The Odyssey is book #4 from The Literary Project.
The Odyssey opens with the following:
“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of Troy.”
The man, of course, is Odysseus. Homer almost always refers to him as the “great tactician,” and we find out towards the end of the poem that his name means “Son of Pain”:
“so let his name be Odysseus…
the Son of Pain, a name he’ll earn in full.”
-Autolycus
(Book 19, Lines 463-464)
Plot Summary
Odysseus has been gone for almost 20 years: fighting the 10-year-long Trojan war, and struggling for another 10 years to get home. This story details that struggle.
The first 4 books focus on his son Telemachus–about to come of age–and how he and his mother, Queen Penelope, are under daily siege by over 100 suitors, each determined to claim Penelope for his own and become King of Ithaca. (All are under the impression that King Odysseus is dead.) But rather than court Penelope respectfully, the suitors lay waste to the estate, consuming all of the food and wine, day after day, and year after year. Penelope, not having quite given up hope that Odysseus is alive, stands firm and faithful to her husband and refuses to accept any of them. Telemachus travels to Pylos and Sparta to speak with Kings Nestor and Menelaus, respectively, for news of Odysseus.
In Book 5 we come to Odysseus, and find out that he had shipwrecked onto the island Ogygia, home of the sea nymph Calypso. We learn that she is in love with him and has kept him prisoner for 7 years until the Olympic gods finally take pity on him (mainly Athena) and order her to release him.
Odysseus leaves Calypso’s island and is shipwrecked once again, this time in the land of the Phaeacians, where he is cared for and tells the royal family of the fantastical string of events that happened in between his leaving the Trojan war and ending up on Ogygia.
Upon leaving Troy, Odysseus encountered the following places and monsters (listed in chronological order), losing the lives of his men along the way:
- The city Ismarus, the Cicones’ stronghold (Trojan allies)
- The land of the Lotus-eaters and their memory-dissolving fruit
- The island of the man-eating Cyclops, Polyphemus
- Aeolia island, home of Aeolus, master of the winds
- Telepylus, the city of the giant cannibals, the Laestrygonians
- Aeaean island, home of Circe, goddess who changes men to swine
- The House of Death, where Odysseus converses with the dead, including Agamemnon
- The island of the Sirens (they sail past, not landing)
- Charybdis, the whirlpool, and Scylla, the 6-headed sea cliff monster
- Thrinacia, where the sun god Helios’ forbidden cattle graze, which the men slaughter anyway
As they left Thrinacia, Zeus struck the ship with lightning on behalf of Helios, killing all remaining except for Odysseus, who drifted to Ogygia.
After he finishes his tale, the Phaeacians give him safe passage home to Ithaca. When he arrives, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar. Together with the help of his son, Odysseus hatches a plan to massacre the suitors. The day arrives when Penelope announces she will marry whoever wins an almost impossible archery contest. Odysseus is the only one able to succeed, whereupon he immediately reveals his true identity and, along with Telemachus and a few faithful servants, kills off every suitor in the palace.
Athena commands the vengeful families of the dead suitors to stand down, Odysseus is reunited with his loving Penelope, and peace reigns over Ithaca.
Ideas Conveyed
Hospitality
This epic tale is full of demonstrations of hospitality. It’s clear that the ancient Greeks valued hospitality very highly, and, in fact, Zeus is the God of Guests:
“But since we’ve chanced on you, we’re at your knees
in hopes of a warm welcome, even a guest-gift,
the sort that hosts give strangers. That’s the custom.
Respect the gods, my friend. We’re suppliants–at your mercy!
Zeus of the Strangers guards all guests and suppliants:
strangers are sacred–Zeus will avenge their rights!”
-Odysseus, appealing to Polyphemus the Cyclops
(Book 9, Lines 300-306)
Throughout the story, hosts take in any strangers that arrive at their door–no questions asked! Hosts feed them, bathe them, and provide a place to sleep. Many times, these things are done first and foremost before the host even asks the stranger’s name, where they’re from, and how they came to arrive there. And then the guests tend to remain for long periods of time: weeks or even months.
- Aeolus is the first friendly encounter in the story, where they stayed “one entire month.” Aeolus, master of winds, binds all of the winds into a sack that he gives as a farewell gift to Odysseus; all except for the West Wind to sail them back to Ithaca. The men believe Odysseus is hogging some treasure all to himself, so as he sleeps they open the bag and the winds all come howling out and blow them off course–right as Ithaca came into sight! They were blown right back to Aeolia…only to find Aeolus not so hospitable any more:
“Away from my island–fast–most cursed man alive!
It’s a crime to host a man or speed him on his way
when the blessed deathless gods despise him so.
Crawling back like this–
it proves the immortals hate you! Out–get out!”
-Aeolus
(Book 10, Lines 79-83)
- When Odysseus arrives on Phaeacia, King Alcinous takes Odysseus in, feeds him, listens to his story, hosts games in which Odysseus participates, and entertain him with music in his court…all before they finally ask his name! Then they send him home with enough guest-gifts to fill a cave! The strange thing? Zeus allows Poseidon to punish them for helping Osysseus and so many other strangers in this manner:
“They will learn at last
to cease and desist from escorting every man alive–
I’ll pile a huge mountain round about their port!”
-Poseidon
(Book 13, Lines 171-173)Poseidon hates Odysseus for blinding his son Polyphemus, so it makes sense for him to want to punish the Phaeacians for helping Odysseus, but I don’t understand why Zeus allows such a punishment as he is the God of Guests and Suppliants.
- When Telemachus is making his way back home from Pylos, he readily accepts a prophet named Theoclymenus onto his ship–after he admits that he killed a man!
“‘Just like you, I too have left my land–
I because I killed a man of my own tribe.
…
I am a fugitive now,
doomed to wander across this mortal world,
So take me aboard, hear a fugitive’s prayer:
don’t let them kill me–they’re after me, well I know!”‘So desperate!’ thoughtful Telemachus exclaimed.
‘How could I drive you from my ship? Come sail with us,
we’ll tend you at home, with all we can provide.'”
-exchange between Theoclymenus and Telemachus
(Book 15, Lines 303-314)
- And finally, Eumaeus the loyal swineherd takes in Odysseus when he is disguised as a beggar:
“the loyal swineherd led the way to his shelter,
showed his guest inside and sat Odysseus down
on brush and twigs he piled up for the visitor,
flinging over these the skin of a shaggy wild goat,
broad and soft, the swineherd’s own good bedding.
The king, delighted to be so well received,
thanked the man at once: ‘My host–may Zeus
and the other gods give you your heart’s desire
for the royal welcome you have shown me here!'”
(Book 14, Lines 55-62)He not only feeds him, but presents to Odysseus the choice cut of meat:
“to Odysseus he presented the boar’s long loin
and the cut of honor cheered his master’s heart.”
(Book 14, Lines 496-497)
Food & Drink
“despite my misery, let me finish dinner.
The belly’s a shameless dog, there’s nothing worse.
Always insisting, pressing, it never lets us forget –
destroyed as I am, my heart racked with sadness,
sick with anguish, still it keeps demanding,
“Eat, drink!” It blots out all the memory
of my pain, commanding, ‘Fill me up!'”
-Odysseus
(Book 7, Lines 250-256)
And finally, I just wanted to point out the very frequent propensity for eating and drinking that occurs in this story. The above quote really sums it up quite well for the entire poem: no matter what events are occurring, the biological need to consume is, well, all-consuming. It cannot be ignored or controlled, and must always be addressed.
I see this as two-fold:
- the literal reality that is one of our most basic, biological needs, and how, at the end of the day, we are human beings who must attend to that need, regardless of mortal dangers, tragedies, or suffocating feelings of sadness and despair; and
- the symbolism of food and drink represented by the two polarities of good will and ill will. On the one hand, hospitality is highlighted by the breaking of bread together, because that is the ultimate symbol of good will between people. On the other hand, we have evil monsters eating humans and humans bringing on their own demise by giving in to this basic need: Polyphemus, the Laestrygonians, and Scylla all eat Odysseus’ men alive. The Lotus-eater’s lotus fruit causes Odysseus’ men to completely lose their memories–“all memory of the journey home dissolved forever”–forcing Odysseus to drag them away lest they stay eating lotus for the rest of their lives. Then when the starving men land on Thrinacia, they eat the Cattle of Sun despite knowing it is forbidden–finally bringing their deaths as Zeus avenges Helios for what they did.
“All ways of dying are hateful to us poor mortals,
true, but to die of hunger, starve to death–
that’s the worst of all.”
-Eurylochus, convincing the men to slaughter Helios’ cattle
(Book 12, Lines 367-369)And finally, of course, there are the suitors who plunder Odysseus and Penelopes’ estate, eating all of their livestock and drinking all of their wine. Of course, they are also punished for this offense by death.
“Your way is a far cry from the time-honored way
of suitors locked in rivalry, striving to win
some noble woman, a wealthy man’s daughter.
They bring in their own calves and lambs
to feast the friends of the bride-to-be-, yes,
and shower her with gleaming gifts as well.
They don’t devour the woman’s goods scot-free.”
-Penelope
(Book 18, Lines 309-315)
Sustenance, it seems, brings both life and death.
My Favorite Quotes
And finally, here is a list of my favorite quotes from this epic tale:
“And may the good gods give you all your heart desires:
husband, and house, and lasting harmony too.
No finer, greater gift in the world than that…
when man and woman possess their home, two minds,
two hearts that work as one. Despair to their enemies,
a joy to all their friends. Their own best claim to glory.”
-Odysseus to Princess Nausicaa
(Book 6, Lines 198-203)“despite my misery, let me finish dinner.
The belly’s a shameless dog, there’s nothing worse.
Always insisting, pressing, it never lets us forget –
destroyed as I am, my heart racked with sadness,
sick with anguish, still it keeps demanding,
“Eat, drink!” It blots out all the memory
of my pain, commanding, ‘Fill me up!'”
-Odysseus
(Book 7, Lines 250-256)“the gods don’t hand out all their gifts at once,
not build and brains and flowing speech to all.”
-Odysseus
(Book 8, Lines 193-194)“I know no sweeter sight on earth
than a man’s own native country”
-Odysseus
(Book 9, Lines 31-32)“It’s wrong, my friend, to send any stranger packing–
even one who arrives in worse shape than you.
Every stranger and beggar comes from Zeus”
-Eumaeus
(Book 14, Lines 64-66)“I had no love
for working the land, the chores of households either,
the labor that raises crops of shining children. No,
it was always oarswept ships that thrilled my heart,
and wars, and the long polished spears and arrows,
dreadful gear that makes the next man cringe.
I loved them all–god planted that love inside me.
Each man delights in the work that suits him best.”
-Odysseus [emphasis added]
(Book 14, Lines 253-260)“We two will keep to the shelter here, eat and drink
and take some joy in each other’s heartbreaking sorrows,
sharing each other’s memories. Over the years, you know,
a man finds solace even in old sorrows, true, a man
who’s weathered many blows and wandered many miles.”
-Odysseus
(Book 15, 447-452)“Bashfulness, for a man in need, is no great friend.”
-Telemachus
(Book 17, Line 381)“Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth,
our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man.”
-Odysseus
(Book 18, Lines 150-151)“If a man is cruel by nature, cruel in action,
the mortal world will call down curses on his head
while he is alive, and all will mock his memory after death.
But then if a man is kind by nature, kind in action,
his guests will carry his fame across the earth
and people all will praise him from the heart.”
-Penelope
(Book 19, Lines 378-383)