Volume 40, Number 8 · April 22, 1993
From 'The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony'
By Roberto Calasso
Whenever their lives were set aflame, through desire or suffering, or even reflection, the Homeric heroes knew that a god was at work. They endured the god, and observed him, but what actually happened as a result was a surprise most of all for themselves. Thus dispossessed of their emotion, their shame, and their glory too, they were more cautious than anybody when it came to attributing to themselves the origin of their actions. 'To me, you are not the cause, only the gods can be causes,' says old Priam, looking at Helen on the Scaean Gate. He couldn't bring himself to hate her, nor to see her as guilty for nine bloody years' fighting, even though Helen's body had become the very image of a war about to end in massacre.
Feature, 555 words
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