The Cup of Nestor in The Iliad
The Iliad of Homer describes a magnificent golden cup (depas) that belongs to Nestor, the king of Pylos:
- Beside these she set a cup,
- a magnificent work Nestor had brought from home,
- studded with gold. There were four handles on it,
- around each one a pair of golden doves was feeding.
- Below were two supports. When that cup was full,
- another man could hardly lift it from the table,
- but, old as he was, Nestor picked it up with ease.
(translation by Ian Johnston)
Read more about this topic: Nestor's Cup
Famous quotes containing the words cup and/or iliad:
“I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man: wine is not so noble a liquor; and think of dashing the hopes of a morning with a cup of warm coffee, or of an evening with a dish of tea! Ah, how low I fall when I am tempted by them! Even music may be intoxicating. Such apparently slight causes destroyed Greece and Rome, and will destroy England and America.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In Homer and Chaucer there is more of the innocence and serenity of youth than in the more modern and moral poets. The Iliad is not Sabbath but morning reading, and men cling to this old song, because they still have moments of unbaptized and uncommitted life, which give them an appetite for more.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)