1. HOMER: THE ODYSSEY
A. Study-Guide to The Odyssey 1. Learning Objectives 2. About Homer 3. The Story-Line 4. Summary and Analysis 5. The Plot B. Critical Analysis of The Odyssey 1. The Epic Form 2. Homer’s Narrative Style 3. The Epic Hero 4. Homeric Gods 5. The Penelope Situation 6. Telemachus
2. ABOUT HOMER
Homer is the first and greatest of European poets. Historians place Homer in the 9th or 8th century BCE. An ancient and universally accepted tradition has it that Homer came from the Greek coastland of Asia Minor, was blind, and that seven cities claimed to be his birth place. He is believed to have composed the Iliad and the Odyssey, the first known works of Western literature. Linguistic, historical, and literary analysis of the Iliad and the Odyssey show them to date from perhaps the 8th century BCE. The style, construction, and temper of these poems imply the existence of a single author. That these poems are artistic wholes is in fact the only evidence of the existence of Homer. It is equally certain that his work was the culmination of a long tradition of bardic poetry; that to this tradition he owed his stories, his language, his metre, and many of his devices. The epics of Homer, though composed in the 8th century BCE, were set in writing much later. The Iliad and the Odyssey have been accepted as models for this mode of literature. Archeological investigation has disclosed that the siege and destruction of Troy, described in the Iliad, took place in the 12th century BCE. However, the interest in Greek literature is not primarily historical. Greek literature commands attention because the Greeks invented and perfected certain types of literary art and produced masterpieces which still excite wonder and delight, despite the lapse of generations and vast changes in human outlook. In comparison with modern literature, Greek literature is simple and unadorned but this simplicity should not be compared with the simplicity of unsophisticated folk literature. This simplicity is achieved by omitting the unessential and emphasizing the essential. Their work is often oratorical, often difficult, but they had to address themselves to crowds and they grappled with many difficulties. Homer’s two epics formed the basis of education and culture in the Classical age and have had an enduring impact on Western thought and imagination over the centuries. Much of oral Greek literature is lost. For us, it begins with the name of Homer and his two epics – the Iliad and the Odyssey. The heroic Age of Greece was the mainspring of the epic tradition. The Iliad and the Odyssey are celebrations of the heroic deeds of a generation. Their values coincide with the values of an age which judges everything by the standards of the heroic man who is equally notable in council and in war. The two epics are echoes of 2. ABOUT HOMER 3 | P a g e © Department of Distance & Continuing Education, Campus of Open Learning, School of Open Learning, University of Delhi European Classical Literature events which shook the world and, like other heroic poetry, they were composed in the aftermath of war and conquest. Homer was already historically removed from the war he sings of in the Iliad, but he inherited the standards of the Heroic Age. He is an authentic bard, trained in the art of oral literature. He composed for listeners and not for readers, and his art grew in the courts of the Greek conquerors. Into the ancient theme of retribution in the Odyssey, Homer has incorporated other stories equally ancient and produced a complex narrative structure. The story is less diffuse than the story of the Iliad. There is also a noticeable difference of temper between the two epics: the Iliad celebrates heroic strength, but the Odyssey celebrates heroic cunning and wit. At the same time, the two epics share certain common Greek characteristics – the generous understanding of humanity; pleasure in the good things of life; in eating and drinking; in wealth, courtesy, and hospitality; in skills at shooting and shipbuilding; in the numerous details of pastoral life; and finally in all the natural sights of the Greek world. Homer’s language is poetical; artificial in the sense that it was never spoken in ordinary life. His words are meant for themes more majestic than common life, full of synonyms and alternative forms, with a rich and adventurous vocabulary compounded from many sources. He owes the power of his language to the work of many earlier generations of poets of the oral tradition. To them he owes recurring epithets and many repeated phrases of great antiquity. Yet in spite of archaisms his style seems natural and appropriate. It is lucid and rich, and suits the heroic dignity of his poetry.
3. THE STORY-LINE
The story line of the Odyssey originates from the Iliad. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope and father of the infant Telemachus, leaves home and joins the Achaean forces at Troy. The Trojan War lasts for ten years. The city of Troy is ultimately sacked and Helen recovered. Then begins the homeward journey of the survivors. A few fortunate ones - Activity Read about the Trojan War and write a brief account of it; including approximate dates, main participants, and heroes. You will find many resources online Menelaus, Nestor, Agamemnon - succeed, while quite a few are destroyed or lost among the seas. Odysseus belongs to the latter band of the unfortunate. Another ten years pass and he is still away from home; under the magical spell of the nymph Calypso, on the island of Ogygia. His long absence is taken for certain death by his wife, son and his people. A large number of suitors turn up at Ithaca to woo Penelope. They cause a virtual havoc in the house of Odysseus, with Penelope and Telemachus watching the plunder helplessly. Homer begins his story at this point of time. He plunges “in the middle of things” (Horace). But if we unweave the whole narrative, we find that the starting point of the thread is in Book IX, where Odysseus recaptures, before the Phaeacian audience, his terrible and variegated experiences of homecoming. His narration continues through Books X, XI and XII. It is like a smaller but more, concentrated plot, within the larger plot of the whole epic. To know the story of Odysseus’ homecoming we have to begin at the point of time where he leaves Troy with his ships and his men. Remember that the actual history of Odysseus’ homecoming begins with Book IX; as narrated to King Alcinous and Queen Arete in the Phaeacian palace
4. SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS
Books I-II: Athene visits Telemachus; the debate in Ithaca Invocation Homer opens the Odyssey with an invocation to the “divine Muse.” The poet claims not only divine sources of inspiration but also divine authority. In a word, he sees himself as a prophet. Homer’s invocation utters a view about the epic - namely, that the poet is the spokesman of a deity and his own personality or subjective opinions count for comparatively little. With the aid of the Muse, the poet is able to narrate myths that incorporate eternal truths. The poet, in his garland and singing robes, as Milton says, performs a ritual. The invocation establishes the long-suffering Odysseus as the central figure of the epic. The Council of the Gods Homer begins his story at a point of time when Odysseus is on Ogygia, in the seventh year of his stay. He has been away from Ithaca for almost twenty years. Many of his co-fighters at Troy have come back, but he is still fated to remain on Ogygia. None of his skills can bring him back to his homeland. This is the time for divine intervention, which is initiated by
European Classical Literature Athene. Pallas Athene, daughter of Zeus, is Odysseus’ mentor: he possesses a few qualities of Athene herself, which we shall note as the narrative progresses. In the Council of the Gods, Athene pleads Odysseus’ case: “the wise but unlucky Odysseus” is pining on Ogygia, where Calypso does her best to banish Ithaca from his memory (p. 4). She asks Zeus why Odysseus must be punished in this way. Zeus informs her of the blinding of Polyphemus by Odysseus. Since then, Poseidon, father of Polyphemus, has been doing his utmost to delay Odysseus’ return to Ithaca. As Poseidon is away at the moment, it is decided that Hermes will carry Zeus’ orders to Calypso - to release Odysseus and help him in building his boat. Odysseus must travel to Ithaca on his own. After the meeting is over, Athene appears in Ithaca in the guise of Mentes. The situation in Ithaca is nearly anarchic. It is assumed, because of his long absence, that Odysseus must be dead. Penelope, although now a middle-aged queen, is still desirable for three reasons – she is beautiful and wise; her reluctance to a remarry adds charm to her beauty; and she is the queen of Ithaca. The man who marries her will become king of Ithaca. A large number of suitors have turned up in Ithaca to woo Penelope. She keeps them at bay for years, saying that she cannot marry until she has woven a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes. At night she secretly unravels what she has woven in the daytime. Telemachus, who was a baby when Odysseus left for Troy, is now a grown-up young man. He is deeply grieved, like his mother, to see the property of his father being plundered by the unwanted suitors. Athene finds Telemachus sitting among the suitors, dreaming of how his noble father might come back and drive the suitors out. It is he who notices the presence of Athene in the form of Mentes. He welcomes her and offers his hospitality. She observes that Telemachus looks exactly like his father and remarks that the behavior of Telemachus’ guests is unseemly. Telemachus expresses his anguish at the fact that there was “no famous end” for his father (p. 9). He is also puzzled by the behaviour of Penelope, who neither refuses nor accepts any of the suitors. Athene notices diffidence in Telemachus. She encourages him by remarking that he is no more a child. He should act like the son of Agamemnon, Prince Orestes, who avenged the murder of his father by Aegisthus. Athene’s plan for Telemachus is to take a firm stand, and to set out in search of his father by contacting Nestor at Pylos and Menelaus at Sparta. They will give him specific information regarding his father. After Athene’s departure, Telemachus feels a change in himself. He is no more diffident and has a definite scheme with him. He guesses that the visitor must have been . This change is reflected dramatically in his rebuke to Penelope: “I am master in this house” (p. 12). The suitors too notice the change in Telemachus’ demeanour, when he orders them to feast themselves elsewhere. He expresses his wish to destroy them in no uncertain terms. The suitors are amazed at the audacity of Telemachus. Homer handles young Telemachus with superb realism. When Telemachus tries to assume authority as “master” of the house, he overdoes it, rebuking his mother, making empty threats, and filling himself with overconfidence. Public Meeting Since the departure of Odysseus, there has been no public meeting in the market place in Ithaca. Inspired by Athene, Telemachus calls a public meeting. The first speech is by an elderly hero, whose son sailed with Odysseus. He asks if Telemachus has some news of their king’s return. Telemachus replies that he has no news of his father and wishes rather to denounce the suitors publicly. He explains that since he is too young and “quite untrained to fight,” he is unable himself to make them behave properly, and asks the suitors to go about their courtship according to custom (p. 16). One of the suitors, Antinous, criticizes Telemachus for putting the whole blame on them. He points out that Penelope is no less responsible for the state of things. The suitors have found out about her unravelling the shroud at night. For more than three years she has kept them on tenterhooks. Antinous calls Penelope, “an incomparable schemer” (p. 17). He advises Telemachus to send his mother to her father, thus officially recognizing the death of Odysseus. Telemachus refuses, and in the heat of his anger, prophesizes unwittingly that Odysseus will return and kill all the suitors. As he speaks, two eagles appear above them and fight until they are bloody. The Ithacan prophet, Halistheres, interprets this as a sign that Telemachus is right: “Odysseus is not going to be parted from his friends much longer” (p. 19). Now Telemachus announces that he is going in a ship to get definite information of his father’s welfare. If he learns that Odysseus is dead, he will come back, build him a mound, and give his mother’s hand to a new husband. This diplomatic move saves the already explosive situation from precipitating. Both Penelope and Telemachus are wise enough to realize that they cannot fight the suitors as they are united in their purpose, however evil it may be. What is required is strategy. Penelope uses her strategy to ward off the suitors, Telemachus uses his. He has proved himself in “debate,” now he has to prove himself in “action.” Athene appears before him in the person of Mentor and remarks: European Classical Literature has proved you, Telemachus,” and adds that his father’s “manly vigour” has descended to him. Telemachus is not found “lacking in Odysseus’ wits” (p. 22). What he now requires is a journey into the world outside Ithaca; to meet men of significance, like Nestor and Menelaus. Telemachus informs only his nurse Eurycleia of his journey, forbidding her to tell his mother anything till twelve days are over. Athene, disguised as Telemachus, gathers twenty of his men for the journey and then lulls the suitors to sleep. In Mentor’s guise, she leads Telemachus and his men on their journey to Pylos. Ithaca Books I and II portray the world of Ithaca in detail. The “sea-girt” Ithaca is at present a melting-pot of trouble. The wife, the son, and friends of Odysseus keep on reiterating their wish for him to come back to settle accounts with the suitors, who are guilty of one of the worst kinds of Greek vices – excess. Odysseus is moderation itself, an important Greek virtue. The Ithacan society is projected as a society of swineherds and cowmen. Penelope is projected as an epitome of fidelity, and Telemachus, worthy son of worthy father, is set upon the process of gradual maturing by Athene.
Books III & IV: Pylos and Sparta Telemachus reaches Pylos at dawn. The people of Pylos have gathered at the shore to offer a sacrifice to Poseidon. Athene, as Mentor, advises him: “you must forget your diffidence” (p. 27). But Telemachus is not diffident; he is “wary.” He wants to know how he should approach Nestor. This is his first experience of preparing himself to see a man of importance. The Ithacans are greeted cordially by Nestor, who politely makes inquiries regarding their identity and the purpose of their visit. Inspired by Athene and helped by his dormant “native wit,” Telemachus delivers a long speech worthy of a nobleman. He requests Nestor to tell him all about Odysseus. Nestor is happy to see the son of Odysseus and sings praises of
his wisdom, bravery, and strategic skills. Nestor reveals himself as a good storyteller and his descriptions are vivid. He narrates his homecoming in detail. It was not easy. He knows that Agamemnon, on reaching his homeland, was killed by Aegisthus; who was later on killed by Orestes, son of Agamemnon. He has also heard about the problems that Penelope and Telemachus have been facing in Ithaca. He hopes that Odysseus comes back and destroys the suitors. But Telemachus is not hopeful: “we can no longer count on father’s return” (p. 33). Note how the story of Agamemnon keeps recurring as a motif in the Odyssey. In a later episode, Odysseus will meet Agamemnon’s soul at the Halls of Hades. (Book XI) Since Nestor is not in a position to tell Telemachus about the exact whereabouts of Odysseus, he advises him to go over land to Sparta to visit Menelaus. He offers his son, Peisistratus, the same age as Telemachus, as a travelling companion. Mentor (Athene) declines to go with them and disappears on her way back to the ship. After another great and elaborate feast, Telemachus and Peisistratus set out by chariot for the two-day journey to Sparta. Pylos, like Ithaca, is a sea-port. Except for its greater wealth, it could not have been too different a society from what Telemachus already knew in Ithaca. Yet here are men who have seen his father ten years more recently than any Ithacan. For the first time, Telemachus moves out into the great world where he meets men who have fought in a great war and travelled long distances. The experience furthers the process of his maturing. Sparta As at Pylos, Telemachus arrives in Sparta during a feast. But here he does not need to introduce himself. They are recognized by Menelaus as aristocrats and that is enough for him. Both Telemachus and Peisistratus are cordially invited to the banquet. Menelaus talks about his travels to distant places and laments one man, Odysseus, “who toiled the hardest and undertook the most” at Troy. He still wonders whether Odysseus is dead or not. He surmises that Laertes, Penelope and Telemachus must be already “mourning him for dead” (p. 144). Tears roll down Telemachus’ cheeks when he hears of his father. Menelaus is puzzled and embarrassed. At this moment, Helen appears. She is the woman for whom the Trojan war was fought. For Telemachus and Peisistratus, she is a history book come alive before their eyes. Helen looks long at Telemachus and declares that he must be King Odysseus’ son, “for never in man or woman have I seen such a likeness before” (p. 44). Menelaus agrees with her and now understands the meaning of Telemachus’ tears.
Telemachus and Peisistratus now introduce themselves properly. Menelaus is overjoyed to see the son of his best friend who undertook all those heroic tasks “for love of me” (p. 45). He talks about the Wooden Horse in which he sat with Odysseus and the others. Odysseus’ action in the Horse is another example of his “pluck and resolution.” As the stories go on, Helen slips a sleeping potion in their wine so that they “forget the tearful mood” (p. 48). Next day Menelaus tells of his adventurous homecoming. Like Odysseus, but to a much lesser degree, he was thwarted in his return, and had to wrestle with the sea god, Proteus. Menelaus’ narration of his adventures foreshadows the much longer, more difficult and unfortunate adventures of Odysseus. The purpose of Menelaus’ story at this juncture is to remind us that homecoming is no less difficult a task than fighting in a war. Menelaus tells Telemachus about what he heard from Proteus, the old Man of the Sea. Proteus told him the tragic story of his brother, Agamemnon, killed treacherously by his own wife and her lover; and Ajax, who drowned at sea. As for “the third” (Odysseus), Proteus saw him last in the Nymph Calypso’s home. Menelaus invites Telemachus to prolong his visit, but Telemachus, having achieved what he had set out for, politely refuses the invitation and expresses the wish to go back. At this point, Homer takes us back to Ithaca where two things have happened in the absence of Telemachus. The suitors have discovered that Telemachus has secretly departed and conclude that he has gone to Pylos and Sparta to seek help from the comrades of Odysseus against them. They, therefore, rig a ship and sail out to murder him on his return, around the cape between Ithaca and Samos. Antinous takes charge of the murderous expedition. Penelope has discovered Telemachus’ absence and also finds out about the evil scheme of the suitors to kill her son. She is informed of it by Medon, the herald. That night Athene, in the form of Iphthime, Penelope’s sister, visits her in a dream. Athene consoles her by saying that no harm will come to her son since Athene herself is escorting him. Penelope wants to know if her sister has heard of Odysseus also. But Athene gives her no information. The dream comforts Penelope’s broken heart. Note Telemachus dominates the action from Book I to Book IV. It is also known as the Telemachy. Telemachus has to prove himself both in “action and debate.” He reveals the dormant qualities that he has inherited from his father. By the time we reach Book IV, Telemachus grows from a diffident boy into a confident young man. He has formed a frame for his larger story; showing us, in detail, the world from which Odysseus has come and to which he is about to return. A sense of urgency that Odysseus must return soon is created. We are shown a world that was plain and familiar to the Greek audience: a world of ships and farms, mothers and sons, and hospitality and sacrifices. This world is Odysseus’ home
Book V: Calypso and Ogygia In an assembly of the gods, Athene asks her father Zeus why Odysseus is “left to languish in misery, a captive on Calypso’s island” (p. 63). Zeus assures Athene that it is “ordained” that Odysseus will be reunited with his family and friends. He orders Hermes to go the nymph Calypso, with instructions to release Odysseus. Homer takes us to Ogygia where Odysseus has been living under Calypso’s magical spell for seven years after having arrived there all alone in a wretched state. This is the seventh year of his unwanted confinement. While his wife longs for his return and his son sets out to get definite information about him, Odysseus, sitting on the shores of Ogygia, “his eyes wet with weeping,” looks across the watery wilderness (p. 65). Ogygia is an island, with a paradise-like peace and beauty. Even the gods gaze at its beauty “in wonder and delight” (p. 64). Calypso is a beautiful nymph, a lesser goddess, who rescued Odysseus when he was drifting alone, astride the keel of his ship. She welcomed him with open arms, tended him, and hoped to give him “immortality and ageless youth.” Odysseus never accepts her ambrosia as the image of his home keeps him safe from the final assault of Calypso. For the Greek mind, home was a term that comprised a man’s wife, children, neighbours, country, and people. Home meant belonging. Ithaca stands nowhere before Ogygia in beauty and serenity. It is a rocky place populated by swineherds, whereas Ogygia is a miniature of the Garden of Eden, populated only by Calypso, animals and birds. Penelope is not as beautiful as Calypso and she is certainly subject to Time. She must have reached her middle-age now. But, then, Penelope is his wife whereas Calypso is not. It is not easy to define their relationship. Calypso really loves Odysseus, but she is not his mistress. Check Your Progress i) Why are the first four books of the Odyssey called the Telemachy? ii) What does Telemachus learn about his father from Menelaus? iii) How does Athene comfort Penelope? 1 European Classical Literature As a matter of fact, she keeps Odysseus. Although Odysseus sleeps with her, the relationship cannot be compared to his relationship with his wife. He pines for Penelope; he responds coldly to Calypso. He is a “cold lover with an ardent dame” (p. 67). When Hermes reaches Ogygia with Zeus’ specific orders, he finds her at home, singing in a beautiful voice as she works on her loom. Hermes enjoys the paradise-like scene and enters the cavern. Calypso, a goddess herself, recognizes him at once. At the moment, Odysseus is out at the shore “tormenting himself with tears, sighs and heartache” (p. 65). Calypso welcomes Hermes, offers him ambrosia and asks the purpose of his visit. On hearing the orders of Zeus, Calypso is filled with bitterness: “A cruel folk you are, unmatched for jealousy” (p. 66). She knows well that she belongs to the godly society which prohibits a goddess from sleeping with a mortal. She recalls the tragic fate of Dawn and Demeter, two goddesses, who were punished for their ungodly conduct: their lovers were killed. Now it is Calypso’s turn to incur “divine displeasure” (p. 66). She agrees reluctantly to help Odysseus in his attempt to go back home. The first words of Odysseus in the epic are typical: he distrusts Calypso. He demands her solemn oath that she will not plot some new mischief against him. Calypso calls him “a villain” lovingly and remarks that his mind works in a “crafty way” (p. 67). Caution is one of the major characteristics of Odysseus. She convinces him of her good intentions. Then begin the preparations for Odysseus’ departure. They eat, make love, and begin the four-day building of the boat. Homer describes the making of the boat in detail to satisfy the demands of his audience. When the boat is ready, Calypso calls up a gentle breeze and Odysseus sets sail. Guided by the Great Bear constellation, Odysseus sails in the sea for seventeen days. It is a powerful image of a lonely man, all alone in the open sea, driven by hope to reach some human habitation. On the eighteenth day, Odysseus approaches the shadowy mountains of Phaeacia. But Poseidon has not yet settled his score with him. The sight of Odysseus sailing over the seas makes him furious. He knows that Odysseus is destined to reach home in the end. But he delays Odysseus’ homecoming by sending a terrible storm. The boat breaks into splinters and Odysseus is forced to swim. He would have drowned if the sea-nymph Leukotheo had not given him her magical veil. Athene too intervenes, causing the strong winds to calm down. Odysseus keeps on swimming for two days and two nights. It is a battle between the hostile forces of Nature and the “indomitable soul” of man. On the morning of the third day, he reaches the coast of Phaeacia. English treacherous shore, promising no safe landing. Keeping his wits under control, Odysseus debates with himself the alternatives for landing. Finally, he discovers the mouth of a river. He swims in, gives thanks to the gods, and utterly exhausted, makes a bed of leaves for himself in a hidden place and goes to much needed sleep. Note Phaeacia too is an enchanted land like Ogygia. The only difference is that it has a human society. After twenty years of wandering among strange places, Odysseus reaches a place which has a unique position in the geography of the epic. Phaeacia is the place where the process of restoration of Odysseus in human society will begin. It is the place, between Ogygia and Ithaca, where we have to judge whether the terrible experiences of ten years have blotted from Odysseus’ mind his knowledge of the morals and manners of a human settlement. Calypso’s island is a model of supernatural bliss, a quiet paradise. Phaeacia is a model of human excellence in the art of living well. Neither is acceptable to Odysseus for the simple reason that neither is the home of his wife and son. He yearns for his hearth.
Books VI-VIII: Nausicaa; the Phaeacian Games While Odysseus lies asleep in his bed of leaves, Athene appears in a dream to Nausicaa, the young daughter of King Alcinous. She appears as a friend of Nausicaa’s and suggests that she should gather all the clothes that she will need for her wedding, take them to the clear springs near the sea and wash them. Too shy to tell her father the truth, she expresses a desire to wash the family’s clothes. Pleased, King Alcinous provides her with a cart and a retinue of maidens. The girls reach the mouth of the river, unyoke the mules and begin to wash clothes by treading upon them. It is more a game than work and the girls enjoy it. After washing and spreading the clothes to dry, the girls bathe in the river, and take their meals at the riverside. This is followed by a game of ball. This is one of the most beautiful evocations of youthful innocence in all of Classical Literature. Homer compares the girls with the nymphs and to the goddess Artemis.
Athene sees to it that the ball gets out of hand and falls into the river. The girls give a loud shriek and Odysseus is woken up in his hiding place. He wonders where he has arrived. He surmises from the female shrieks that the place is haunted by nymphs. Covering his manhood with leaves, Odysseus emerges from the bushes and moves towards the girls “like a mountain lion” (p. 79). He presents a horrifying sight and the girls run away, except Nausicaa. She stands her ground and waits. Odysseus wonders whether he should hold the girl round her knees and pray or remain at a distance and request her to give him clothing and direct him to the city. Finally, he decides to keep his distance. Nausicaa is the first human female that Odysseus comes across, ten years since the fall of Troy. He has been with Circe for one year and with Calypso for seven years. It is to be noted that, in spite of all the physical and mental buffeting that he received during this period, he has not forgotten the morals and manners of human society. His speech to Nausicaa is strong evidence of the fact that Odysseus is still well aware of the ways of the human world. It leaves a favorable impression upon Nausicaa and she listens to his tale of travails in the sea with sympathy and comments that he has no choice but to endure as “it is Olympian Zeus who good fortune to men, good and bad alike” (p. 81). She informs him that the place is called Phaeacia and she is the daughter of King Alcinous. Nausicaa calls up her maidens and orders them to offer food and drink to the “unfortunate wanderer” and bathe him in the river. Zeus demands that all strangers must be offered proper hospitality. Odysseus chooses to bathe himself in a lonely spot. At this moment, Athene again intervenes and makes him seem taller and stronger. He appears handsome, graceful, and impressive in his new clothes. Now he looks like the gods and Nausicaa admits to her maidens: “That is the kind of man whom I could fancy for a husband, if he would settle here” (p. 82). She hopes that he will choose to stay. Nausicaa describes the city to Odysseus and instructs him to follow her after a proper gap of time to her home. These are the social constraints of the human world. A young princess cannot afford to cause unpleasant gossip by appearing in the city along with a total stranger. She instructs Odysseus to wait for a while in the woods sacred to Athene. After some time, he must go to the city and reach the King’s palace. Passing through the courtyard, he must quickly enter the hall and approach her mother, Queen Arete, who is a kind lady and will help Odysseus in his journey to his homeland. Giving these specific instructions, Nausicaa leaves with her maidens and Odysseus prays to Athene in her sacred grove. While Odysseus prays to Athene in the poplar grove, Nausicaa reaches the palace and is greeted by her brothers. She goes straight to her own apartments. Meanwhile, Odysseus
walks to the town. Athene envelops him in a thick mist to ensure his security in his invisibility. On the way Odysseus is met by Athene, disguised as a girl with a wine jug on her shoulder. She directs him to the palace. While moving towards their destination, Athene informs Odysseus that Phaeacians have little affection for strangers and do not welcome visitors with open arms. They are a sea-faring people, though they have little contact with the rest of the world. They are, in fact, especially set aside by the gods as a happy, insular people whose prosperity and well-being are magically endowed. It is a kind of divine compensation for many years of trouble in their homeland before they came to Phaeacia. Phaeacians are thus a human society presided over with benevolence by the gods. Odysseus is impressed by the docks he passes by unseen. He approaches the bronze threshold of the palace with misgivings. He is greatly impressed by the architecture of the palace. It is all bronze with golden doors swung on silver poles. The door handles are of gold. The outside walls have a covering of blue enamel tiles. Gold and silver dogs built by the divine smith Hephaestus guard the gates. Golden statues of athletes hold the torches that light up the great hall. Homer displays equal interest in the opulence of the magic orchards around the palace. Odysseus marvels at this natural and man-made wealth, displaying the Greek love of beauty and material things. Then he enters the palace. There he finds Phaeacian chieftains and counsellors offering libations from their cups to Hermes, the Giant Slayer. As advised by Nausicaa, he marches straight up the hall, wrapped in the mist, reaches Queen Arete and throws his arms around her knees. At the same moment, the magic mist evaporates and Odysseus becomes visible to the banqueters. They stare at him silently in great amazement. Odysseus pleads that he is a man of ill luck, given so many misfortunes by the gods that he cannot take the time to tell them. King Alcinous generously offers Odysseus a seat of honour, feeds him and displays a great sense of hospitality that is similar to the hospitality offered to Telemachus at Pylos and Sparta. This gracious hospitality provides a deep contrast to the hard adventure on the sea that has just passed, and to the seven years of Odysseus’ forced stay on Ogygia. King Alcinous addresses his counsellors, suggesting active help for Odysseus in his mission to reach his home. After the guests leave, Arete asks him who he is and where he comes from. More pointedly, she asks him who gave him those clothes, because she recognizes some that she herself has made. Odysseus, in a guarded manner, narrates his horrifying adventure in the sea from Ogygia to Phaeacia. He also narrates how he was welcomed and treated kindly by the princess. Alcinous remarks that the princess should have brought him straight home with her.
To support Nausicaa, Odysseus observes that it would have been an immodest act and he himself declined to do so: “We men are naturally suspicious” (p. 92). Alcinous offers him his daughter in case he is willing to stay at Phaeacia. But if he wishes to go to his homeland, it would be improper to detain him. Alcinous promises to send Odysseus in one of his ships, escorted by his best sailors, to his country the very next day. In the morning, King Alcinous calls an assembly of his citizens to announce that a ship must be prepared to carry the stranger (Odysseus has not revealed his identity as yet) to his native country, however far it may be. Once it is settled that a crew of fifty-two men will take Odysseus home in a black ship, the assembly moves to the palace to eat and drink and hear the bard Demodocus sing. This blind bard is a singer, like Homer himself. It has been supposed, since classical times, that Homer has inserted a self-portrait here. Demodocus, accompanying himself on the lyre, sings a narrative poem about Odysseus and Achilles and their heroic deeds in the Trojan war. It is ironic that Odysseus has to hear about his own deeds. This also indicates that he and his deeds have become history, thus suggesting that people have taken him for dead. Many times, during the recital, Odysseus is moved to tears and hides his face from the audience. Observing this, King Alcinous orders the recital to stop and the games to begin; to change the sad mood of his guest. Phaeacian champions come forward to wrestle, jump, throw the discus, and box. Homer lists the names of the champion Phaeacian athletes in four lines. The listing of names is an epic convention. Odysseus, still weary from his long swim in the stormy sea, does not participate in the games until he is provoked by an insult: “I should never have taken you for an athlete, good at any of the games men play” (p. 98). For a Greek hero, no remark could be more stingingly insulting. With a “black look,” Odysseus retorts that Euryalus’ speech is “an unbecoming speech.” He leaps to his feet, picks up the biggest disc of all and, with one swing, launches it from his right hand. The Phaeacians cower down as the disc hurtles through the air and overshoots the marks of all the other throws. Then Odysseus challenges the Phaeacian athletes to compete with him in boxing, wrestling, even running. He gives a hint as to who he might be: “Philoctetes was the only one who used to beat me with the bow when we Achaeans practiced archery at Troy” (p. 99). The reference to Troy is enough to suggest his heroic stature. But the Phaeacians are too well-bred to press him to tell his name. To divert Odysseus’ mood of anger, Alcinous once again orders more music and poetry. This time, young Phaeacian men dance while Demodocus sings the comic tale about
Book IX: The Cyclops Remember that the next four books, IX-XII, are in flashback mode and narrated by Odysseus. He tells how, after sacking Troy, the surviving Greek heroes embarked upon their journey back home. Odysseus has his own fleet of ships and his own men. They make their first disembarkation at Ismarus, the city of the Cicones, who supported the Trojans in the war. Odysseus, the “Sacker of Cities,” finds moral justification in sacking Ismarus since it belongs to friends of the enemy. After the sacking, looting, and capturing of women, Odysseus orders a quick retreat as he expects retaliation from the Cicones, but his “fools of men” refuse and keep on drinking and butchering sheep on the shore. In the meantime, the Cicones gather their forces and counter-attack at dawn. A pitched battle is fought throughout the day. Towards sunset the Cicones gain the upper hand and break the Achaean ranks. Six of Odysseus’ men are killed. The rest of them contrive to dodge the attack and make good their escape. Mourning for the dead, they run into a terrible gale from the north. The ships are driven sidelong by the wind, causing disorientation in the course. The sails are torn to rags and tatters. The gale lasts for two days and two nights. On the third morning, a beautiful dawn ushers in. They are relieved but the North Wind has done damage. It has driven them off their course, drifting past Cytherea. On the tenth day, they reach the country of the Lotuseaters. It is a land of sultry weather and tropical vegetation, inhabited by “a race that lives on vegetable foods.” The Lotus-eaters do not kill Odysseus’ men but they kill their will to go back home. Here the adventure is of a different kind, more psychological than physical, and, therefore, more dangerous and damaging. Only Odysseus can perceive the serious threat in the magic narcotic, lotos, which in Greek means ‘forgetfulness.’ His men wish to stay back in the place but he collects them forcibly and orders immediate departure. Odysseus is a man of
Book X: Circe Their next landfall is Aeolia, the floating island of the god of winds, Aeolus. All round this island runs an unbroken wall of bronze and below it, sheer cliffs rise from the sea. It is a place of supernatural strangeness. The atmosphere is pervaded with the fragrance of flowers and the sound of flutes. Here, Odysseus and his men spend a month, happy and content. It is a much-required relief after the harrowing experience of the Cyclops. At the end of the month, before sending him off, Aeolus gives Odysseus a leather bag, in which he has imprisoned the “boisterous winds,” with directions not to open it (p. 125). They sail on comfortably for nine days and on the tenth are in sight of Ithaca. They can see the people tending their fires. Odysseus, utterly exhausted, goes to sleep. His “fools of men” have a discussion regarding the bag given by Aeolus. They suspect that the bag contains rich gifts which Odysseus does not intend to share with his men. Evil counsels carry the day and the men open the bag. The results are disastrous. The winds rush out of the bag followed by a terrible tempest. The ships are carried away from Ithaca towards the open sea. When Odysseus wakes up, he is aghast to see the vanishing landscape of Ithaca. His instant impulse is to jump overboard, but he accepts the terrible situation with his characteristic stoicism. The whole fleet is driven back by the winds to Aeolia. Odysseus hopes that king Aeolus may help him again but, to his dismay, he finds Aeolus in a fury. He denounces Odysseus as a man of bad luck and refuses to entertain and equip a man detested by the gods. Odysseus has no alternative but to keep on sailing. After a week, they reach Telepylus, the Stronghold of Lamus, in the Laestrygonian land. The Laestrygonians are a huge, ugly and cannibalistic people. They fall upon Odysseus’ men with rocks thrown from the top of cliffs. It is total massacre. All the ships, except Odysseus’, are destroyed. His men are killed and eaten. Using his presence of mind, Odysseus escapes with his ship and a few men in it. The significance of this terrible adventure lies in the fact that, gradually, Odysseus is being cut off from human companionship. The process reaches its climax on the island of Ogygia.
Circe In due course, the lonely ship with its grieving crew arrives at the mysterious island of Aeaea, the home of the beautiful Circe, a formidable goddess, though her voice is like a woman’s. Homer builds up this episode carefully and elaborately in stages. The strange aspect of the place is slowly and dramatically revealed. They land and mourn their dead companions for two days. On the third day, Odysseus goes off by himself. He sights smoke coming from a house, which is Circe’s house. Odysseus is in two minds. Although a man of action, he thinks before acting. He decides to go back and send out a scouting team after they have had their meals. On his way back he hunts a huge stag. The rest of the day is spent in eating and the night in sleep. Odysseus perceives the demoralized condition of his men. Like a true leader, he boosts up their morale by declaring that they are not going down below just then. The next morning, he gathers his men around and divides them into two well-armed parties with a commander for each. He takes charge of one party. Eurylochus is appointed the leader of the other party. Then they shake lots in a bronze helmet. It goes to Eurylochus’ lot to explore the island with his party. The scouting team comes upon Circe’s house, built of dressed stone and standing in the middle of a forest dell. The house is surrounded by prowling wolves and lions, who are actually victims of Circe’s magic. They do not attack the men. Instead, they caress them and wag their tails in welcome. Their abnormal behaviour and huge size terrify the party. They take refuge in the porch of Circe’s castle. From there they can hear Circe within, singing in her beautiful voice while working upon her loom and producing dazzling fabrics for the goddesses. Eurylochus and his men shout to attract her attention. The next moment Circe comes out, opens the door and invites them in. Eurylochus suspects a trap and stays outside. His men are greeted with warmth and respect by Circe who offers them a dish which contains a powerful drug. The drug destroys their memory. Then Circe strikes them with her magic wand and the men turn into swine. She pens them in the pigsties. The suffering of the men is terrible. Although transformed physically, their intellect remains human. They shed tears at their helplessness. Eurylochus is spared the misery as he stays out. Horrified, he rushes back with his terrible report. Odysseus at once gets ready and orders Eurylochus to escort him to Circe’s house. But Eurylochus is so terrified that he refuses to accompany him. Odysseus goes alone as it is his “bounden duty” (p. 132). On his way, he comes across Hermes in the guise of a handsome young man. He understands Odysseus’ plight and offers help. This is the first of many instances of divine help which come to Odysseus, mostly through Athene. Hermes explains Circe’s magic to Odysseus and gives him an antidote. Odysseus reaches Circe’s house and calls. Circe opens the door and invites him in. Armed with the antidote, Odysseus is not affected by Circe’s magic drug. And when she touches him with her magic wand, Odysseus draws his sword and rushes at her as though he intends to kill her. At once, Circe falls at his knees and surrenders. She guesses that he must be Odysseus, “the man whom nothing defeats” (p. 133). She implores him to trust her and become her lover. Odysseus puts down his conditions: she must transform his men back into their human form and she must take an oath not to try any more of her magic tricks on him. Circe complies and advises Odysseus to bring his men from the ship to her house. They stay on the island for one whole year to restore their strength. At the end of one year, Odysseus’ men reproach him for overstaying with Circe. They remind him of the basic purpose of their wanderings. Odysseus approaches Circe regarding the matter of sending him back home. Circe advises him to first visit the Halls of Hades and Persephone and consult Teiresias, the blind Theban prophet. Odysseus almost breaks down at the prospect of visiting the World of the Dead. But soon he collects himself and asks Circe how to reach the Halls of Hades. Circe gives him specific directions and instructions. Next morning, Odysseus and his men leave Circe’s island but not without a casualty: one of Odysseus’ men, Elpenor, dies after falling from the roof of Circe’s palace. The Circe episode has a significant position in the adventure tale of Odysseus. On the surface it resembles a fairy tale. But it assumes dramatic significance when considered in the context of the narrative. It occurs when Odysseus and his men are almost totally demoralized; both physically and psychologically. They reached Ithaca and missed it through their folly. Aelous refused to help and they lost all their ships and men at the hands of the Laestrygonians. Circe knows all they have gone through. She promises to restore them “till you are once more the men you were when first you sailed from Ithaca” (p. 136). Prior to the Circe episode, all the adventures have depicted a world of dangers and peculiar modes of life, unknown to Homer’s audience. Now the tone of the poem subtly changes. We are taken close to the world of the imagination where the natural and the unnatural are so woven together that all things are confused; as Odysseus’ companions say, “We do not know where East or West is; where the light-giving Sun rises or where he sets” (p. 130). Bestial and human life are equated in the fantasy. Circe is both malevolent and benevolent. Her nymphs are supernatural, yet they accept human lovers. Odysseus, in particular, is to be trained for his long stay under the spell of Calypso in Ogygia.
Anticleia
After Teiresias’ prophecy, Odysseus speaks with the soul of his mother. She tells him about Penelope’s sorrow and how she has “schooled her heart to patience” (p. 144). The kingdom of Odysseus is still in “peaceful possession” of Telemachus. But Odysseus’ father has become a recluse in the country. Anticleia gives a graphic picture of Laertes’ way of life. As for Anticleia herself; she died of “heartache” for her missing son. Odysseus is so deeply moved by his mother’s words that he tries three times to embrace her, but each time he fails. The failure causes him an even sharper pain. Anticleia informs him that he is witnessing the laws of “mortal nature.” One cannot hold the soul in one’s arms since the soul has no substance. After Anticleia, follows a succession of the heroic mothers and grandmothers of Greek tragedy, each with a story of her own. They are followed by the ghosts of the heroes who fought at Troy. The first to appear is Agamemnon, whose brother’s wife Helen was the cause of the Trojan War. Odysseus knows nothing about the tragic fate of Agamemnon, who tells him that he and his companions were murdered on their return by Aegisthus, the lover of Agamemnon’s wife, Clyaetemnestra. Aegisthus took them all to his own palace and while they were feasting, killed him as a man kills “an ox at its manger” (p. 150). It was a miserable end, not a heroic death. All round him his companions were done to death. But the worst murder was that of Cassandra, daughter of Priam, by Agamemnon’s wife, Clytaemnestra. No other woman in the world could compete with her in brutality and infamy
Agamemnon’s sad tale offers a contrast between Penelope and Clytaemnestra in relation to the theme of fidelity. Agamemnon admits that Penelope will not murder Odysseus because she is “far too sound in heart and brain” (p. 151). Agamemnon calls Odysseus a lucky man who will find his faithful wife and grown-up son waiting for him. That is how things should be. But Agamemnon was not fated to a happy and loyal return. He was killed even before he could see his son, Orestes. Agamemnon offers Odysseus practical advice. Odysseus should not reveal himself when he returns to Ithaca. He should make a secret approach. Although “the wise Penelope” will not act like Clytaemnestra, women are no longer to be trusted. Odysseus must first find out the facts, in disguise, before revealing himself. Later on, we shall see that Odysseus follows Agamemnon’s advice and appears in Ithaca in the disguise of a beggar. Then appears Achilles, the great hero of the Trojan War. Odysseus tells him the heroic story of Neoptolemus, his son, who fought bravely and wisely. After the fall of Troy, Neoptolemus succeeded in reaching home safe and sound in his ship, without a single wound. Next, Odysseus sees those men who must suffer eternally for their sins: Tantalus and Sisyphus. Odysseus would have stayed longer in order to meet other heroes, but suddenly thousands of ghosts appear, raising their “eerie cry.” Panicking at the sight, Odysseus and his men quickly leave the Halls of Hades. The Hades episode deepens the seriousness of the epic. Death is present throughout the narrative but, in this episode, it is brought to the fore. The earlier adventures of Odysseus took him to far-off and strange lands, great distances upon the sea. In the Hades episode, the narrative mingles past, present, and future. Odysseus gets the latest news of his household from his mother and Teiresias. But he is also warned of the problems at home. Throughout, Odysseus is directed by the desire to return home.
