No Nostoi

FinsburyParkCarrots

Lokrian Aias is to blame,
For plundering Kassandra in Athene's temple
while the flames licked the jut of the bastion
From which Astyanax was hurled.
You'll never get your nostoi now, soldiers.
Oh, Agamemnon will get back,
But the seer says
Klytemnaistra's got Aigisthos
keeping the bed warm
and the knives sharp for his return.
So it's just games of backgammon for now,
and counting either the campfires along the plain
or the poking masts in the waters
of vessels that chanced the Hellesport winds
which in their fullthroated gurgling drown
became the cries of boys for deaf mothers in Sparta.
Lokrian Aias was impetuous in fire,
toppling statues, letting the slaves burn the citadel
once Helen was led in tears to Menelaos.
Lokrian Aias is to blame.

FinsburyParkCarrots

Pathos becomes a formula
and you're reduced to a vignette;
the son of a father in Lemnos;
a poppy cut down by a blade;
A bit part in an aristeia
by a hero no-one can prove to have existed,
a possibility of a tale
amid what's left of looted graves.

A Surprise Left

good but i've got to admit that largely went over my head. can you give me any background info?

FinsburyParkCarrots

In Greek literature, a nostos is a soldier's homecoming from war (nostoi being the plural in reference to a number of soldiers);
kleos means fame or glory acquired in war, often through a glorious death in battle;
an aristeia is a one-man all-out assault against the enemy in battle.

Enjoy the following links.



http://gracie.smsu.edu/myth/reviews/revhtm04.html

http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad_title.htm

http://www.temple.edu/classics/iliadho.html

By the way, my spellings of names correspond with Richmond Lattimore's 1951 translation of The Iliad (University of Chicago Press).

FinsburyParkCarrots

Here's another link relevant to the first poem:

http://news.mainetoday.com/apwire/D81S6VVO0-100.shtml

DopeBeastie

of_the_girl

Finsbury, you are so interesting. I always love reading your stuff. And hey, I even learned something from it!!

Rock on,
Jessie

FinsburyParkCarrots

Thanks, Jessie! I only read "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" a year ago or so but they're both so powerful that I come to see that almost all human history, war, conquest, ambition, desire, resource, tragedy and comedy, and certainly all literature, directly or indirectly owes to these two epics. Even - no, especially - what's happening in Iraq right now.

anOmis

Originally posted by FinsburyParkCarrots
Lokrian Aias is to blame,
For plundering Kassandra in Athene's temple
while the flames licked the jut of the bastion
From which Astyanax was hurled.
You'll never get your nostoi now, soldiers.
Oh, Agamemnon will get back,
But the seer says
Klytemnaistra's got Aigisthos
keeping the bed warm
and the knives sharp for his return.
So it's just games of backgammon for now,
and counting either the campfires along the plain
or the poking masts in the waters
of vessels that chanced the Hellesport winds
which in their fullthroated gurgling drown
became the cries of boys for deaf mothers in Sparta.
Lokrian Aias was impetuous in fire,
toppling statues, letting the slaves burn the citadel
once Helen was led in tears to Menelaos.
Lokrian Aias is to blame.

fucking bautiful

anOmis

italians say-dante goes first, Homer second
germans- Gette comes first, then follows homer
english say- Shakespear is first..homer takes the second place

the second GOLD homer!

illias is the second most read poem after the BIBle

Aqualang

Originally posted by FinsburyParkCarrots
Thanks, Jessie! I only read "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" a year ago or so but they're both so powerful that I come to see that almost all human history, war, conquest, ambition, desire, resource, tragedy and comedy, and certainly all literature, directly or indirectly owes to these two epics. Even - no, especially - what's happening in Iraq right now.

What you are saying is oh so true- the language Omiros uses is indeed so powerful and inspiring and the epics bear within them all different parts of a person's life. They could never have been more 'modern' in that respect of war as you have said. Ofcourse, the heroes then were supposed to be fighting for noble causes, for the aristeia and the kleos you are mentioning. It is always wonderful to find someone interested in these- i loved your poem- Kleos. Keep writing
(oh btw, is there plural for nostos? i think there isn't but i get what you mean, it is nice as it is )

FinsburyParkCarrots

Originally posted by Aqualang


(oh btw, is there plural for nostos? i think there isn't but i get what you mean, it is nice as it is )

http://www.fll.vt.edu/classics/Agamemnon.pdf

http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/odyssey.html

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www-utenti.dsc.unibo.it/~fodera/ig/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnostoi%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8