Athena visiting Odysseus at a critical point in battle represents the sort of intuitive decisions that we associate with great athletes and geniuses.
Tag Archives: Homer
One of Literature’s Sexiest Eating Scenes
Homer gains Fielding’s admiration by his ability to move seamlessly between epic grandeur and “the shameless dog of the belly.” Perhaps it is Homer’s dexterity that gives Fielding the idea for his own contribution to “Great Eating Scenes in Literature.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Epic, Food, Henry Fielding, Odyssey, sex, Tom Jones Comments closed
Spain’s Tiger Burning Less Bright
Did the god that made the elegant strokes of Roger Federer also make the bruising style of Nadal? Like William Blake gazing at the lamb and the tiger in “Tyger, Tyger,” we can only shake our heads bemused.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Tyger, Novak Djokovic, Odyssey, Rafael Nadal, Sports, tennis, William Blake, Wimbledon Comments closed
At 60, a Comfortable Old Scarecrow
Having just turned 60, I’ve been thinking of Teiresias. Wise though the blind seer may be, his advice doesn’t help others that much. Aging, in other words, appears to require humility.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aging, Bacchae, Carl Jung, Euripides, Odyssey, Oedipus, Sophocles, T. S. Eliot, Wasteland Comments closed
Bulls vs. Heat, a Homeric Battle
I designate the Miami Heat as the Greeks in Homer’s Iliad. After all, they represent a kind of dream team, kings from different city states coming together to seek glory. The Bulls are like the Trojans in that they have only one top-tier fighter. Derrick Bell is their Hector.
Judge Doty in the Role of Deus ex Machina
Sports Saturday Negotiations between the National Football League owners and the Players Association were at an impasse. The owners locking out the players seemed all but inevitable, along with suspension of the 2011 season. Then the goddess Athena stepped in. Taking the form of U.S. District Judge David Doty, she ordered the two sides to […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beowulf, blood feuds, Football, labor negotiation, Odyssey, Sports Comments closed
Rogers No Longer in Odysseus’ Shadow
Sports Saturday Something memorable occurred last Sunday in Dallas in addition to the Green Bay Packers bringing “Vince Lombardi home” in their Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quarterback Aaron Rogers stepped out of the shadow of a legend. The literary equivalent that comes to mind is Homer’s Telemachus, but Rogers is Telemachus with […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aaron Rogers, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Brett Favre, Football Green Bay Packers, Odyssey, Sports, Ulysses Comments closed
Manning vs. Brady, Hector vs. Achilles
Sports Saturday Tomorrow will witness the fiercest rivalry in American football—and maybe in American sports—as Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts travels to Boston to play against Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Many are beginning to believe that football has never seen a quarterback rivalry that matches this one. Which of the two […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Football, Iliad, Peyton Manning, Sports, Tom Brady Comments closed
