Iauo

To sleep or not to sleep

Abstract

The verb iauo occurs frequently in the Iliad and Odyssey. It is usually translated as »to sleep« or »to spend the night«. Surprisingly, though, iauo as used by Homer also clearly indicates an active behaviour and even the contrary of sleeping. David Daube closely analyses the texts concerned to discover the complete spectrum of the word’s meaning to solve the riddle. It is a piece of work very typical of Daube’s love of words and hermeneutics. Special thanks go to Calum Carmichael who transcribed the article from the manuscript left by David Daube and gave us the permission to publish it.