Wiener Studien 133/2020, pp. 7-19, 2020/07/23
Zeitschrift für Klassische Philologie, Patristik und lateinische Tradition
In a well-known essay O. Jörgensen observed that in the Homeric epics the intervention of the gods is described in different ways. Mortals use the general expressions θεός (Sg. or Pl.) or δαίμων or vaguely attribute the intervention to „Zeus“ as the supreme divine being, while the poet is always aware which deity is active in each given case. This article examines whether this observation also holds true for the Nekyia (Od. 11). The answer to this narratological question is also relevant to what Sourvinou-Inwood called the „humanity aspect“ of the Nekyia.