To those on intimate terms with Homeric texts, I am searching for the pattern of three (three actions, three repeated speeches, etc.) in Homer. Any references from Homer enthusiasts would be most welcome.
Thanks,
r evans
Do you mean like the rhetorical tricolon or tricolon crescens? In my recent Homer jaunt, I don’t remember seeing anything like this that jumped out at me. That doesn’t mean that it’s not in Homer, and perhaps those who have studied him more in depth can comment.
I am thinking about patterns of three ( a la folk tale style) such as the three speeches to Achilles in Book IX (of the Iliad), the repetition of the dream’s command to Agamemnon in Book II (of the Iliad), patterned repetitions with significance, perhaps the “magical” three pattern. The three need to be connected to each other in a meaningful manner.
Thanks
You might say (thanks to Textkit), I’m an Homer enthusiast. I finished reading the Iliad a few months ago, and am now in Book 12 of the Odyssey and in response to your question, I can say that there is a lot of repetition due to the use of formulas, but there is also repetition in relayed instructions, which you note in the Dream example of Iliad Book 2.
Gregory Nagy also has some thoughts on repetition and references Helenus’ instructions to Hector in Book 6 as follows:
“The idea of performance as a speech act is especially relevant to cases where we can identify a ritual as the overt referent in a set of reformulated repetitions. One such case is Iliad 6. 87-101 ~ 269-278 ~ 297-310. Let us begin with the first in this set composed of three passages: in 6. 87-101, Helenus, who is speaking here as a seer, “instructs his brother Hector to withdraw to Troy and beg their mother to gather the Trojan women in Athena’s sanctuary to make offerings to the goddess in the hope that she will have pity on them” (TE p. 103): {143|144}
A Iliad 6. 87-101
Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σὺ πόλιν δὲ μετέρχεο, εἰπὲ δ’ ἔπειτα
μητέρι σῇ καὶ ἐμῇ· ἣ δὲ ξυνάγουσα γεραιὰς
νηὸν Ἀθηναίης γλαυκώπιδος ἐν πόλει ἄκρῃ
οἴξασα κληῖδι θύρας ἱεροῖο δόμοιο
90 πέπλον, ὅς οἱ δοκέει χαριέστατος ἠδὲ μέγιστος
εἶναι ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ καί οἱ πολὺ φίλτατος αὐτῇ,
θεῖναι Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο,
καί οἱ ὑποσχέσθαι δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ
ἤνις ἠκέστας ἱερευσέμεν, αἴ κ’ ἐλεήσῃ
95 ἄστύ τε καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα,
ὥς κεν Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ Ἰλίου ἱρῆς
ἄγριον αἰχμητὴν κρατερὸν μήστωρα φόβοιο,
ὃν δὴ ἐγὼ κάρτιστον Ἀχαιῶν φημι γενέσθαι.
οὐδ’ Ἀχιλῆά ποθ’ ὧδέ γ’ ἐδείδιμεν ὄρχαμον ἀνδρῶν,
100 ὅν πέρ φασι θεᾶς ἐξέμμεναι· ἀλλ’ ὅδε λίην
μαίνεται, οὐδέ τίς οἱ δύναται μένος ἰσοφαρίζειν.
About 200 verses later, Hector conveys this mantic formulation to his mother Hecabe:
B Iliad 6.269-278
ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν πρὸς νηὸν Ἀθηναίης ἀγελείης
270 ἔρχεο σὺν θυέεσσιν ἀολλίσσασα γεραιάς·
πέπλον δ’, ὅς τίς τοι χαριέστατος ἠδὲ μέγιστος
ἔστιν ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ καί τοι πολὺ φίλτατος αὐτῇ,
τὸν θὲς Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο,
καί οἱ ὑποσχέσθαι δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ
275 ἤνις ἠκέστας ἱερευσέμεν, αἴ κ’ ἐλεήσῃ
ἄστύ τε καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα,
αἴ κεν Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ Ἰλίου ἱρῆς
ἄγριον αἰχμητὴν κρατερὸν μήστωρα φόβοιο.
Hecabe follows the instructions of A and B by proceeding to fetch a peplos from the store-room. Then the instructions are followed further, in the form of a ritual performed on the acropolis of Troy:
C Iliad 6.297-310
Αἳ δ’ ὅτε νηὸν ἵκανον Ἀθήνης ἐν πόλει ἄκρῃ,
τῇσι θύρας ϊξε Θεανὼ καλλιπάρῃος
Κισσηῒς ἄλοχος Ἀντήνορος ἱπποδάμοιο· {144|145}
300 τὴν γὰρ Τρῶες ἔθηκαν Ἀθηναίης ἱέρειαν.
αἳ δ’ ὀλολυγῇ πᾶσαι Ἀθήνῃ χεῖρας ἀνέσχον·
ἣ δ’ ἄρα πέπλον ἑλοῦσα Θεανὼ καλλιπάρῃος
θῆκεν Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο,
εὐχομένη δ’ ἠρᾶτο Διὸς κούρῃ μεγάλοιο·
305 πότνι’ Ἀθηναίη ἐρυσίπτολι δῖα θεάων
ἆξον δὴ ἔγχος Διομήδεος, ἠδὲ καὶ αὐτὸν
πρηνέα δὸς πεσέειν Σκαιῶν προπάροιθε πυλάων,
ὄφρά τοι αὐτίκα νῦν δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ
ἤνις ἠκέστας ἱερεύσομεν, αἴ κ’ ἐλεήσῃς
310 ἄστύ τε καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα.”
Reading Book 12 in the Odyssey and considering your question, Circe’s instructions to Odysseus immediately came to mind, where Circe gives instructions to Odysseus for dealing with the Sirens, who in turn instructs his men, and then his men execute the instructions:
12.47-54
ἀλλὰ παρεξελάαν, ἐπὶ δ᾽ οὔατ᾽ ἀλεῖψαι ἑταίρων
κηρὸν δεψήσας μελιηδέα, μή τις ἀκούσῃ
τῶν ἄλλων: ἀτὰρ αὐτὸς ἀκουέμεν αἴ κ᾽ ἐθέλῃσθα,
δησάντων σ᾽ ἐν νηὶ θοῇ χεῖράς τε πόδας τε
ὀρθὸν ἐν ἱστοπέδῃ, ἐκ δ᾽ αὐτοῦ πείρατ᾽ ἀνήφθω,
ὄφρα κε τερπόμενος ὄπ᾽ ἀκούσῃς Σειρήνοιιν.
εἰ δέ κε λίσσηαι ἑτάρους λῦσαί τε κελεύῃς,
οἱ δέ σ᾽ ἔτι πλεόνεσσι τότ᾽ ἐν δεσμοῖσι διδέντων.
12.160-165
οἶον ἔμ᾽ ἠνώγει ὄπ᾽ ἀκουέμεν: ἀλλά με δεσμῷ
δήσατ᾽ ἐν ἀργαλέῳ, ὄφρ᾽ ἔμπεδον αὐτόθι μίμνω,
ὀρθὸν ἐν ἱστοπέδῃ, ἐκ δ᾽ αὐτοῦ πείρατ᾽ ἀνήφθω.
εἰ δέ κε λίσσωμαι ὑμέας λῦσαί τε κελεύω,
ὑμεῖς δὲ πλεόνεσσι τότ᾽ ἐν δεσμοῖσι πιέζειν.
12.173-179…12.192-196
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ κηροῖο μέγαν τροχὸν ὀξέι χαλκῷ
τυτθὰ διατμήξας χερσὶ στιβαρῇσι πίεζον:
αἶψα δ᾽ ἰαίνετο κηρός, ἐπεὶ κέλετο μεγάλη ἲς
Ἠελίου τ᾽ αὐγὴ Ὑπεριονίδαο ἄνακτος:
ἑξείης δ᾽ ἑτάροισιν ἐπ᾽ οὔατα πᾶσιν ἄλειψα.
οἱ δ᾽ ἐν νηί μ᾽ ἔδησαν ὁμοῦ χεῖράς τε πόδας τε
ὀρθὸν ἐν ἱστοπέδῃ, ἐκ δ᾽ αὐτοῦ πείρατ᾽ ἀνῆπτον:
…
ὣς φάσαν ἱεῖσαι ὄπα κάλλιμον: αὐτὰρ ἐμὸν κῆρ
ἤθελ᾽ ἀκουέμεναι, λῦσαί τ᾽ ἐκέλευον ἑταίρους
ὀφρύσι νευστάζων: οἱ δὲ προπεσόντες ἔρεσσον.
αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἀνστάντες Περιμήδης Εὐρύλοχός τε
πλείοσί μ᾽ ἐν δεσμοῖσι δέον μᾶλλόν τε πίεζον
This strikes me as the same reformulated repetition that Nagy is describing in his examples from the Iliad. In each of these examples, the same instruction is repeated or referenced 3 three times. I don’t know if this qualifies as a pattern, because there are many instances where an instruction is only repeated once or twice. I don’t know if any of this helps, but the pattern I discern is 1. an instruction is given 2. It is sometimes repeated or relayed and 3. it is executed
Here’s the link to Nagy’s article:
https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/4200
I know you’re trying to draw some parallels between Homeric and Sumero-Babylonian poetry, so I can only hope that some of this relevant!
Thanks–great examples. If I ever write my ideas up, you will get an appropriate citation. 
re
You’re most welcome, R.E.! Hopefully, you’ll get some more responses. I’d love to hear what Hylander has to say. He has read extensively in the area of Greek and Latin poetry. Speaking of which, I need to pop over and thank him for a recent reply!
I’m a bit late to the party here - I hope you pop by to check your thread. If you search Homer for τρίς you find some interesting things in the 47 occurrences.
I count 13 examples of a construction with τρίς … τρίς … where one thing happens three times and it is met in response by another thing happening three times. For example Odyssey 21.125-126 where Telemachus three times tries to string Odysseus’ great bow and then three times gives up:
τρὶς μέν μιν πελέμιξεν ἐρύσσεσθαι μενεαίνων,
τρὶς δὲ μεθῆκε βίης, ἐπιελπόμενος τό γε θυμῷ,
Notice the parallel in Iliad 21.176-7 where Asteropaios is trying to pull Achilles’ spear out of the ground:
τρὶς μέν μιν πελέμιξεν ἐρύσσασθαι μενεαίνων,
τρὶς δὲ μεθῆκε βίης· τὸ δὲ τέτρατον ἤθελε θυμῷ
In both instances there are three attempts, three failures and then the fourth time they would have succeeded except something stopped them. Telemachus would have strung the bow the fourth time if Odysseus hadn’t stopped him (21.128-129).
καί νύ κε δή ῥʼ ἐτάνυσσε βίῃ τὸ τέταρτον ἀνέλκων,
ἀλλʼ Ὀδυσεὺς ἀνένευε καὶ ἔσχεθεν ἱέμενόν περ.
The same construction (τρὶς … τρὶς … τὸ τέταρτον) is used at Iliad 5.436-438 (Diomedes tries to kill Aeneas three times and the fourth time Apollo intervenes), 13.20 (Poseidon takes three steps then reaches home with the fourth), 16.702-705 (Patroklos vs Apollo), 16.784-786 (death of Patroklos), 20.445-447.
What’s really interesting about stringing of Odysseus’ bow is that 21.125-129 comes inside an even bigger ‘three attempts, three failures’ motif. Leodes and Eurymachus both also attempt to string the bow, but fail. Then Odysseus, the fourth person to try to string it, succeeds with ease, naturally.
If you’re interested in repeated motifs in Homer I thoroughly recommend Irene de Jong’s A Narratological Commentary on the Odyssey and Martin West’s The Making of the Odyssey / Making of the Iliad.
Thank you for your this useful information.
Check out the first chapter (Oral Poetry) of Charle’s Rowan Beye’s Ancient Epic Poetry in which he mentions that in specific reference to the similarity with folk tale. He particularly mentions the embassy to Achilles in Book 9.