Abstract
The Iliad calls what you gratefully give back to the parents who reared you yr°ptra, a shortened form of yreptAEria, which denotes “that system of gerotrophia whereby sons cared for their parents in old age” (Falkner 1995.12ff.). A warrior who is short-lived, minunyadiow, or has a short fate, an a‰sa m¤nunya, is unable to bestow it. Both to give back yr°ptra and to raise or nourish, tr°fein, describe ongoing activities that determine the quality of the recipient’s life. Their pairing and the semantics of the verb epodidOnai or epodoEnai, “to give back,” make the expression “to give back yr°ptra” doubly reciprocal. What constitutes yr°ptra may vary over time and place and with a parent’s particular needs, but certainly it would include the necessities of life (food, clothing, shelter), as well as the preservation of honor and protection from one’s enemies and detractors (cf. Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics 9.1165a.15–35). According to Plato, one must minister to an aged parent in regard to his property, his person, and his soul (Plato Laws 4.717b–c).
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