ABSTRACT
Among the methods for studying Homer, Indo-European comparison has been used only to a limited extent and largely on the Iliad. The method is used here to study the second half of the Odyssey in light of the Mahābhārata. First, five synchronic published comparisons are reviewed and three new ones are proposed (relating to the massacre of the suitors and subsequent events). The chapter then moves to a diachronic perspective. On the hypothesis that the Sanskrit epic is more conservative than the Greek, an attempt is made to model some of the processes contributing to the development of the plot of the Odyssey.
