#bk 4

In Helen's portrait she was a secret collaborator within Troy working on behalf of the Greeks, but Menelaus virtually cancels out that Helen with a story that tells of her open collaboration with the Trojans, her yearning for her former home and husband apparently forgotten. In Helen's story Odysseus divulges the military secrets, while in her husband's story he prevents their disclosure. In one story Odysseus is the seduced; in the other he successfully resists Helen's seduction. In one story Helen's gaze has the power to recognize Odysseus beneath his disguise; in the other story the roles are reversed, and Odysseus, now better disguised, sees through Helen's magic.

In Odyssey 4, Helen and Menelaus are offering hospitality to Odysseus’ and Nestor’s sons. Like Circe, Helen decides to slip in a little magical extra:

Menelaus’ silence, along with his undeniable unhappiness despite the promised immortality, leads us to suppose that Elysium offers him no compensation for earthly trials, but rather continues indefinitely his melancholic present existence and makes his grief eternal. Cf. Anderson 1958, "[Elysium] continues the same sensuous tenor of his present existence, continues it indefinitely."

For two jars sit on the floor of Zeus’ halls, full of the gifts they give: one, evils; the other, goods. To whom Zeus who delights in thunder should give from these having mixed, he will sometimes fall in with evil, sometimes with good.

Eteoneus, I think, is not simply being inhospitable in proposing to dispatch the young men to someone else’s house, for he has reason to be wary of visits from handsome young foreigners. In other words, I detect an allusion here to the earlier visit of Paris. [...] Now, a comparison between Telemachus and Paris may seem most unlikely. But young men are young men, and Telemachus is no longer a boy; he is later described as entering upon manhood, and now possessing beauty or κάλλος (18.219), a word associated with sexual attractiveness and applied in the Homeric epics particularly to Paris and Helen [...] Indeed, when Helen first sees Telemachus, she wonders who he is, and says: "Shall I lie or tell the truth? But my heart bids me: I say that no one has ever seemed more similar, neither man nor woman – awe seizes me as I gaze at him – as this man resembles... the son of great-hearted Odysseus!" (4.140–3). She is right, of course: but might one not have thought for a moment that she was about to name Paris? Perhaps this is too Plautine a reading, with the significant pause, which editors tend to represent visually by a dash, before the word or phrase that constitutes the punch line.

I'm reading House of Hades and I love reading me some Leo Valdez Humor. So here are some goofy little quotes that I love xD "Though I still don't get why you want to go to Croatia, especially a town called *Split.* I mean, (when) you name your city *Split,* you gotta figure it's a warning to, you know, *split.* Kind of like naming your city *Get Out!*" + (when Jason is describing/explaining history about the last great pagan emperor Diocletian...) He faultered when he looked at Leo, who was mimicking taking notes with an air pencil. "Go on, Professor Grace!" he said, wide-eyed. "I wanna get an A on this test." "Shut up, Leo." + The ship's bell sounded. Festus creaked and whirred over the loudspeaker. "We've arrived," Leo announced. "Time to Split." Frank groaned. "Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?" Lolz, hoped you liked the quotes! XD there shall be more to come later!! Enjoy! ~Tess(: