most useful being The Wars of the Ancient Greeks (New York, 1999, and London, 2000) and Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power (New York, 2001). Dick Cheney’s keen interest in Hanson’s histories has been reported by several journalists, among them Michiko Kakutani, “How Books Have Shaped U.S. Policy” (New York Times, April 5, 2003).

  Another book on the subject of the wars of the West, Philip Bobbit’s The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History (New York, 2002), though not as directly related to my subject as its title might suggest, has proved a powerful catalyst to my own thinking. The closing quotation is from my favorite Dr. Seuss book, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

  II: THE WANDERER

  As to orality, literacy, and the alphabet, I have been considering these phenomena for so long (see especially the first two volumes in this series, How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews) that it is difficult now to name all the books that have influenced me. For those wishing additional, easily digestible inform
ation about Mesopotamian cuneiform, Samuel Noah Kramer’s books, especially The Sumerians (Chicago, 1963), still provide the best starting point. For an introduction to the enigmas of deciphering the oldest writing systems, Andrew Robinson offers in Lost Languages (New York, 2002) an immensely entertaining romp, as well as a splendid bibliography. Recently, I have found the essays of Clarisse Herrenschmidt in L’Orient ancien et nous: L’Écriture, la raison, les dieux (Paris, 1996) to be truly provocative. Her collaborators in that collection, whose essays are also of considerable value, are Jean Bottéro and Jean-Pierre Vernant; and the collection has now been translated into English under the title Ancestor of the West: Writing, Reasoning, and Religion in Mesopotamia, Elam, and Greece (Chicago, 2000). Another study of consequence, excellent at providing social contexts, is Rosalind Thomas, Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, 1992). The translations of the inscriptions on two seventh-century cups are mine.

  In the controversy over orality versus literacy in Homer, the benchmark study is Milman Parry’s L’Épithète traditionnelle dans Homère (Paris, 1928), translated into English as The Making of Homeric Verse (Oxford, 1971). Parry’s groundbreaking work was continued after his untimely death by Albert B. Lord in The Singer of Tales (Cambridge, MA, 1960), by Eric A. Havelock in Origins of Western Literacy (Toronto, 1976) and in other works, as well as by Parry’s son, Adam. The Singer of Tales has recently been reissued in a second edition (Cambridge, MA, 2000) with an accompanying CD that supplements the text with audio and video recordings of Balkan folksingers of the 1930s in whose prodigious memories and battery of techniques Parry found keys for appreciating the performance strategies of Homer and of his predecessors. Thanks to Parry et al., it is no longer in doubt that Homer availed himself of the traditional methods of the performers of oral poetry. None of their findings, however, can settle once and for all the question of whether or not Homer was literate.