Nestor
Nestor names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Nestor A son of Neleus and Chloris
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
1000 Classical Characters (1900)
A son of Neleus and Chloris, nephew to Pelias , and grandson to Neptune. He was present at the bloody battle between the Lapithae and the Centaurs, which took place at the nuptials of Pirithous . As king of Pylos he led his soldiers to the Trojan war, where he distinguished himself among the Grecian chieftains by eloquence, wisdom, and prudence. Homer makes his character as the most perfect of all his heroes. After the Trojan war, Nestor retired to Greece, where he lived during his declining years in peace and tranquillity. The manner and time of his death are unknown.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
in Greek legend, son of Neleus and Chloris. His father and 11 brothers were killed by Hercules; but the conqueror spared Nestor's life and placed him on the throne of Pylos. As ing of Pylos and Messenia, he led his subjects to the Trojan war, where he distinguished himself the the Grecian chiefs by eloquence, wisdom, and justice.
Nestor in the legend of Troy
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
in the legend of Troy, a Greek hero--"The wisest of the Greeks." He was king of Pylos. He was an old man when the expedition against Troy set sail , but he insisted on leading his own force of twenty ships. He enjoyed a high reputation for courage, wisdom, and eloquence. He took no part in fighting, but played the part of the aged counselor without whose advice no step of importance could be taken. The term is still used in modern politics. After his retirement from the presidential office, James Madison, for instance, whose advice was sought by the younger leaders, was called the Nestor of his party. See Troy
Nestor a Russian historian
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a Russian historian; born about 1056, was a monk at Kiev, and wrote a chronicle in his vernacular tongue, which has been the foundation of Slavonic history. He died after 1116.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When these accounts were written, Pylos was a place known only from Homer. In 1939 Carl Blegen excavated a large Mycenaean palace at Ano Englianos in Messenia, promptly dubbed the Palace of Nestor; it burned around 1200 BC and its archive of clay tablets was baked hard in the fire, giving up hundreds of Linear B documents that Michael Ventris showed in 1952 to be written in Greek. None of this proves that Nestor lived, and most scholars treat him as legendary, but it does show a real Bronze Age kingdom where Homer put his. On the other Nestor, the Kiev monk, scholars no longer credit him with sole authorship of the Russian Primary Chronicle, which is now read as a compilation reworked by several hands into the twelfth century.
Written for this edition, 2026.