Nestor Among the Sirens

Abstract

At first glance, two traits uniquely characterize Nestor in the Homeric poems: longevity and the command of persuasive speech. That these features are in no way peculiar to him, but instead common to the type of figure Nestor represents within the narrative tradition, will be clear from a brief reflection on the values that determine both the moral horizons of the epics and the typology of characters that inhabit and are controlled by those horizons.