Antilochus’ and Nestor’s discoursive shrewdness in the chariot race in honor of Patroclus in the Iliad
Keywords:
Homer, Iliad, chariot race, Antilochus, discursive performanceAbstract
Through the episode of the chariot race in canto 23 of the Iliad, this article discusses how certain forms of the epic diction developed in the poem give value to the epic song itself and involve the receiver. The focus is on the representation of the superiority achieved by strength and technical skill on the one hand, and by speech on the other, when required in an athletic contest, which is a substitute for a warlike feat and whose outcome need not be unequivocal. It is shown that speech is necessary to establish the aretē and thus constitute the kleos of heroic action. Thus, in the case of Antilochus' performance, both in the race and in the discursive exchanges that follow, the narrative shows that his shrewdness is admired by his peers and, above all, by his father Nestor. Such admiration is due to the unexpectedness of his maneuver and his youthful impetus, but also to his discursive performance, since he manages to suppress the righteous resentment he causes in Menelaus, since his maneuver needs to be condemned in view of the aristocratic values it subverts.
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