Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

Nestor's Cup is a legendary golden mixing

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

which was owned by the hero Nestor. The cup is described in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

'', and possibly appeared elsewhere in the Epic Cycle. Despite its brief appearance in the ''Iliad'', the cup was the subject of significant attention from ancient commentators on Homer.

Epic Cycle

Nestor's Cup is described in Book 11 of the ''

''. Machaon, son of Asclepius, is injured by Paris, and taken back to the Greek camp by Nestor; a healing drink is prepared for him in the cup. The cup is described over six lines. Along with its description in the ''Iliad'', the cup of Nestor may have appeared elsewhere in the Epic Cycle. Stephanie West argues that there was a pre-existing body of poetry which dealt with Nestor's heroic exploits in his youth, and which told of Nestor's cup.

Peter Allan Hansen Peter Allan Hansen (20 April 1944 – 18 April 2012) was a Danish classical philologist known principally for his work on the Carmina epigraphica graeca I-II and on other aspects of Greek epigraphy. Born in Copenhagen he was educated at Copenh ...

suggests that the cup may have appeared in the

Cypria The ''Cypria'' (; grc-gre, Κύπρια ''Kúpria''; Latin: ''Cypria'') is a lost epic poem of ancient Greek literature, which has been attributed to Stasinus and was quite well known in classical antiquity and fixed in a received text, but which ...

, perhaps in the episode known from a citation in

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

where Nestor gives Menelaus counsel after the abduction of Helen.

Reception

Despite its relatively brief description in the ''Iliad'' – a mere six lines, compared to some 130 describing the Shield of Achilles in Book 18 – the cup was the subject of a great deal of attention in antiquity. Ancient critics writing on the ''Iliad'' were particularly interested in three aspects of Nestor's Cup: its size, why it was that only Nestor could lift it, and the doves on its handles. At least as early as the fifth century BC, scholars including

Glaucon Glaucon (; el, Γλαύκων; c. 445 BC – 4th century BC), son of Ariston, was an ancient Athenian and Plato's older brother. He is primarily known as a major conversant with Socrates in the '' Republic''. He is also referenced briefly in ...

Antisthenes Antisthenes (; el, Ἀντισθένης; 446 366 BCE) was a Greek philosopher and a pupil of Socrates. Antisthenes first learned rhetoric under Gorgias before becoming an ardent disciple of Socrates. He adopted and developed the ethical side ...

, and Stesimbrotos addressed the question of why Nestor was the only one who could lift his cup; the problem continued to be addressed throughout antiquity at least up until the time of Porphyry, who included it in his ''Homeric Questions''. The doves were discussed by

Asclepiades of Myrlea Asclepiades of Myrlea ( el, Ἀσκληπιάδης ὁ Μυρλεανός) was a Greek grammarian, historian and astronomer disciple of Apollonius of Rhodes born in Myrlea (Bithynia) that lived in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. At the time of Pomp ...

, and caught the imagination of Martial, who mentions them in his description of Nestor's cup in poem 8.6.

References

Works cited

* * * Iliad Nestor (mythology) Drinkware Mythological objects {{greek-myth-stub