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: Odyssey
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, Homer, 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, Homer, Novak Djokovic, 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, Homer, Oedipus, Sophocles, T. S. Eliot, Wasteland Comments closed
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, Homer, labor negotiation, 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, Homer, Sports, Ulysses Comments closed
Michael Vick, Escape Artist Extraordinaire
Why do I find myself rooting for someone guilty of an abominable crime? And yet this Sunday, when the Philadelphia Eagles play the Jacksonville Jaguars, I will find myself cheering for Michael Vick. The stories of the dog fighting ring run by Vick will turn any stomach. He went to jail for it and now […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beggar's Opera, Br'er Rabbit, Football, Homer, Joel Chandler Harris, John Gay, Michael Vick, Sports Comments closed
Learning to Live with E-Readers
Gustave Dore, Don Quixote An e-reader has entered our family. Here’s how it happened. My son Toby is studying for his English Ph.D preliminaries and wanted to spend a month reading 19th century British works in the family Maine cottage. He was accompanied by his girlfriend Candice, who is writing qualifying essays for her dissertation. […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Don Quixote, electronic books, Homer, Iliad, Miguel Cervantes, print culture, publishing, reading, technology Comments closed
