Strife Scene

In these first four verses of the speech spoken by Odysseus to Achilles, there is an evocative reference to the dais as a ‘feast’ where portions of meat are being divided in an equ ... Continue reading

The theme expressed by the verb daiesthai ‘feast, divide, apportion, allot’ at I.01.368 is at work in the Strife Scene at the beginning of the Iliad—although a ‘feast’ as expressed by the noun dais is not literally the setting. Still, the grievance of Achilles ... Continue reading

When the Olympian gods are away from their home situated on Mount Olympus, they customarily attend a dais ‘feast’, Ι.01.424, in the Land of the Aithiopes ‘Aethiopians’, Ι.01.423, w ... Continue reading

The idea of ‘division’ latent in contexts where dais refers to a ‘feast’ becomes overt in expressions like δαιτὸς ἐίσης ‘equitable dais’ referring to an ‘equitable’ (adjective isos ... Continue reading

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A deeper meaning of the noun dais is revealed here in the wording of Zeus, who says that his bōmos ‘altar’—which is ‘mine’, he adds—has never lacked an equitable dais or ‘portion’ ... Continue reading