re: New Trailer for The Odyssey

quote:

---

That's called a translation. This is an epithet, which is a phrase repeated with the mention of a character's name. And several translations explain within their texts what epithets are and what such phrases mean. You're not going to find a translator or serious human who thinks a metaphorical color phrase such as white-armed is referring directly to skin color. You really think once every few pages Homer was just making sure he reminded the audience that Helen was white?


There is very little specific physical description of Helen, because it's an oral tale meant to spread and be told all over. The beauty is described through the beauty's impact, allowing the audience to imagine their own image of such beauty. Specific details of the beauty come in later plays and poems from centuries and millenia later, not from Homer. Helen did not launch a thousand ships in Homer's words. Helen did not explicitly cause the war in Homer's words. That was all added in adaptations later. The fair skin and fair hair is all from medieval poetry and artwork, not from Homer.

Yeah, highly unlikely the fictional Greek queen would have been conceived of as black, but cut that shite out trying to use a translated 3,000 year-old metaphor to prove a person was white.

You should read the Iliad and the Odyssey. I just did. Pretty good reads. Odyssey is much more entertaining than the Iliad. Doing this might prevent some of you from sounding so dumb.

---

quote:

---

Yeah, highly unlikely the fictional Greek queen would have been conceived of as black

---

Loading Twitter/X Embed...
If tweet fails to load, click here.