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Huge, hollow and swallowing
In 2021 I wrote a series of articles on the ancient Greek ship, which was published online
at the Kosmos Society, generously sponsored by the New Alexandria Foundation. Later
the articles were republished at SWZ Maritime.
The intent of this article is to investigate the various meanings of the Homeric nautical
adjective megakétis, usually translated as huge, hollow and gaping. The word is made up
of two parts, mega (“great”), and an adjective form of kētos (“any sea monster”).
The complete series of articles has been published in my book Periplous – A Journey
through the Ancient Mediterranean, free available online at Academia.edu.
Copyright © 2024 Rien de Meij. All rights reserved.
Figure 1 - Corinthian vase depicting Kētos, Perseus, and Andromeda.