TAKEPLACE: i~THE DIVINER PRIEST 1.62F.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

i~THE DIVINER PRIEST 1.62F.

Messages come from him, borne by Hermes in the Odyssey and Iris in the Iliad. Iris is the rainbow, a beautiful icon of the gods' communication with man. Zeus sends dreams too, such as the one that misleads Agamemnon in Iliad 2. 'let us send', says Achilles (Iliad 1.62f.), 'for a diviner or a priest, or a dream-interpreter - for dreams too are from Zeus.' When we think of oracles we think of Apollo and Delphi. But Zeus too had oracles, at Dodona and Olympia. We first hear of Dodona from Achilles as he prays to a very distinctive Zeus: Zeus lord, Dodonaian, Pelasgian, dwelling afar, ruling over wintry Dodona; and around you the selloi dwell, the interpreters, unwashed their feet, their bed on the ground!

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