The Odyssey Summary and Theme “The Odyssey” is the second of the two epic poems attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer , and usually considered the second extant work of Western literature. The Odyssey Summary and Theme It was probably composed near the end of the 8th Century BCE and is, in part, a sequel to “The Iliad”. It is widely recognized as one of the great stories of all time, and has been a strong influence on later European, especially Renaissance, literature.
The poem focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses, as
he was known in Roman myths) and his long journey home to Ithaca following the
fall of Troy. His adventure-filled ten year journey took him through the Ionian
Islands and the Peloponnese and as far away as Egypt and North Africa and the
western Mediteranean, as the displeased sea-god Poseidon prevented him from
reaching his home.
The Odyssey Summary
and Theme
The Odyssey is an Ancient Greek heroic poem attributed to
Homer, though “Homer” is now generally believed to refer more to an epic
tradition than to a selected or single person. Scholars debate when and the way
the poem was composed. It seems to possess inherit existence contemporaneously
or shortly after the difference of the traditional Greek alphabet , which
places it within the late 8th century BC. it had been presumably composed
orally, and even after it had been written down, its earliest audiences would
have heard the poem performed. The text because it is now experienced was
likely arranged sometime within the 2nd century BC by scholars at the Library
of Alexandria and preserved by the students of Constantinople within the
Eastern Roman Empire .
Often mentioned because the beginning of Western literature,
the Odyssey draws on conceits and ideas from Near Eastern epics, most notably
the Homecoming Husband. The narrative revolves round the restoration of a
family after a protracted separation, exploring themes of home and family as
identity, the virtue of reciprocity, and therefore the intersection of fate,
gods, and human choices in determining outcomes.
This study guide refers to the 2018 paperback edition
translated by Emily Wilson. Her 2017 translation, released in hardcover, is
that the first full-length translation by a lady to be published in English.
Wilson has stated that her publisher permits her to update her translation with
each new edition; the hardcover and paperback translations aren't identical.
the traditional Greek text was composed in dactylic hexameter, the meter of
archaic Greek narrative poetry. Wilson’s translation is in iambic pentameter.
Though it features an equivalent number of lines because the original, it's not
a line-for-line translation. Chapter divisions exist within the Greek text, but
the chapter titles are Wilson’s own.
The Odyssey Summary
At the beginning of the poem, Odysseus has been faraway from
Ithaca for 20 years—10 fighting at Troy and 10 attempting to return home—but
his fate is to return. At the beginning of the poem, the goddess Athena prompts
Zeus to line Odysseus’s return in motion, but the gods must do so against the
needs of Poseidon. He holds a grudge against Odysseus for having blinded his
son, the Cyclops Polyphemus.
The first four books happen in Ithaca, where Odysseus’s wife
Penelope is besieged by aggressive young suitors from Ithaca and neighboring
islands. Insisting that Odysseus must be dead, they demand that Penelope select
one among them as her new husband. They feast on Odysseus’s herds, offering
nothing reciprocally , while Penelope stalls for time. Her son with Odysseus,
Telemachus, who was an infant when his father left, is just too young and
inexperienced to assume control. Both Penelope and Telemachus exist during a
state of suspended anticipation, looking for Odysseus’s return but unsure
whether or not they can believe it.
The Odyssey Summary and Theme - Books 5 through 13 concern Odysseus’s
wanderings after leaving Troy. Book 5 finds Odysseus on Calypso’s island. The
messenger god Hermes informs her that she must let Odysseus leave. She
grudgingly agrees, but Poseidon stirs up the ocean to shipwreck Odysseus. water
nymph Ino helps him reach the Phaeacians’ island, an intermediary space between
the human and divine realms. In Books 6 through 8, the Phaeacians accept
Odysseus’s request for help, feeding and bathing him and promising to assist
him return to Ithaca. In return, he tells them his story in Books 9 through 12.
Odysseus narrates the trials he has undergone, including
escaping the Lotus Eaters (whose fruit causes men to forget their desire to
return home), the Cyclops Polyphemus (who ate six of his men), and therefore
the Laestrygonians (human-eating giants). On Circe’s island, she initially
turned his men into pigs but eventually helped him devise an idea to return
home by consulting with Tiresias, a prophet Odysseus spoke with at the border
between earth and therefore the underworld. Odysseus’s men died stumped after
failing to follow Tiresias’s order to not eat the Sun God Helius’s sacred
cattle. Only Odysseus escaped.
The Odyssey Summary and Theme , The Phaeacians bring Odysseus to Ithaca,
where Books 13 through 24 happen . Athena disguises him in order that he can
enter the palace by stealth and test his slaves to work out who is loyal. Believing
Odysseus is impoverished, Eumaeus provides food and shelter. Odysseus reveals
himself only to Telemachus. Athena helps Odysseus plot the way to overthrow the
suitors despite their numbers. Odysseus and Telemachus put the plan into
motion, aided by Eumaeus and another loyal herdsman.
With Athena’s help, Odysseus slaughters the suitors at their
feast, then hangs 12 enslaved women who are accused of entertaining the
suitors. Penelope and Odysseus reunite after she secretly tests him and he
proves his identity. The suitors’ surviving male relations threaten Odysseus,
but Athena intervenes to make sure peace and prosperity in Ithaca.
The Odyssey Character List
Odysseus
Odysseus has
the defining character traits of a Homeric leader: strength, courage, nobility,
a thirst for glory, and confidence in his authority. His most distinguishing
trait, however, is his sharp intellect. Odysseus’s quick thinking helps him out
of some very tough situations, as when he escapes from the cave of the Cyclops
in Book 9, or when he hides his slaughter of the suitors by having his minstrel
strike up a wedding tune in Book 23. He is also a convincing, articulate
speaker and can win over or manipulate his audience with ease. When he first
addresses Nausicaa on the island of Scheria, for example, his suave, comforting
approach quickly wins her trust.
Like other Homeric heroes, Odysseus longs to win kleos
(“glory” won through great deeds), but he also wishes to complete his nostos
(“homecoming”). He enjoys his luxurious life with Calypso in an exotic land,
but only to a point. Eventually, he wants to return home, even though he admits
that his wife cannot compare with Calypso. He thinks of home throughout the
time he spends with the Phaeacians and also while on Circe’s island. Sometimes
his glory-seeking gets in the way of his home-seeking, however. He sacks the
land of the Cicones but loses men and time in the process. He waits too long in
the cave of Polyphemus, enjoying the free milk and cheese he finds, and is
trapped there when the Cyclops returns.
Homeric characters are generally static. Though they may be
very complex and realistic, they do not change over the course of the work as
characters in modern novels and stories do. Odysseus and especially Telemachus
break this rule. Early in his adventures, Odysseus’s love of glory prompts him to
reveal his identity to the Cyclops and bring Poseidon’s wrath down on him. By
the end of the epic, he seems much more willing to temper pride with patience.
Disguised as a beggar, he does not immediately react to the abuse he receives
from the suitors. Instead, he endures it until the traps he has set and the
loyalties he has secured put him in a position from which he can strike back
effectively.
Telemachus
Just an
infant when his father left for Troy, Telemachus is still maturing when The
Odyssey begins. He is wholly devoted to his mother and to maintaining his
father’s estate, but he does not know how to protect them from the suitors.
After all, it has only been a few years since he first realized what the
suitors’ intentions were. His meeting with Athena in Book 1 changes things.
Aside from improving his stature and bearing, she teaches him the
responsibilities of a young prince. He soon becomes more assertive. He
confronts the suitors and denounces the abuse of his estate, and when Penelope
and Eurycleia become anxious or upset, he does not shy away from taking
control.
Telemachus never fully matches his father’s talents, at least
not by The Odyssey’s conclusion. He has a stout heart and an active mind, and
sometimes even a bit of a temper, but he never schemes with the same skill or
speaks with quite the same fluency as Odysseus. In Book 22, he accidentally
leaves a weapons storeroom unlocked, a careless mistake that allows the suitors
to arm themselves. While Odysseus does make a few mistakes in judgment over the
course of the epic, it is difficult to imagine him making such an absentminded
blunder. Telemachus has not yet inherited his father’s brassy pride either. The
scene with the bow captures the endpoint of his development perfectly. He tries
and tries to string it, and very nearly does, but not quite. This episode
reminds us that, at the close of The Odyssey, Telemachus still cannot match his
father’s skills but is well on his way.
Penelope
Though she
has not seen Odysseus in twenty years, and despite pressure the suitors place
on her to remarry, Penelope never loses faith in her husband. Her cares make
her somewhat flighty and excitable, however. For this reason, Odysseus,
Telemachus, and Athena often prefer to leave her in the dark about matters
rather than upset her. Athena must distract her, for instance, so that she does
not discover Odysseus’s identity when Eurycleia is washing him. Athena often
comes to her in dreams to reassure or comfort her, for Penelope would otherwise
spend her nights weeping in her bed.
Though her love for Odysseus is unyielding, she responds to
the suitors with some indecision. She never refuses to remarry outright.
Instead, she puts off her decision and leads them on with promises that she
will choose a new husband as soon as certain things happen. Her astute delaying
tactics reveal her sly and artful side. The notion of not remarrying until she
completes a burial shroud that she will never complete cleverly buys her time.
Similarly, some commentators claim that her decision to marry whomever wins the
archery contest of Book 21 results from her awareness that only her husband can
win it. Some even claim that she recognizes her husband before she admits it to
him in Book 23.
Athena
Daughter
of Zeus and goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts. Athena
assists Odysseus and Telemachus with divine powers throughout the epic, and she
speaks up for them in the councils of the gods on Mount Olympus. She often
appears in disguise as Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus.
Calypso
The
beautiful nymph who falls in love with Odysseus when he lands on her
island-home of Ogygia. Calypso holds him prisoner there for seven years until
Hermes, the messenger god, persuades her to let him go.
Poseidon
God
of the sea. As the suitors are Odysseus’s mortal antagonists, Poseidon is his
divine antagonist. He despises Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops
Polyphemus, and constantly hampers his journey home. Ironically, Poseidon is
the patron of the seafaring Phaeacians, who ultimately help to return Odysseus
to Ithaca.
The Odyssey Theme
The Power
of Cunning over Strength
If The Iliad is about strength, The Odyssey is about cunning,
a difference that becomes apparent within the very first lines of the epics.
Whereas The Iliad tells the story of the craze of Achilles, the strongest hero
within the Greek army, The Odyssey focuses on a “man of twists and turns”
(1.1). Odysseus does have extraordinary strength, as he demonstrates in Book 21
by being the sole man who can string the bow. But he relies far more on mind
than muscle, a bent that his encounters showcase. He knows that he cannot
overpower Polyphemus, for instance , and that, albeit he were ready to do so,
he wouldn’t be ready to budge the boulder from the door. He thus schemes around
his disadvantage in strength by exploiting Po1yphemus’s stupidity. Though he
does use violence to place out Polyphemus’s single eye, this display of
strength is a component of a bigger decide to deceive the brute.
Similarly, Odysseus knows that he's no match for the host of
strapping young suitors in his palace, so he makes the foremost of his other
strength—his wits. Step by step, through disguises and deceptions, he arranges
a situation during which he alone is armed and therefore the suitors are locked
during a room with him. With this setup, Achilles’ superb talents as a warrior
would enable him to accomplish what Odysseus does, but only Odysseus’s
strategic planning can cause such a sure victory. a number of the tests in
Odysseus’s long, wandering ordeal seem to mock reliance on strength alone.
nobody can resist the Sirens’ song, for instance , but Odysseus gets an earful
of the stunning melody by having his crew tie him up. Scylla and Charybdis
can't be beaten, but Odysseus can minimize his losses with prudent
decision-making and careful navigation. Odysseus’s encounter with Achilles
within the underworld may be a reminder: Achilles won great kleos, or glory,
during his life, but that life was brief and ended violently. Odysseus, on the
opposite hand, by virtue of his wits, will live to a ripe adulthood and is destined
to die in peace.
The Pitfalls of Temptation
The initial act that frustrated numerous Achaeans’ homecoming
was the work of an Achaean himself: Ajax (the “Lesser” Ajax, a comparatively
unimportant figure to not be confused with the “Greater” Ajax, whom Odysseus
meets in Hades) raped the Trojan priestess Cassandra during a temple while the
Greeks were plundering the fallen city. That act of impulse, impiety, and
stupidity brought the wrath of Athena upon the Achaean fleet and set in motion
the chain of events that turned Odysseus’s homecoming into an extended
nightmare. it's fit that The Odyssey is motivated by such an occasion , for
several of the pitfalls that Odysseus and his men face are likewise obstacles
that arise out of mortal weakness and therefore the inability to regulate it.
The submission to temptation or recklessness either angers the gods or
distracts Odysseus and therefore the members of his crew from their journey:
they yield to hunger and slaughter the Sun’s flocks, and that they eat the
fruit of the lotus and ditch their homes.
The Odyssey Summary and Theme Even Odysseus’s hunger for kleos may be a
quite temptation. He submits thereto when he reveals his name to Polyphemus,
bringing Poseidon’s wrath upon him and his men. within the case of the Sirens,
the theme is revisited simply for its own interest. With their ears plugged,
the crew members sail safely by the Sirens’ island, while Odysseus, longing to
listen to the Sirens’ sweet song, is saved from folly only by his foresighted
command to his crew to stay him sure to the ship’s mast. Homer is fascinated
with depicting his protagonist suffering from temptation: generally , Odysseus
and his men want very desperately to finish their nostos, or homecoming, but
this desire is consistently at odds with the opposite pleasures that the planet
offers.
Divine Justice
Early within the Odyssey, Zeus explains his vision of
justice. The gods distribute suffering fairly, he says, but some mortals suffer
more as a results of their unwise or wicked actions: “From us alone, they say,
come all their miseries, yes,/But they themselves, with their own reckless
ways,/Compound their pains beyond their proper share.” In some cases, The
Odyssey shows its characters suffering as a results of their own actions.
Polyphemus is blinded after he kills several of Odysseus’s men. Odysseus’s men
die once they ignore the commands of Odysseus and therefore the gods to not
kill the Cattle of the Sun. The poem’s most dramatic comeuppance befalls the
suitors, who are killed for insulting Odysseus and consuming his wealth. It’s
debatable, however, whether the murder of the suitors is simply . Odysseus
believes one among the suitors, Amphinomus, is blameless. Odysseus even risks
blowing his cover to warn Amphinomus about the danger to his life: “I say he’s
right at hand—and may some power prevent .” Nevertheless, “Athena had bound him
fast to death,” so Amphinomous is murdered along side the remainder of the
suitors.
In other cases, The Odyssey Summary and Theme shows unambiguously that the gods place their
personal pride before justice. The Odyssey is deeply concerned with the moral
code binding hosts to treat strangers and travelers kindly. Throughout the
poem, Zeus punishes anyone who violates this code. When Poseidon complains to
Zeus that the Phaeacians have offended him by extending hospitality toward
Odysseus, however, Zeus does nothing to guard these excellent hosts. The
Phaeacians not only give their guest Odysseus shelter, they restore all his
lost wealth and provides him direct passage home to Ithaca. The Phaecians help
Odysseus because they're good hosts, not because they need any desire to thwart
Poseidon. there's no way for them to understand that by doing their duty and
helping a guest they're offending Poseidon. Nevertheless, Zeus endorses
Poseidon’s decide to prevent the Phaecians from ever helping travelers again.
Zeus says that Poseidon may “Do what you like” to punish the Phaeacians. In
assuring justice to his fellow god, Zeus denies justice to the innocent
Phaecians.
Homecoming
The Odyssey is that the ultimate endorsement of nostos, or
homecoming, the thought that a heroic warrior’s greatest triumph comes when he
returns from war to his house and family. Odysseus’s trials end with the offer
of not one but two alternative wives, and two alternative places to measure .
As Calypso’s husband, Odysseus could live forever in divine luxury. As
Nausicaa’s husband, Odysseus would be a prince within the richest, most
untroubled country he has visited. Without hesitation he rejects both these
offers. He prefers Penelope and Ithaca, not necessarily because they're better,
but because they're his: “Mine may be a rugged land but good for raising
sons—/and i personally , i do know no sweeter sight on earth than a man’s own
native country.” The Odyssey Summary and Theme At an
equivalent time, nostos isn't an uncomplicated idea within the Odyssey. When
Agamemnon returns home, he's murdered by his wife. Menelaus and Helen have an
unhappy marriage which is destined to last for all eternity. Even Odysseus’s
house is troubled. Telemachus speaks harshly to Penelope and criticizes her to
people , even after Odysseus has returned and revealed his identity.
Nostos is merely possible if a warrior’s house is still there
when he returns, unchanged from when he left. Accordingly, what makes a home
valuable within the Odyssey isn't its happiness the maximum amount as its stability
and continuity. Odysseus and Penelope are reunited when Odysseus is in a
position to explain their bed , which is literally unshakeable because it's
(again literally) rooted within the soil of Ithaca. Nestor suggests that
Agamemnon is fortunate, albeit he has been murdered by his wife, because his
son has avenged him. What matters is that the continuance of Agamemnon’s family
and reputation: “Ah how fine it's , The Odyssey Summary and Theme , when a person is brought down,/to leave a
son behind!” Odysseus’s own homecoming isn't complete until he has revealed
himself to Laertes, in order that Laertes can relish the continuity of his
circle of relatives and reputation: “What each day on behalf of me , dear gods!
What joy—/my son and my grandson vying over courage!”
Cunning
Although The Odyssey begins with the Trojan Wars that
separate Odysseus from Ithaca and touches on themes of warfare throughout,
mental agility is as crucial as physical prowess to Odysseus’s homecoming.
Athena praises Odysseus for being cunning, a trait she considers herself to
possess also , and should be especially inclined to assist him because she
admires his capacity . Even Odysseus’s epithet, the person “of twists and
turns,” suggests a mind that works cleverly and not always during a
straightforward, honest manner. Odysseus’s cunning is most clearly displayed
within the episode with Polyphemus the Cyclops. Odysseus tricks Polyphemus
twice. First, Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is “Nobody,” in order that
the Cyclops is forced to mention that “nobody” is hurting him. Second, Odysseus
instructs his men to cover under the Cyclops’ sheep as they leave the cave, in
order that the now-blind Cyclops will only feel his sheep’s wool as they are
going out the cave door. Odysseus also uses cunning at the top of the poem when
he disguises himself as a beggar, to get who on Ithaca remains loyal to him
after his long absence.
The Odyssey was composed around the year 700 B.C.E. The poem
is set about 500 years earlier, around 1200 B.C.E., a period known as the
Bronze Age. The poet imagines this time as a golden age in which kings enjoy
extraordinary wealth, warriors possess almost superhuman strength, and women
are supernaturally beautiful. The gods walk among humans. Monsters pose a
threat to any traveler who strays off the map. In many respects, however, the
world of The Odyssey reflects the era in which it was written rather than the
era in which it is set. The Odyssey Summary and Theme , The feudal society of Ithaca belongs to the
eighth century B.C.E. rather than the twelfth. Sometimes, the poem’s armor and
weapons are made of bronze, as they would have been in its Bronze Age setting,
but at other times they are made of iron. In some respects, the two worlds are
the same. When Odysseus tells stories of piracy and slave-trading, he is
describing the reality that faced seafarers on the Aegean right up to the
nineteenth century. Above all, the values which motivate the poem’s characters,
like respect for the guest-host relationship, would also have motivated the
poem’s earliest readers.
The Odyssey repeatedly contrasts two kinds of setting:
domestic and wild. The poem’s characters often find themselves in luxurious
domestic settings, the palaces of kings and goddesses. In these locations
Odysseus and Telemachus negotiate the subtleties of the guest-host relationship,
and often the sheer wealth and luxury of the settings makes this negotiation
difficult. Telemachus proves his growing maturity when he tactfully explains
that his own homeland is too rocky for the chariot he is offered by the
spectacularly wealthy Menelaus. Odysseus is lulled by the incredible luxury of
Circe’s home into wasting a year on her island. At other times, the poem’s
characters find themselves in unknown, untamed spaces, where they face serious
threats. At sea they are threatened by storms and the wrath of gods and
monsters. In unknown lands they face hostile armies. Odysseus’ most dangerous
encounter comes when he mistakes a wild setting for a domestic one. He seeks
out the home of Polyphemus the Cyclops because he expects a guest-gift, only to
find that the Cyclops pays no heed to human laws.
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