Plato tells of how Porus became drunk on nectar in
the garden of Zeus, before wine was known (Plat. Sym. 203b), and the
Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyrius claims that Zeus got Cronus drunk on honey
in the days before wine, as well (De Ant. Nym. 7). On the
conflation of nectar and honey, see Roscher (1883).
“the boy cried and nestled in his nurse’s bosom,
scared at the sight of his father’s … horse-hair plume that nodded fiercely
from his helmet. His father and mother laughed to see him,” (Iliad VI 466–473)
This scene always reminds me of something that happen when I was really
little. Us kids use to play cowboys and Indians. I recall plastic
six-shooters in leather holsters, a badge maybe and a straw cowboy hat.
The Indians were lead by the kids wearing the dime-store “Chief’s” headdress; a
band of fabric with plastic feather. That’s all we needed. One of
the kid’s baby brother would wander out to watch us. The little guy would
scream hysterically whenever someone wearing the head dress drew near.
Like Scamandrius’ parents, “we laugh to see him.” His father so
this happening one day and proposed a solution. We distracted the little
guy while his dad put the head-dress on him, then carried him into the
trailer. We all followed excitedly to see what would happen next.
His dad carried him into the bathroom and the big mirror there. The
baby’s eye grew wide at the “chief” in the mirror, the sound of horror rose to
his throat and – stopped. He liked what he saw, it was the power to
terrorize others!
A friend wrote of Themis and Achilles that (Philostratus 46.6) “It is said that she also
made for him weapons such as no one had yet carried.” Where is
this from? I know only of Peleus spears that no other could lift.
Could these other weapons be the onces that Pindar prophecized about?
“Wise Themis spoke in their midst and said that it was fated that the
sea-goddess should bear a princely son, stronger than his father, who would
wield another weapon in his hand more powerful than the thunderbolt [35] or the
irresistible trident, if she lay with Zeus or one of his brothers.”
Isthmian 8
We recently discussed clasps and greaves. It
reminded me that in “Helen in Egypt”
the poetess Hilda Doolittle reveals that the silver clasp on Achilles left
greave broke just as Helen came to the ramparts of Troy. He was so
stunned by her beauty that he forgot about his heel and the long moment taken
to gaze upon that superhuman beauty gave Paris time to perfect his aim.
“Whenever Adam
gives me such obviously incorrect information, I just smile, slap him on the
knee, and look out the window. Why spoil his dreams? They're such wonderful
dreams. “ (Blast from the Past)
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