Hero · Character in Homer’s Odyssey

Nestor

Old king of sandy Pylos

Pious, courtly, unstoppable once started; remembers all but what matters.

The oldest of the surviving Greek commanders, who feasts Telemachus and tells him everything he knows about the scattered homecomings from Troy. About Odysseus he can say nothing, so he sends the boy on to Sparta with his own son.

Bonds

• Nestor king of Pylos — aged ruler of sandy Pylos
• Nestor host of Telemachus — welcomes him to the Pylian feast
• Peisistratus son of Nestor — youngest at his table

Appears in

• Book III Interview of Telemachus with Nestor

Scenes

1. Athena counsels a voyage — Book I. Athena urges Telemachus toward Pylos, Sparta
2. Athena Urges Boldness — Book III. Athena urges Telemachus to approach Nestor
3. Prayer to Poseidon — Book III. Peisistratus seats them, Athena prays
4. Nestor Questions the Guests — Book III. Telemachus begs Nestor for Odysseus news
5. The Fleet’s Quarrel — Book III. Nestor recalls Atreus brothers’ quarrel
6. Fates of the Heroes — Book III. Telemachus hears murder, longs for vengeance
7. A Warning on Fate — Book III. Nestor probes suitors, Athena warns
8. The Full Tale of Murder — Book III. Nestor tells of Aegisthus, Menelaus’s voyage
9. Libations at Nightfall — Book III. As night falls, Athena calls for libations
10. Athena Vanishes — Book III. Nestor keeps Telemachus, Athena vanishes
11. Household Retires — Book III. Nestor vows sacrifice, household retires
12. Ordering the Sacrifice — Book III. Nestor orders heifer gilded for Athena
13. Feast and Bath — Book III. Heifer slain, Polycaste bathes Telemachus
14. Chariot to Sparta — Book III. Nestor yokes chariot for Sparta
15. Welcome for the Strangers — Book IV. Menelaus overrules Eteoneus, welcomes guests
16. Awed by the Palace — Book IV. Telemachus marvels at gold, ivory hall
17. Peisistratus Confirms His Friend — Book IV. Peisistratus confirms him, talk draws tears
18. Grief Set Aside — Book IV. Peisistratus asks to postpone sorrow
19. Athena’s Warning — Book XV. Athena warns Telemachus of ambush ahead
20. Rousing Peisistratus — Book XV. Telemachus hurries, Peisistratus urges delay
21. Eagle and Prophecy — Book XV. Helen reads the eagle omen as return
22. Journey to Pylos — Book XV. Telemachus reaches Pylos, avoids Nestor
23. Nestor and Menelaus — Book XVII. Telemachus reports Odysseus on Calypso’s isle
24. Achilles’ Funeral Recalled — Book XXIV. Agamemnon recalls Achilles’s funeral games

Nestor is named in 29 of the poem’s scenes; these are the twenty-four that carry the most of the name.

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