The Odyssey by, Homer is one of those classics that seems to intimidate a lot of people. The ancient classics in general tend to be viewed as “academic” and “pretentious,” when that could be farther from the truth. The Ancient Greeks wrote in a simple, yet lyrical prose that isn’t complicated to read and should be restricted to a classroom setting. I think that if more people realized how approachable The Odyssey actually is, they’d be more eager to pick it up. You don’t even need an in-depth understanding of Ancient Greek society and mythology. I’ll be covering this text in two posts, with this post going over the first half.
The overall plot of The Odyssey is fairly simple - several years after the Trojan War, Odysseus still has not returned home to Ithaca to his wife, Penelope, and now grown son Telemachus. On his journey home, he was held hostage by Calypso. His wife and son presume him to be dead, though they are still holding on to a sliver of hope that Odysseus will return. Penelope is plagued by dozens and dozens of suitors who hope to marry her, now that they think Odysseus is dead and Telemachus is determined to venture out and find out what really happened to his father. The most well known portions of the narrative are in the first half - covering Odysseus’s travels and all the gods and mythological creatures he encounters.
I won’t go much more into the plot here, but I’ll cover some of the interesting themes and characteristics I noticed in The Odyssey. The most blatant characteristic in The Odyssey is the coexistence of the natural and the divine. This is a world in which the gods are actively involved in the lives of humans and it creates some really interesting dynamics.
Right at the beginning of The Odyssey, the gods are assembled discussing some juicy drama that occurred between Aegisthus, Agamemnon, and Orestes (how epic is the name Agamemnon?! It’s one one of favorite names!).
“What a lamentable thing it is that men should blame the god’s and regard us as the source of their trouble, when it is their own transgressions which bring them suffering that is not their destiny.”
I find this interesting because as the narrative progresses, yes, we see scenarios in which men cause their own drama, but we also see scenarios in which the gods do with humans as they see fit. It’s making me really think about the concept of free will in a text in which the divine plays an integral role. How much free will does a character actually have when in the end, the gods can still determine one’s fate? There is also a lot of instances of divine intervention and divine favor.
The goddess Athene, a daughter of Zeus, has taken a particular interest to Odysseus and his family and she is determined to ensure that Odysseus returns to Ithaca. She is constantly altering the appearances of Telemachus, Odysseus and Penelope to suit the end goal by making them appear more beautiful. So in essence, one can try to do what one wishes, but when a god or goddess takes an interest, one succumbs to the will of the gods, typically until another god or goddess intervenes. A narrative in which this type of world exists is really fascinating and soap operas have nothing on the schemes of the Ancient Greek gods. It is the definition of Tea Time.
I think this idea of divine intervention and favor leads nicely into another major theme in The Odyssey - hospitality. Since the gods have the ability to favor humans, as well as make themselves to appear as humans to other people, one can never be quite sure if a stranger is actually a god or goddess in disguise, or dealing with a person who has a god or goddess vouching for them.
“To any man with the slightest common sense, a guest and suppliant is as close as a brother.”
From this we get this society in which a stranger is often treated with the upmost respect and honor. They are showered with good food, good wine, a place to sleep if needed and priceless gifts. When a stranger is treated poorly, it is frowned upon because it is considered a personal affront to Zeus. Zeus was also the god of supplicants, so it makes sense why this would be a culture in which hospitality is very important - a society will often embody the traits of its religion and deities.
While reading a text like The Odyssey, you can began to understand how the Ancient Greeks made sense of the world around them. Many things such as the wind, the sun, the ocean, etc. are personified.
“When Dawn had risen from the bed where she sleeps beside illustrious Tithonus, to bring daylight to immortals and to mortals…”
These descriptions not only practically describe the characteristics of the world and nature that are not only clever and make perfect sense, they show how the Ancient Greeks deeply observed the world around them. These descriptions in The Odyssey definitely make this narrative feel ethereal, and yes this is mythology, but it’s this just something special about them. This is not overly descriptive language, it’s concise, yet it’s poignant.
The Odyssey has so many characters, but I don’t find this to be overwhelming. When a new character, god, or goddess is mentioned, Homer provides their backstory. When Odysseus faces Circe, Cyclops, Scylla & Charybdis and ventures down into Hades, the narrative is full of so many mythological back stories. It actually feels a bit serialized and it would be easy to hone in on a favorite myth and not get confused.
The Odyssey is just fun to read. This is the E.V. Rieu translation, which reads more like a novel than a piece of epic poetry. In school we used the Fitzgerald translation, which I also recall being easy to navigate. I find that once I pick this text up, I’m flying through the pages with a smile on my face!
I’m almost done with this book and I’ll be covering the second half in about a week’s time! Is The Odyssey a piece of literature that you’ve been intimidated by but have always wanted to read?
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