Odyssey, lecture 3

Odyssey, Lecture 3This lecture covers the second half of the epic, Books 13-24, following the

adventures of Odysseus on Ithaca as he completes his return. First, he must avenge himself on the suitors, then reunite with his wife, Penelope.

Odysseus is able to affect his vengeance only by behaving in a manner that is un-Iliadic in the extreme: He disguises his true identity, plays the role of a beggar, and even suffers abuse at the hands of the suitors. The killing of the suitors clears the way for Odysseus’s reunion with Penelope, but she

herself provides the final obstacle and reveals herself as the only character in the epic able to outwit the master strategist.

We conclude this discussion of the Odyssey with some comments on the continuing power and relevance of the Homeric epics through the ages.

Returned to his home on Ithaca by the Phaeacians, Odysseus suffers anonymity and even abuse in order to achieve his final goal, the removal of

the suitors and a return to his rightful place as head of his household.

• Odysseus consistently hides his identity through lies and disguise.

• His lie to Athena in Book 13 sets the stage for the later recreations of his biography, to the swineherd, to the suitors, to his wife, and even to his father. This behavior might make us wonder about the stories he told the Phaeacians.

• Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar, setting him up for abuse and disgrace.

Lovis Corinth, Odysseus's Fight with the Beggar , 1903

• The first adventure Odysseus relates, the encounter with the Trojan allies, the Cicones, just after he leaves Troy, serves as a final real-world experience before he is, so to speak, blown off the map.

• The brief episode with the Lotus Eaters introduces the subtle nature of some of the threats to Odysseus’s return: not all are necessarily dangerous.

Lotus Eaters, Paul Thomas

• His first stop back on Ithaca is at the lowly hut of his loyal swineherd, Eumaeus.

• Here, we see here an example of proper hospitality, even in straitened circumstances.

• Telemachus comes to the swineherd’s hut, rather than the palace, after his journey. Father and son are reunited.

• Together, they plot their course of action, and Odysseus warns Telemachus that they will have to suffer abuse.

Odysseus as a beggar in Ithaca

• At his palace, Odysseus tolerates what would seem to be intolerable for a Homeric hero: physical and verbal abuse from servants and suitors in his own house.

• A goatherd reviles him.

• The suitors pelt him with furniture.

• Another beggar (ill-advisedly) tries to thrown Odysseus out of the palace, but Odysseus crushes his neck with a single blow, taking care not to kill the poor beggar.

• The female servants abuse him as well.

• Later, he recalls past trials as he calls up patience in the face of the abuse. Odysseus and Euryclea, by Christian Gottlob Heyne

• The poem builds, in a number of ways, toward Odysseus’s need for revenge. The poet carefully fosters sympathy for and scorn for the opponents.

• The gods, especially Athena, have been calling for revenge since the start of the epic.

• In the latter half of the epic, clear distinctions are drawn between those who are loyal to Odysseus and those who are not.

• Often, in keeping with themes that run through the epic, we can distinguish the good from the bad on the basis of their observance of (or inattention to) proper forms of hospitality.

• The few characters who do not fall into this neat division of good and bad, such as the singer Phemius and the herald Medon in Book 22, serve as pointed contrasts. They are spared because they were forced to serve the suitors. Charles Baude

Athena watching as Telemachus kisses Odysseus

• Penelope sets up a challenge for the suitors: whoever can string Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow through a line of ax heads will win her hand in marriage.

• No suitor can even string the bow.

• The disguised Odysseus is given a turn. He, of course, strings the bow and shoots the arrow through the axe heads.

• Odysseus then slaughters the chief suitor.

• The description of the death emphasizes the setting in the dining hall, reminding us of the suitors’ terrible breach of xenia.

• With the help of his son and a few loyal servants, Odysseus slays the rest of the unarmed suitors.

• The brutality of the scene takes us back momentarily to the world of the Iliad, but most readers find themselves cheering on the killers.

• After killing the suitors, Odysseus’s next obstacle is Penelope’s suspicion.

• In the context of other recognitions, her stubbornness is particularly notable.

• Telemachus needed no proof.

• The old dog Argus, in an unusually poignant scene, saw right through the disguise, then died of joy.

• The serving woman Eurycleia recognized the scar on Odysseus’s thigh.

Odysseus Recognized by Eurycleia

• But Penelope’s reluctance allows the poet to set up the final test, one that reveals much about Penelope and her relation with Odysseus.

• She tests Odysseus by asking the serving woman to move Odysseus’s own bed into the hall for him. Only she and Odysseus know that the bed is immovable, built around the trunk of an olive tree.

• His enraged response reveals that he is indeed Odysseus and that Penelope, alone in the epic, has tricked him.

• Penelope’s reference to the bed draws attention to its immovability, thereby underlining her own faithfulness during Odysseus’s absence.

• Once she has revealed her treachery and the two retire to bed, the reunion—and Odysseus’s return—seems complete.

• In the final book, considered spurious by some readers since antiquity, Odysseus is reunited with his father and makes peace with the families of those he slaughtered in his palace.

• The Homeric epics were central to the ancient Greeks, serving as a foundation for all education, and have remained influential in Western literature ever since.

• The Homeric poems were for the Greeks a primary source of myth, religion, and morality.

• Papyrus finds from the period of Greek occupation of Egypt show the extent of interest in the Iliad and the Odyssey. By far, the greatest numbers of literary papyri are copies of Homer’s poems.

• Quotations of Homer appear in widely different genres, and the poems could be turned to for information on a wide variety of subjects.

• Direct Homeric influence is apparent in the tragedy and comedy of 5th century Athens. The tragedian Aeschylus claimed that all of his plays were slices from Homer’s banquet. Odysseus and the Contest of the Bow. Wyeth

• Latin literature began with a translation of the Odyssey into Latin, and since then, we have a continuous stream of works that respond to the Homeric epics.

• The epic poetry of Dante and Milton clearly show its indebtedness to Homeric epic, even if through the intermediary of Virgil’s Aeneid.

• More generally, in authors as varied as Tennyson, Joyce, and Walcott, Homeric themes continue to appear throughout literature.

Odysseus kills the suitors at the feast

• Themes

• Importance of proper behavior as host and guest

• Improper: Polyphemus, Laestrygonians, Suitors

• Proper: Aeolus, Phaeacians, Eumaeus

• Tensions between Odysseus and his men

• Disobedience: Cicones, Aeolus, Oxen of the Sun

• Foolhardiness: Polyphemus, Circe

• Deception: Scylla and Charybdis