Page "Nestor (mythology)" Paragraph 8

Hanna Roisman explains that the characters in the Iliad ignore the discrepancy between the quality of Nestor's advice and its outcomes is because, in the world of the Iliad, " outcomes are ultimately in the hands of the ever arbitrary and fickle gods ... heroes are not necessarily viewed as responsible when things go awry.

" In the Iliad, people are judged not necessarily in the modern view of results, but as people.

Therefore Nestor should be viewed as a good counselor because of the qualities he possesses as described in his introduction in Book 1 – as a man of " sweet words ," a " clear-voiced orator ," and whose voice " flows sweeter than honey.

" These are elements that make up Nestor, and they parallel the elements that Homer describes as part of a good counselor at Iliad 3. 150 – 152.

Therefore, " the definition tells us that Nestor, as a good advisor, possesses the three features ... that it designates.

" Nestor is a good counselor inherently, and the consequences of his advice have no bearing on that, a view that differs from how good counselors are viewed today.