Wine dark sea (Homer)

The wine-dark sea is a traditional English translation of οἶνοψ πόντος (oinops pontos), an epithet in Homer of uncertain meaning. A literal translation is "wine-face sea". The only other use of oinops in the works of Homer is for oxen, where it seems to describe a reddish color, which has given rise to various speculations about what it could mean about the blue seas.

See also

• Ancient Greece and wine § Origins
• Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age § Colour controversy

References

• Wilford, John Noble (December 20, 1983). "Homer’s Sea: Wine Dark?". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/20/science/homer-s-sea-wine-dark.html. Retrieved June 23, 2016. 
• Alexander, Caroline (Summer 2013). "A Winelike Sea". Lapham's Quarterly VI (3). http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/sea/winelike-sea.