Biblical text[edit]

The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.

— Genesis 32:22-32

Msg I c He L

The account contains several plays on the meaning of Hebrew names — Peniel, Israel — as well as similarity to the root of Jacob's name (which sounds like the Hebrew for "heel") and its compound.^[2] The limping of Jacob (Ya'aqob), may mirror the name of the river, Jabbok (Yabbok sounds like "crooked" river), and Nahmanides (Deut. 2:10 of Jeshurun) gives the etymology "one who walks crookedly" for the name Jacob.^[3]

Achilles' heel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Greek mythology, when Achilles was a baby, it was foretold that he would die young. To prevent his death, his mother Thetis took Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed to offer powers of invulnerability, and dipped his body into the water; however, as Thetis held Achilles by the heel, his heel was not washed over by the water of the magical river. Achilles grew up to be a man of war who survived many great battles. One day, a poisonous arrow shot at him was lodged in his heel, killing him shortly afterwards.

The death of Achilles was not mentioned in Homer's Iliad, but appeared in later Greek and Roman poetry and drama^[1] concerning events after the Iliad, later in the Trojan War. In the myths surrounding the war, Achilles was said to have died from a heel wound which was the result of an arrow—possibly poisoned—shot by Paris.^[2]

Classical myths attribute Achilles's invulnerability to his mother Thetis having treated him with ambrosia and burned away his mortality in the hearth fire except on the heel, by which she held him. Peleus, his father, discovered the treatment and was alarmed to see Thetis holding the baby in the flames, which offended her and made her leave the treatment incomplete.^[3] According to a myth arising later, his mother had dipped the infant Achilles in the river Styx, holding onto him by his heel, and he became invulnerable where the waters touched him—that is, everywhere except the areas of his heel that were covered by her thumb and forefinger.^[4]

The use of "Achilles heel" as an expression meaning "area of weakness, vulnerable spot" dates only to 1840, with implied use in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Ireland, that vulnerable heel of the British Achilles!" from 1810 (Oxford English Dictionary).^[5]

Septuagint, Talmud and Targums[edit]

The Septuagint preserves the Hebrew text both in 32:24 where Jacob wrestles with "a man",^[4] and after the man's reply where Jacob calls the place Peniel (Hebrew for Face of God), and has "God" in Gen 32:30 where Jacob says "For I have seen God face to face."^[5] Following Hosea 12:4 however the Targum of Onkelos offers "because I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face", and the Targum of Palestine gives "because I have seen the Angels of the Lord face to face".^[6]

Ancient Christian versions[edit]

Of the ancient Christian translations the Vulgate follows Hebrew "man" in 32:24 as "man",^[7] and Hebrew "face of God" in 32:30 as "face of God".^[8] The Syriac Peshitta like Latin and Greek follows the Hebrew with first "man", then "face of God" in Genesis, but then in Hosea 12:4 preserves the Hebrew "angel".^[9]

Jewish interpretations[edit]

The oldest Jewish interpretation, malakh (angel) is found in Hosea 12:4: "Yes, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us;". Though some have questioned whether the Hebrew word malakh may be a later change here.^[12] Maimonides believed that the incident was "a vision of prophecy",^[13] while Rashi believed Jacob wrestled with the guardian angel of Esau (identified as Samael),^[14] his elder twin brother.^[15] Zvi Kolitz referred to Jacob wrestling with God.^[16]

As a result of the hip injury Jacob suffered while wrestling, Jews are prohibited from eating the meat tendon attached to the hip socket (sciatic tendon),^[17][18][19] as mentioned in the account at Genesis 32:32.^[20]

Christian interpretations[edit]

Both Martin Luther and John Calvin believed that Jacob had wrestled with God, although Calvin believed the event was only a vision.^[13] Joseph Barker (1854) believed the Bible clearly showed that Jacob wrestled with God.^[21] Peter L. Berger also believed Jacob wrestled God.^[22]

According to popular author Rosemary Ellen Guiley, "This dramatic scene has spurred much commentary from Judaic, Catholic, and Protestant theologians, biblical scholars, and literary critics. Does Jacob wrestle with God or with an angel?...There is no definitive answer, but the story has been rationalized, romanticized, treated as myth, and treated symbolically."^[23]

Among some Christian interpreters, this incident is thought to be a Christophany: J. Douglas MacMillan (1991) suggests that the angel with whom Jacob wrestles is a "pre-incarnation appearance of Christ in the form of a man."^[24]

According to one Christian commentary of the Bible incident described, "Jacob said, 'I saw God face to face'. Jacob's remark does not necessarily mean that the 'man' with whom he wrestled is God. Rather, as with other, similar statements, when one saw the 'angel of the Lord,' it was appropriate to claim to have seen the face of God."^[25]

Muslim interpretation[edit]

Muslim authors have interpreted the incident as Jacob wrestling with God and mention it as one of the ridiculous stories of the Bible.^[26]

Al-Baqra Verse No:34وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلاَئِكَةِ اسْجُدُواْ لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُواْ إِلاَّ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَى وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ {34 

002:034 Khan	:	And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam.". And they prostrated except Iblis (Satan), he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to Allah).
002:034 Sherali	:	And remember the time when WE said to the angels 'Submit to ADAM,' and they all submitted. But Iblis did not. He refused and deem himself too big; and he was of the disbelievers.

Hosea 1New International Version (NIV)

1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash[a] king of Israel:

Hosea's Wife and Children

2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord." 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lordsaid to Hosea, "Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means "not loved"), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them."

8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, "Call him Lo-Ammi (which means "not my people"), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.[b]

10 "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'children of the living God.' 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.[c]

In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea (/ˌhoʊˈziːə/ or /hoʊˈzeɪə/; Hebrew: הוֹשֵׁעַ, Modern Hoshea, Tiberian Hôšēăʻ; "Salvation"; Greek Ὠσηέ, Ōsēe), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BC prophet in Israel who authored the book of prophecies bearing his name. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, also known as the Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament. Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise of restoration. The Talmud (Pesachim 87a) claims that he was the greatest prophet of his generation. The period of Hosea's ministry extended to some sixty years and he was the only prophet of Israel of his time who left any written prophecy.^[1]

Name[edit]

The name "Hosea", meaning "salvation", or "He saves", or "He helps", seems to have been not uncommon, being derived from the auspicious verb from which we have the frequently recurring word "salvation". It may be a contraction of a larger form of which the divine name (YHWH) or its abbreviation formed a part, so as to signify "YHWH helps". According to the Bible Numbers 13:8, 13:16 that was the original name of Joshua, son of Nun, until Moses gave him the longer, theophoric name Yehoshua, "YHWH is salvation".^[2]

Location[edit]

Although it is not expressly stated in the Book of Hosea, it is apparent from the level of detail and familiarity focused on northern geography, that Hosea conducted his prophetic ministries in the Northern Israel (Samaria) of which he was a native.

Family[edit]

Little is known about the life or social status of Hosea. According to the Book of Hosea, he married the prostitute Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, at God's command.^[3] In Hosea 5:8 ff., there is a reference to the wars which led to the capture of the kingdom by the Assyrians (ca. 734–732 BC). It is not certain if he had also experienced the destruction of Samaria, which is foreseen in Hosea 14:1.

Hosea's family life reflected the "adulterous" relationship which Israel had built with polytheistic gods. The relationship between Hosea and Gomer parallels the relationship between God and Israel. Even though Gomer runs away from Hosea and sleeps with another man, he loves her anyway and forgives her. Likewise, even though the people of Israel worshipped false gods, God continued to love them and did not abandon his covenant with them.

The Prophet Hosea, by Duccio di Buoninsegna, in the Siena Cathedral(c. 1309-1311)

Similarly, his children's names made them like walking prophecies of the fall of the ruling dynasty and the severed covenant with God – much like the prophet Isaiah a generation later. The name of Hosea's daughter, Lo-ruhamah, which translates as "not pitied", is chosen by God as a sign of displeasure with the people of Israel for following false gods. (In Hosea 2:23 she is redeemed, shown mercy with the term Ruhamah.) The name of Hosea's son, Lo-ammi, which translates as "not my people", is chosen by the Lord as a sign of the Lord's displeasure with the people of Israel for following those false gods (see Hosea 1:8-9).

Christian thought[edit]

One of the early writing prophets, Hosea used his own experience as a symbolic representation of God and Israel: God the husband, Israel the wife. Hosea's wife left him to go with other men; Israel left the Lord to go with false gods. Hosea searched for his wife, found her and brought her back; God would not abandon Israel and brought them back even though they had forsaken him.

The Book of Hosea was a severe warning to the northern kingdom against the growing idolatry being practiced there; the book was a dramatic call to repentance. Christians extend the analogy of Hosea to Christ and the church: Christ the husband, his church the bride. Christians see in this book a comparable call to the church not to forsake the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians also take the buying back of Gomer as the redemptive qualities of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

Other preachers, like Charles Spurgeon, saw Hosea as a striking presentation of the mercy of God in his sermon on Hosea 1:7 titled The LORD's Own Salvation. "But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen." – Hosea 1:7 in his sermon NO. 2057, December 16TH, 1888.

Horus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Horus (disambiguation).

Horus
God of the sky and kingship
Horus was often the ancient Egyptians' national tutelary deity. He was usually depicted as a falcon-headed man wearing the pschent, or a red and white crown, as a symbol of kingship over the entire kingdom of Egypt.
Major cult center	Nekhen, Edfu
Symbol	Eye of Horus
Personal Information
Consort	Serket (as Horus the Elder), Hathor(in one version)
Offspring	Imset, Hapi, Duamutef, Qebehsenuef (as Haroeris), Ihy
Parents	Osiris and Isis
Siblings	Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys (as Horus the Elder), Anubis (as Horus the Younger)

Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists.^[1] These various forms may possibly be different perceptions of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality.^[2] He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a lanner falcon or peregrine falcon, or as a man with a falcon head.^[3]

The earliest recorded form of Horus is the tutelary deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt, who is the first known national god, specifically related to the king who in time came to be regarded as a manifestation of Horus in life and Osiris in death.^[1] The most commonly encountered family relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris, and he plays a key role in the Osiris myth as Osiris's heir and the rival to Set, the murderer of Osiris. In another tradition Hathor is regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife.^[1]Horus served many functions, most notably being a god of the sky, war and hunting.

Etymology

ḥr "Horus" in hieroglyphs

Horus is recorded in Egyptian hieroglyphs as ḥr.w "Falcon"; the pronunciation has been reconstructed as ħaːruw. Additional meanings are thought to have been "the distant one" or "one who is above, over".^[4] As the language changed over time, it appeared in Coptic dialects variously as hoːɾ or ħoːɾ and was adopted into ancient Greek as Ὧρος Hōros (pronounced at the time as hoːɾos). It also survives in Late Egyptian and Coptic theophoric names such as Har-si-ese "Horus, Son of Isis".

Nekheny may have been another falcon god worshipped at Nekhen, city of the falcon, with whom Horus was identified from early on.

Horus may be shown as a falcon on the Narmer Palette, dating from about the 31st century BC.

Origin mythology

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Horus was born to the goddess Isis after she retrieved all the dismembered body parts of her murdered husband Osiris, except his penis, which was thrown into the Nile and eaten by a catfish,^[7][8] or sometimes depicted as instead by a crab, and according to Plutarch's account used her magic powers to resurrect Osiris and fashion a golden phallus^[9] to conceive her son (older Egyptian accounts have the penis of Osiris surviving).

Once Isis knew she was pregnant with Horus, she fled to the Nile Delta marshlands to hide from her brother Set, who jealously killed Osiris and who she knew would want to kill their son.^[10] There Isis bore a divine son, Horus.

Mythological roles

rˁ-ḥr-3ḫty "Ra-Horakhty" in hieroglyphs

Sky god

Since Horus was said to be the sky, he was considered to also contain the sun and moon.^{[citation needed]} It became said^{[by whom?]} that the sun was his right eye and the moon his left, and that they traversed the sky when he, a falcon, flew across it. Later, the reason that the moon was not as bright as the sun was explained by a tale, known as The Contendings of Horus and Seth. In this tale, it was said that Set, the patron of Upper Egypt, and Horus, the patron of Lower Egypt, had battled for Egypt brutally, with neither side victorious, until eventually the gods sided with Horus.

As Horus was the ultimate victor he became known as ḥr.w wr "Horus the Great", but more usually translated "Horus the Elder". In the struggle, Set had lost a testicle, explaining why the desert, which Set represented, is infertile. Horus' left eye had also been gouged out, then a new eye was created by part of Khonsu, the moon god, and was replaced.

Eye of Horus or Wedjat

The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and royal power from deities, in this case from Horus or Ra. The symbol is seen on images of Horus' mother, Isis, and on other deities associated with her. In the Egyptian language, the word for this symbol was "wedjat" (wɟt).^[13][14]It was the eye of one of the earliest of Egyptian deities, Wadjet, who later became associated with Bastet, Mut, and Hathor as well. Wadjet was a solar deity and this symbol began as her all-seeing eye. In early artwork, Hathor is also depicted with this eye.^[15] Funerary amulets were often made in the shape of the Eye of Horus. The Wedjat or Eye of Horus is "the central element" of seven "gold, faience, carnelian and lapis lazuli" bracelets found on the mummy of Shoshenq II.^[16] The Wedjat "was intended to protect the king [here] in the afterlife"^[16] and to ward off evil. Egyptian and Near Eastern sailors would frequently paint the symbol on the bow of their vessel to ensure safe sea travel.^[17]

Conflict between Horus and Set

Horus, Louvre, Shen rings in his grasp

Horus was told by his mother, Isis, to protect the people of Egypt from Set, the god of the desert, who had killed Horus' father, Osiris.^[19][20] Horus had many battles with Set, not only to avenge his father, but to choose the rightful ruler of Egypt. In these battles, Horus came to be associated with Lower Egypt, and became its patron.

According to The Contendings of Horus and Seth, Set is depicted as trying to prove his dominance by seducing Horus and then having sexual intercourse with him. However, Horus places his hand between his thighs and catches Set's semen, then subsequently throws it in the river so that he may not be said to have been inseminated by Set. Horus then deliberately spreads his own semen on some lettuce, which was Set's favorite food. After Set had eaten the lettuce, they went to the gods to try to settle the argument over the rule of Egypt. The gods first listened to Set's claim of dominance over Horus, and call his semen forth, but it answered from the river, invalidating his claim. Then, the gods listened to Horus' claim of having dominated Set, and call his semen forth, and it answered from inside Set.^[21][22]

gyptologists have often tried to connect the conflict between the two gods with political events early in Egypt's history or prehistory. The cases in which the combatants divide the kingdom, and the frequent association of the paired Horus and Set with the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, suggest that the two deities represent some kind of division within the country. Egyptian tradition and archaeological evidence indicate that Egypt was united at the beginning of its history when an Upper Egyptian kingdom, in the south, conquered Lower Egypt in the north. The Upper Egyptian rulers called themselves "followers of Horus", and Horus became the tutelary deity of the unified nation and its kings. 

The Greek form of Her-ur (or Har wer) is Haroeris. Other variants include Hor Merti 'Horus of the two eyes' and Horkhenti Irti.^[29]

Φοίβη (Phoíbē)

Phoebe

Titaness of the "bright" intellect and prophecy, and consort of Koios.

• Chthonius (Χθονιος).

• Thoas/Thoon (Θοων), he was killed by the Moirai.

• Agathodaemon (Ἀγαθοδαίμων), spirit of the vineyards and grainfields. Ensuring good luck, health, and wisdom.
• Pothos (Πόθος), god of sexual longing, yearning, and desire
• Homados (Ὅμαδος), spirit of the din of battle
• Homonoia (Ὁμόνοια), spirit of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind
• Horkos (Ὅρκος), spirit of oaths
• Horme (Ὁρμή), spirit of impulse or effort (to do a thing), eagerness, setting oneself in motion, and starting an action
• The Moirai, or "Fates" (Μοίραι)
• Clotho (Κλωθώ), the spinner of the life thread
• Lachesis (Λάχεσις), the measurer of the life thread
• Atropos (Άτροπος), the severer of the life thread
• Peitho (Πειθώ), spirit of persuasion and seduction
• Phobos (Φόβος), spirit of panic fear, flight, and battlefield rout
• Persephone (Περσεφόνη), queen of the underworld, wife of Hades and goddess of spring growth
• Rivers of the Underworld
• Acheron (Αχέρων), the river of woe
• Kokytos (Kωκυτός), the river of wailing
• Lethe (Λήθη), the river of forgetfulness
• Phlegethon (Φλεγέθων), the river of fire
• Styx (Στύξ), the river of hatred and oaths
• Nicothoe (Νικοθόη)
• Phorcys (Φόρκυς), god of the hidden dangers of the deep

• Thoosa (Θόοσα), goddess of swift currents
• Eosphorus (Ηωσφόρος), god of Venus the morning star
• Phaethon (Φαέθων), god of Dios, the planet Jupiter
• Anthousai (Ανθούσαι), flower nymphs.  Borrowing from Japanese 侍さむらい (samurai)
• Centaurs (Κένταυροι), a race of half-man, half-horse beings
  • Asbolus (Άσβολος)
  • Chariclo (Χαρικλώ), wife of the centaur Chiron
  • Chiron (Χείρων), the eldest and wisest of the Centaurs
  • Eurytion (Ευρυτιων)
  • Nessus (Νέσσος), a ferryman at the river Euenus
  • Pholus (Φώλος)
• The Horae (Ώρες), The Hours, the goddesses of natural order
• Eunomia (Ευνομία), spirit of good order, and springtime goddess of green pastures
• Dike (Δίκη), spirit of justice, may have represented springtime growth
• Eirene (Ειρήνη), spirit of peace and goddess of the springtime
• The goddesses of springtime growth
• Thallo (Θαλλώ), goddess of spring buds and shoots, identified with Eirene
• Okythoos (Ωκύθοος) "the one running swiftly"
• Telesphorus (Τελεσφόρος), demi-god of convalescence, who "brought to fulfillment" recuperation from illness or injury
• Bellerophon, hero who slew the Chimera
• Phoenix, son of Agenor, founder-king of Phoenicia

Homer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation).

"Homeric" and "Homerus" redirect here. For other uses, see Homeric (disambiguation) and Homerus (disambiguation).

Idealized portrayal of Homer dating to the Hellenistic period. British Museum.

Homer (Ancient Greek: Ὅμηρος [hómɛːros], Hómēros) is the name ascribed by the ancient Greeks to the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems which are the central works of ancient Greek literature. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states. It focuses on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles lasting a few weeks during the last year of the war. The Odyssey focuses on the journey home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, after the fall of Troy.

The Homeric Question—by whom, when, where and under what circumstances were the Iliad and Odyssey composed—continues to be debated. Broadly speaking, modern scholarly opinion falls into two groups. One holds that most of the Iliad and (according to some) the Odyssey are the works of a single poet of genius. The other considers the Homeric poems to be the result of a process of working and re-working by many contributors, and that "Homer" is best seen as a label for an entire tradition.^[3] It is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late 8th or early 7th century BCE.^[4] The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language which shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic.^[5][6] Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally.^[7]

"Lives of Homer"[edit]

Various traditions have survived purporting to give details of Homer's birthplace and background. The satirist Lucian, in his True History, describes him as a Babylonian called Tigranes, who assumed the name Homer when taken "hostage" (homeros) by the Greeks.^[18] When the Emperor Hadrian asked the Oracle at Delphi about Homer, the Pythia proclaimed that he was Ithacan, the son of Epikaste and Telemachus, from the Odyssey.^[19] These stories were incorporated into the various "lives of Homer",^[20] "compiled from the Alexandrian period onwards".^[21]

Works attributed to Homer[edit]

The Greeks of the sixth and early fifth centuries BCE understood by the works of "Homer", generally, "the whole body of heroic tradition as embodied in hexameter verse".^[66] The entire Epic Cycle was included. The genre included further poems on the Trojan War, such as the Little Iliad, the Nostoi, the Cypria, and the Epigoni, as well as the Theban poems about Oedipus and his sons. Other works, such as the corpus of Homeric Hymns, the comic mini-epic Batrachomyomachia ("The Frog-Mouse War"), and the Margites, were also attributed to him. Two other poems, the Capture of Oechalia and the Phocais, were also assigned Homeric authorship.

Homeric style[edit]

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Homer in the company of Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry (replica of Roman Imperial mosaic, c. 240 CE, from Vichten)

Aristotle remarks in his Poetics that Homer was unique among the poets of his time, focusing on a single unified theme or action in the epic cycle.^[94]

The cardinal qualities of the style of Homer are well articulated by Matthew Arnold:

[T]he translator of Homer should above all be penetrated by a sense of four qualities of his author:—that he is eminently rapid; that he is eminently plain and direct, both in the evolution of his thought and in the expression of it, that is, both in his syntax and in his words; that he is eminently plain and direct in the substance of his thought, that is, in his matter and ideas; and finally, that he is eminently noble.^[95]

One often finds books of the Iliad and Odyssey cited by the corresponding letter of the Greek alphabet, with upper-case letters referring to a book number of the Iliad and lower-case letters referring to the Odyssey. Thus Ξ 200 would be shorthand for Iliad book 14, line 200, while ξ 200 would be Odyssey 14.200. The following table presents this system of numeration:

Iliad	Α	Β	Γ	Δ	Ε	Ζ	Η	Θ	Ι	Κ	Λ	Μ	Ν	Ξ	Ο	Π	Ρ	Σ	Τ	Υ	Φ	Χ	Ψ	Ω
book no.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Odyssey	α	β	γ	δ	ε	ζ	η	θ	ι	κ	λ	μ	ν	ξ	ο	π	ρ	σ	τ	υ	φ	χ	ψ	ω

Iliad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the epic poem. For other uses, see Iliad (disambiguation).

Who?

Homeric question · Archaeology of Troy ·Mycenae · Mycenaean warfare This box: view   talk   edit

The Iliad (/ˈɪliəd/;^[1] Ancient Greek: Ἰλιάς Ilias, pronounced [iː.li.ás] in Classical Attic; sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Song of Ilium) is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.

• Deiphobus – brother of Hector and Paris.
• Euphorbus – first Trojan warrior to wound Patroclus.

Divine Intervention[edit]

Some scholars believe that the gods may have intervened in the mortal world because of quarrels they may have had among each other. Homer interprets the world at this time by using the passion and emotion of the gods to be determining factors of what happens on the human level.^[15] An example of one of these relationships in the Iliad occurs between Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. In the final book of the poem Homer writes, "He offended Athena and Hera-both goddesses."^[16] Athena and Hera are envious of Aphrodite because of a beauty pageant on Mount Olympus in which Paris chose Aphrodite to be the most beautiful goddess over both Hera and Athena. 

Nostos[edit]

Nostos (νόστος, "homecoming") occurs seven times in the poem.^[17] Thematically, the concept of homecoming is much explored in Ancient Greek literature, especially in the post-war homeward fortunes experienced by the Atreidae (Agamemnon and Menelaus), and Odysseus (see the Odyssey). Thus, nostos is impossible without sacking Troy—King Agamemnon's motive for winning, at any cost.

Kleos[edit]

Kleos (κλέος, "glory, fame") is the concept of glory earned in heroic battle.^[18] For most of the Greek invaders of Troy, notably Odysseus, kleos is earned in a victorious nostos(homecoming). Yet, Achilles must choose only one of the two rewards, either nostos or kleos.^[19] In Book IX (IX.410–16), he poignantly tells Agamemnon's envoys—Odysseus, Phoenix, Ajax—begging his reinstatement to battle about having to choose between two fates (διχθαδίας κήρας, 9.411).^[20]

The passage reads:

μήτηρ γάρ τέ μέ φησι θεὰ Θέτις ἀργυρόπεζα (410) διχθαδίας κῆρας φερέμεν θανάτοιο τέλος δέ. εἰ μέν κ' αὖθι μένων Τρώων πόλιν ἀμφιμάχωμαι, ὤλετο μέν μοι νόστος, ἀτὰρ κλέος ἄφθιτον ἔσται εἰ δέ κεν οἴκαδ' ἵκωμι φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν, ὤλετό μοι κλέος ἐσθλόν, ἐπὶ δηρὸν δέ μοι αἰὼν (415) ἔσσεται, οὐδέ κέ μ' ὦκα τέλος θανάτοιο κιχείη.[21]

For my mother Thetis the goddess of silver feet tells me I carry two sorts of destiny toward the day of my death. Either, if I stay here and fight beside the city of the Trojans, my return home is gone, but my glory shall be everlasting; but if I return home to the beloved land of my fathers, the excellence of my glory is gone, but there will be a long life left for me, and my end in death will not come to me quickly.[22]

—Translated by Richmond Lattimore

In forgoing his nostos, he will earn the greater reward of kleos aphthiton (κλέος ἄφθιτον, "fame imperishable").^[20] In the poem, aphthiton (ἄφθιτον, "imperishable") occurs five other times,^[23] each occurrence denotes an object: Agamemnon's sceptre, the wheel of Hebe's chariot, the house of Poseidon, the throne of Zeus, the house of Hephaestus. Translator Lattimore renders kleos aphthiton as forever immortal and as forever imperishable—connoting Achilles's mortality by underscoring his greater reward in returning to battle Troy.

Kleos is often given visible representation by the prizes won in battle. When Agamemnon takes Briseis from Achilles, he takes away a portion of the kleos he had earned.

Achilles' shield, crafted by Hephaestus and given to him by his mother Thetis, bears an image of stars in the centre. The stars conjure profound images of the place of a single man, no matter how heroic, in the perspective of the entire cosmos.

Timê[edit]

Akin to kleos is timê (τιμή, "respect, honor"), the concept denoting the respectability an honorable man accrues with accomplishment (cultural, political, martial), per his station in life. In Book I, the Greek troubles begin with King Agamemnon's dishonorable, unkingly behavior—first, by threatening the priest Chryses (1.11), then, by aggravating them in disrespecting Achilles, by confiscating Briseis from him (1.171). The warrior's consequent rancor against the dishonorable king ruins the Greek military cause.

Wrath[edit]

The Wrath of Achilles (1819), by Michel Drolling.

The poem's initial word, μῆνιν (mēnin, accusative of μῆνις, mēnis, "wrath, rage, fury"), establishes the Iliad's principal theme: The "Wrath of Achilles".^[24] His personal rage and wounded soldier's vanity propel the story: the Greeks' faltering in battle, the slayings of Patroclus and Hector, and the fall of Troy. In Book I, the Wrath of Achilles first emerges in the Achilles-convoked meeting, between the Greek kings and the seer Calchas. King Agamemnon dishonours Chryses, the Trojan priest of Apollo, by refusing with a threat the restitution of his daughter, Chryseis—despite the proffered ransom of "gifts beyond count".^[25] The insulted priest prays his god's help, and a nine-day rain of divine plague arrows falls upon the Greeks. Moreover, in that meeting, Achilles accuses Agamemnon of being "greediest for gain of all men".^[26] To that, Agamemnon replies:

But here is my threat to you.
Even as Phoibos Apollo is taking away my Chryseis.
I shall convey her back in my own ship, with my own
followers; but I shall take the fair-cheeked Briseis,
your prize, I myself going to your shelter, that you may learn well
how much greater I am than you, and another man may shrink back
from likening himself to me and contending against me.^[27]

Homer Simpson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Homer Simpson
The Simpsons character
Information
Voiced by	Dan Castellaneta
Gender	Male
Occupation	Safety Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, former nuclear power plant operator
Relatives	Wife: Marge Children: Bart, Lisa and Maggie Parents: Abraham and Mona Half-siblings: Herbert Powelland Abbie (see also: Simpson family)
First appearance
Shorts	"Good Night" (1987)
The Simpsons	"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989)

Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated television series The Simpsons as the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpson family got their own series on Fox that debuted December 17, 1989.

Homer and his wife Marge have three children: Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant as safety inspector. Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is a crude, bald, obese, short-tempered, neglectful of the rules, clumsy, lazy, heavy drinking, ignorant and idiotic person; however, he is essentially a decent man and fiercely devoted to his family. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences.

Character[edit]

Creation[edit]

Naming the characters after members of his own family, Homer was named after Groening's father Homer Groening, who himself had been named after ancient Greek poet Homer.^[14][15][16] Very little else of Homer's character was based on him, and to prove that the meaning behind Homer's name was not significant, Groening later named his own son Homer.^[17][18] According to Groening, "Homer originated with my goal to both amuse my real father, and just annoy him a little bit. My father was an athletic, creative, intelligent filmmaker and writer, and the only thing he had in common with Homer was a love of donuts."^[19] Although Groening has stated in several interviews that Homer was named after his father, he also claimed in several 1990 interviews that a character in the 1939 Nathanael West novel The Day of the Locust was the inspiration for naming Homer.^[1][20][21] Homer's middle initial "J", which stands for "Jay",^[22] is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, who got their middle initial from Jay Ward.^[23][24]

Homer made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night".^[25] In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Homer and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.^[26]

D'oh![edit]

Main article: D'oh!

Homer's catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", is typically uttered when he injures himself, realizes that he has done something stupid, or when something bad has happened or is about to happen to him. During the voice recording session for a Tracey Ullman Show short, Homer was required to utter what was written in the script as an "annoyed grunt". Dan Castellaneta rendered it as a drawn out "d'ooooooh". This was inspired by Jimmy Finlayson, the mustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardyfilms. Finlayson had used the term as a minced oath to stand in for the word "Damn!" Matt Groening felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster. Castellaneta then shortened it to a quickly uttered "D'oh!"^[125] The first intentional use of D'oh! occurred in the Ullman short "The Krusty the Clown Show"^[125] (1989), and its first usage in the series was in the series premiere, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".^[126]

"D'oh!" was first added to The New Oxford Dictionary of English in 1998. It is defined as an interjection "used to comment on an action perceived as foolish or stupid".^[127] In 2001, "D'oh!" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary, without the apostrophe ("Doh!").^[128] The definition of the word is "expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish".^[129] In 2006, "D'oh!" was placed in sixth position on TV Land's list of the 100 greatest television catchphrases.^[130][131] "D'oh!" is also included in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.^[132]

Home

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Home (disambiguation) and Homes (disambiguation).

For the front page of the Wikipedia site, see Main Page.

Plans for a detached house showing the social functions for each room

A home or domicile is a dwelling-place used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for an individual, family, household or several families in a tribe. It is often a house, apartment, or other building, or alternatively a mobile home, houseboat, yurt or any other portable shelter. Homes typically provide areas and facilities for sleeping, preparing food, eating and hygiene. Larger groups may live in a nursing home, children's home, convent or any similar institution. A homestead also includes agricultural land and facilities for domesticated animals. Where more secure dwellings are not available, people may live in the informal and sometimes illegal shacks found in slums and shanty towns. More generally, "home" may be considered to be a geographic area, such as a town, village, suburb, city, or country.

Transitory accommodation in a treatment facility for a few weeks is not normally considered permanent enough to replace a more stable location as 'home'.^{[citation needed]} In 2005, 100 million people worldwide were estimated to be homeless.

A terraced house^[a] is a style of medium-density housing where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls, while semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side-by-side or (less commonly) back-to-back,^[5] sharing a party wall and with mirrored layouts.

Homelessness[edit]

Main article: homelessness

Homeless people in San'ya district, Tokyo, Japan

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948 contains the following text regarding housing and quality of living: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services..."^[7]

Psychological significance[edit]

A home is generally a place that is close to the heart of the owner, and can become a prized possession. It has been argued that psychologically "The strongest sense of home commonly coincides geographically with a dwelling. Usually the sense of home attenuates as one moves away from that point, but it does not do so in a fixed or regular way."^[11]Since it can be said that humans are generally creatures of habit, the state of a person's home has been known to physiologically influence their behavior, emotions, and overall mental health.^[12] People may become homesick when they leave their home over an extended period of time. Places like homes can trigger self-reflection, thoughts about who someone is or used to be or who they might become.^{[citation needed]} These types of reflections also occur in places where there is a collective historical identity, such as Gettysburgor Ground Zero.^[13]

Popular sayings include "a man's home is his castle",^[14] "there is no place like home", "home sweet home", "to be at home", "home away from home", "make yourself at home", "you can never go home again",^[15] "home is where the heart is"^[16] and "home is where you hang your hat".^[17]

Holy Spirit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Holy Spirit (disambiguation).

Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is a term found in English translations of the Bible that is understood differently among the Abrahamic religions.^[1][2] Holy Spirit is stated to be "a realm beyond the ability of words to properly convey. It must be experienced, realized, kindled within like a holy fire."^[3] The term is also used to describe aspects of other religions and belief structures.

Etymology[edit]

The word "Spirit" (from the Latin spiritus meaning "breath") appears as either alone or with other words, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament. Combinations include expressions such as the "Holy Spirit", "Spirit of God", and in Christianity, "Spirit of Christ".^[4]

The word Spirit is rendered as רוּחַ (ruach) in Hebrew-language parts of the Old Testament.^[5] In its Aramaic parts, the term is rûacḥ.^[6] The Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, translates the word as πνεῦμα (pneuma).^[5] This is the same word that is used throughout the New Testament, written originally in Greek.^[7]

The English term "Spirit" comes from its Latin origin, spiritus, which is how the Vulgate translates both the Old and New Testament concept.^[8] The alternative term, "Holy Ghost", comes from Old English translations of spiritus.^[9]

The Hebrew Bible contains the term "Spirit of God" (ruach hakodesh) in the sense of the might of a unitary God. This meaning is different from the Christian concept of "Holy Spirit" as one personality of God in the Trinity.^[10]

The Hebrew language phrase ruach ha-kodesh (Hebrew: רוח הקודש, "holy spirit" also transliterated ruacḥ ha-qodesh) is a term used in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and Jewish writings to refer to the spirit of YHWH (רוח יהוה). It literally means "spirit of the holiness" or "spirit of the holy place". The Hebrew terms ruacḥ qodshəka, "thy holy spirit" (רוּחַ קָדְשְׁךָ), and ruacḥ qodshō, "his holy spirit" (רוּחַ קָדְשׁוֹ) also occur (when a possessive suffix is added the definite article is dropped).^{[citation needed]}

The "Holy Spirit" in Judaism generally refers to the divine aspect of prophecy and wisdom. It also refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of the Most High God, over the universe or over his creatures, in given contexts.^[19]

For the large majority of Christians, The Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost, from Old English gast, "spirit") is the third divine person of The Trinity: The "Triune God" manifested as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; each aspect itself being God.^[21][22][23] Two symbols from the New Testament canon are associated with the Holy Spirit in Christian iconography: a winged dove, and tongues of fire.^{[citation needed]} Each depiction of the Holy Spirit arose from different historical accounts in the Gospel narratives; the first being at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River where the Holy Spirit was said to descend in the form of a dove as the voice of God the Father spoke as described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke;^{[citation needed]} the second being from the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Pascha where the descent of the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, as tongues of fire as described in the Acts of the Apostles.2:1–31^[24] Called "the unveiled epiphany of God",^[25] the Holy Spirit is the one who enabled the proclamation of Jesus Christ, and the power that brought conviction of faith.

Sacred

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from Holy)

For other uses, see Sacred (disambiguation).

"Holy" and "Sanctity" redirect here. For other uses, see Holy (disambiguation) and Sanctity (disambiguation).

Sacred means revered due to sanctity and is generally the state of being perceived by religious individuals as associated with divinity and considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspiring awe or reverence among believers.

From an anthropological or atheistic perspective, the religious view of the sacred is an emic perspective on a culture's collection of thoughts and practices that function as a basis for the community's social structure.

Objects are often considered sacred if used for spiritual purposes, such as the worship or service of gods. The property is often ascribed to objects (a "sacred artifact" that is venerated and blessed), or places ("sacred ground").

Etymology[edit]

The word "sacred" descends from the Latin wikt:sacer, that is consecrated, or dedicated^[1] to the gods or anything in their power, and to sacerdos and sanctum, set apart.

Distinguished from "Holy"[edit]

Main article: Hallow

Although there are similarities between the terms "sacred" and "holy" and they are sometimes used interchangeably, there are subtle differences.^[2] "Holiness" is generally the term used in relation to persons and relationship, while "sacredness" is used in relation to objects, places, or happenings.^[3] Thus a saint may be considered as holy, but he is not viewed as sacred. However, there are things that are both holy and sacred such as the holy bible.^[2]

The English word "holy" dates back to at least the 11th century with the Old English word hālig, an adjective derived from hāl meaning "whole" and used to mean "uninjured, sound, healthy, entire, complete". The Scottish hale ("health, happiness and wholeness") is the most complete modern form of this Old English root. The word "holy" in its modern form appears in Wycliffe's Bible of 1382. In non-specialist contexts, the term "holy" is used in a more general way, to refer to someone or something that is associated with a divine power, such as water used for baptism.

While both words denote something or someone set apart to the worship of God and therefore worthy of respect and in some cases veneration, "holy" (the stronger word) implies an inherent or essential character.^[4] Holiness originates in God and is communicated to things, places, times, and persons engaged in His Service. Thus Aquinas Thomas defines "holiness" as that virtue by which a man's mind applies itself and all its acts to God; he ranks it among the infused moral virtues, and identifies it with the virtue of religion, but with this difference that, whereas religion is the virtue whereby one offers God due service in the things which pertain to the Divine service, holiness is the virtue by which one makes all one's acts subservient to God. Thus holiness or sanctity is the outcome of sanctification, that Divine act by which God freely justifies a person, and by which He has claimed them for His own.^[5]

Academic views[edit]

Hierology[edit]

See also: Hierotopy

Hierology (Greek ιερος, hieros, "sacred" or "holy", + -logy) is the study of sacred literature or lore.^[6][7]

Islam[edit]

Among the names of God in the Qur'an is القدوس (Al-Quddus) : found in 59:23 and 62:1, the closest English translation is "holy" or "sacred". It shares the same triliteral Semitic root as the Hebrew kodesh (see below). Another use of the same root is found in the Arabic name for Jerusalem: al-Quds, "the Holy".

The word حرام (ħarām), often translated as "prohibited" or "forbidden", is better understood as "sacred" or "sanctuary" in the context of places considered sacred in Islam, e. g.: the Masjid al-Haram, the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, constituting the immediate precincts of the Ka'aba; al-Haramain or "the (two) Sanctuaries", a reference to the twin holy cities of Mecca and Medina; and the Haram ash-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary, the precincts of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Hebrew word קֹדֶשׁ, transliterated as qodesh, has been used in the Torah to mean set-apartness and separateness as well as holiness and sacredness.^[13] The Torah describes the Aaronite priests and the Levites as being selected by God to perform the Temple services; they, as well, are called "holy." Some^[who?] consider that the Hebrew noun for "holiness," kedushah (Hebrew: קדושה‎‎), from the adjective kodesh, "holy," has the connotation of "separateness".^{[citation needed]}

However, holiness is not a single state, but contains a broad spectrum. The Mishnah lists concentric circles of holiness surrounding the Temple in Jerusalem: Holy of Holies, Temple Sanctuary, Temple Vestibule, Court of Priests, Court of Israelites, Court of Women, Temple Mount, the walled city of Jerusalem, all the walled cities of Israel, and the borders of the Land of Israel.^{[citation needed]} Distinctions are made as to who and what are permitted in each area.

Science and technology[edit]

• Harmonic oscillator, a system that, when displaced from equilibrium, experiences a restoring force proportional to the displacement
• Heating oil, a liquid petroleum product used as a fuel oil for furnaces or boilers
• Heckscher–Ohlin theorem, in economics
• Heterotopic ossification, a process by which bone tissue forms outside of the skeleton
• Holmium, a chemical element with symbol Ho
• Hoxnian, a geological stage
• Hydroxyl radical, a molecule of one hydrogen and one oxygen atom

Ho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with H0 (disambiguation) ("Ho not," H followed by zero).

Look up Ho or ho in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Ho or HO may refer to:

H0

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from H0 (disambiguation))

See also Ho (H + the letter O)

H0 (h + number zero) or H00 may refer to:

• H0 scale, a model railroad scale
• Higgs boson, H⁰, in physics
• Hammett acidity function, H₀, in chemistry
• HMCS Restigouche (H00), a 1938 Royal Canadian Navy River-class destroyer
• Hubble constant, a measure of the expansion rate of the Universe
• Null hypothesis, in statistics
• Stye ICD-10 code

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as a letter-number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.