Gregory Nagy on Homer: 'Odysseus enters his opponents' side to feel their pain'

Gregory Nagy, a leading scholar of classical Greek literature, views ancient myths and epics not as static tales but as dynamic narratives ripe for reinterpretation. He finds resonance in Aristotle's observation, "The more I become great and solitary, the more I love myths," suggesting that profound narratives gain depth with experience.

“

The more I become great and solitary, the more I love myths. I have become more of a lover of myths.

Nagy's own path to classical studies began unconventionally in the United States, where he initially studied linguistics. His early exposure to ancient Greek was through Fred Householder at Indiana University, who emphasized grammatical analysis of texts like Xenophon's Anabasis. This rigorous linguistic approach, while foundational, initially left Nagy and his peers paralyzed by grammatical detail, hindering deeper engagement with the narrative.

“

For him, of course, 'myth' was the plot of tragedy or epic. But Socrates, at the end of Plato's 'Republic,' even though there is this intense conflict between philosophy and myth, says we can let myth pass through the back door.

His academic journey continued to Harvard, where he encountered a broader range of classical texts, including Euripides' "Medea" and papyrological studies of Ptolemaic-era marriage contracts. However, he notes that he never read Homer during his undergraduate years. It was only at Harvard, under the guidance of Professor John H. Finley Jr., that Nagy began a deep dive into Homer, starting with Rhapsody Omega of the "Odyssey."

“

I had read 'Daphnis and Chloe' with Housholder, a work that incidentally changed my adolescent life.

This specific focus on the "Odyssey's" Rhapsody Omega, which depicts Achilles' burial and the souls of Agamemnon and Achilles reflecting on their past, proved transformative. Nagy describes how this led him to revisit the "Iliad's" Rhapsody Alpha, fundamentally altering his perspective and scholarly approach to these foundational epics. He suggests that engaging with these texts, particularly through the lens of their narrative structure and thematic echoes, offers a continuous process of discovery.

“

And I must say that from that moment on I was never the same person.