Irlandos: /* References */

2006-07-25T09:52:32Z

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Irlandos at 09:21, December 29, 2005

2005-12-29T09:21:34Z

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In [[Greek mythology]], '''Nestor''' was the son of [[Neleus]], the King of [[Pylos]], and [[Chloris]]. He became king after [[Heracles]] killed Neleus and all of Nestor's brothers and sisters.

==Biography==
Nestor was an [[Argonauts|Argonaut]], helped fight the [[centaur]]s, and participated in the hunt for the [[Calydonian Boar]]. He and his sons [[Antilochus]] and [[Thrasymedes]] fought on the side of the [[Achaeans]] in the [[Trojan War]]. Though Nestor was already very old when the war began, he was noted for his wisdom, bravery and speaking abilities. In the ''[[Iliad]]'' he often gives advice to the younger warriors, and advises [[Agamemnon]] and [[Achilles]] to reconcile. He is too old to engage in combat himself, but he leads the [[Pylos|Pylian]] troops, riding his chariot, and one of his horses is killed by an arrow shot by [[Paris]]. He also had a solid gold shield. [[Homer]] frequently calls him by the epithet "the Gerenian horseman." At the funeral games of [[Patroclus]] Nestor advises [[Antilochus]] on how to win the chariot race. Antilochus was later killed in battle by [[Memnon]].

Although Homer clearly intends his readers to perceive Nestor as an "elder statesman"-type figure worthy of respect, there are occasional flashes of humor at Nestor's expense in the ''[[Iliad]],'' as any advice he gives to the other combatants typically serves as a pretext for his first providing his listeners with a garrulous, long-winded exposition of his own past glorious feats in similar circumstances. Homer never actually <u>calls</u> Nestor a bore, but the reader is left with the impression that Homer considers him a bore nonetheless.

In the ''[[Odyssey]],'' Nestor has safely returned to [[Pylos]], and [[Odysseus]]'s son [[Telemachus]] travels there to inquire about the fate of his father. Nestor receives Telemachus kindly and entertains him lavishly as a guest, but is unable to furnish any information on his father's fate. Nestor's wife [[Eurydice]] and their remaining living sons appear in the ''Odyssey'' as well—[[Echephron]], [[Stratius]], [[Perseus (son of Nestor)|Perseus]], [[Aretus]], [[Thrasymedes]], and [[Pisistratus (son of Nestor)|Pisistratus]]. They also had a daughter, [[Polycaste]]. Here too, Homer's admiration of Nestor is tempered by a bit of humor at his expense, as [[Telemachus]], having returned to Nestor's home from a visit to [[Helen of Troy]] and [[Menelaus]] (where he has sought further information on his father's fate), urges Pisistratus to let Telemachus board his vessel immediately to return home rather than being subjected to a further dose of Nestor's rather expansive sense of hospitality.

==References==
* ''Iliad'' I, 248; II, 370; IV, 293.
* ''Odyssey'' III, 157, 343.

[[Category:Argonauts]]
[[Category:Characters in the Odyssey]]
[[Category:Characters in the Iliad]]
[[Category:People who fought in the Trojan War]]

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Nestor - Revision history

Irlandos: /* References */

Irlandos at 09:21, December 29, 2005