Claudius’ Homeric Quotation *

Metaquotation: Homer and the Emperor

“… 45 Power 2011: 730–1: ‘There appears to have been a tradition, represented by passages in Seneca, Suetonius and Dio, in which Claudius was well known for quoting passages of Homer that could easily be turned against him to humorous effect.’…”

“… 46 Power 2011: 727, n. 3. There is another line in the Iliad (19.183) which is similar, except that the infinitive verb has been changed, which gives it a completely different meaning: Odysseus explains that it is not blameworthy for a king (Agamemnon) to appease (ἀπαρέσσασθαι) a man (Achilles) who has attacked him.…”

“… 48 Power 2011: 728 claims that ‘the point is the lack of ability to defend oneself due to age: Priam is too old, Telemachus too young’. But this formulation is not quite right: the second time Telemachus speaks this line in the Odyssey it is in the form of a lie, and it in fact indicates the opposite: at that precise moment, Telemachus has in fact matured into a man who is capable of defending himself.…”