Abstract
Νόστος is a prime feature of Homer’s Odyssey. The epic contains many νόστοι and the focus is on the main νόστος by Odysseus. This paper discusses the νόστοι by Helen and Menelaos and how their journeying is presented separately in their story-telling. The purpose for this is to reveal the knowledge gained on their journeys; μῆτις is an important facet of the concept of νόστος in the Odyssey, and therefore Helen and Menelaos adhere to the finite paradigm. An additional purpose is to highlight the κλέος of the individual relating their own νόστος story. Their story-telling reveals they went to the same places, had similar encounters, both gained knowledge, both shifted in voice or shape and both made a return to Sparta. From analyses of this evidence, this paper argues that Helen and Menelaos went on the same νόστος as a joint path to individual μῆτις.