#7: The Odyssey

Compiled by Lizzy Murakami; edited by Joyce Lin

The Power of Poetry

The focus of Book Eight of the Odyssey is the Phaiakians celebration of Odysseus at the palace through song and storytelling, followed by games involving strength and physical prowess. The power of poetry is exemplified in this book by the blind singer Demodokos, who, inspired by the muse who "reft him of his eyes, but gave him the sweet singing art", sings songs of Odysseus' journey.

1. The function of poetry

The innate value of poetry lies in its varied abilities to console. Poetry speaks with a voice that is more intuitively human than other forms of discourse, for it comes from the soul, as it seems to speak directly to our emotions than other forms of writing. In these unique times, the ability of poetry to console is reflected in current periodicals, such as the New York Times' commentary on the "eerily intimate power of poetry". One turns to poetry in times of turmoil because it has a human voice that effortlessly seeps into the soul.

Odysseus is not the only character in Homeric works that reacts acutely to intimate verse. When Petroklos dies, Briseis weeps not only for his death, but for her own sorrows as well. This analogy exemplifies the way in which grieving is simultaneously a personal and communal act. The power of poetry to console lies in its ability to create a community of sympathizers whose members share a common emotion, regardless of specific circumstances.

2. Odysseus' Reaction to Poetry

Odysseus in particular displays the potency of poetry to move when he reacts to the singing of Demodokos by weeping beneath a "great mantle dyed in sea-purple", covering his face as he listened to the song of his long and hard-fought journey. When the singing would cease, he would draw the mantle away from his face, wipe away his tears, and pour himself a libation. When the Phaiakians urged the singer to continue, Odysseus would once again cover his face and weep. In order for poetry to be enjoyable, one must be somewhat distanced from the subject matter. As Aristotle said with regards to poetry, "tragic poetry moves us to tears and pity". Odysseus sheds no tears for the stories about Aries and Aphrodite, but only for the two stories that are about him. The first tells the story of his fight with Achilleus. He asks for the second to be sung, and still weeps and grieves for the story it tells. This singer, moreover, has the uncanny ability to make Odysseus reveal his true identity. This indicates the way in which poetry strikes at emotions at the core of the soul, thus eliciting truth from the people who it touches.

Memory plays a large role in epic poetry, enabling the poet to recite many lines of verse. What strikes Odysseus about the poetry is the memory that it incites from him. Memory makes us who we are. Amnesiacs are without memory, and necessarily don't know who they are. Odysseus, in remembering, is allowed to reclaim parts of himself that he lost along his journey.

3. The Role of the Singer or Poet in Society

Odysseus appreciates the role that singers and poets have in society (he himself being of the bardic persuasion), an appreciation he displays when he offers Demodokos a piece of meat, saying

Here, herald, take this piece of meat to Demodokos so that he may eat, and I, though a sorry man, embrace him. For with all peoples on earth singers are entitled to be cherished and to their share of respect . . . (p. 133, line 477)

Poets, along with prophets, physicians, and other wandering workers, are referred to in Greek society as peripatetic. The intrinsic value of poets and singers was not lost on Odysseus or the Phaiakians, who unabashedly laud the talents of the singer who accurately and melodiously portrays the story of any hero. Toward the end of the story, when Antinoos calls Odysseus a common beggar, Eumaios points out that not all those who are peripatetic are beggars. He turns the tables, in fact, implying that the suitors are the actual beggars for wandering workers work for their living. Also, the word for epic poetry is kleos, or glory, evidencing the importance of poetry.

The Nature of Craftiness

Metis is a trait that, depending upon how it is employed has both negative and positive effects. Odysseus is seen as clever in his craftiness, devising the plan to employ the Trojan Horse, and yet Paris is simply deceitful, dishonorable in his violation of the guest-host relationship.

1. The Function of Deceit: Is it honorable?

Odysseus' craftiness, or metis, does not violate a previously established relationship. It makes him an equal to those who might overwhelm him in brute strength. Where he employs it to benefit his community or to save himself, his deceit is a positive trait. The context in which metis is used determines whether it is honorable or dishonorable.

Deceit was a feature of Greek culture. It is not innately either a positive or negative characteristic. Instead, it depends upon how it is employed, and what motivations any character has for employing it in such a way.

The Identities of Odysseus

Odysseus has many different characteristics, but more than this, he carries several different identities throughout the story. In a culture where identity is implicitly tied to one's ethos (character) and ethnos (ethnicity), to one's family and country, remembering who is an important function of Odysseus' journey.

2. The Sacker of Cities

One aspect of his identity that is found in several instances is the moniker "sacker of cities". Odysseus identifies himself as "sacker of cities" during his encounter with the Cyclops, when he says:

Cyclops, if any mortal man ever asks you who it as

That inflicted upon your eye this shameful blinding,

Tell him that you were blinded by Odysseus, sacker of cities (p. 150 line 502)

In one sense, Odysseus is making a journey of identity from warrior, as he was in the Iliad, to domestic king. Yet even at the end of his journey, Odysseus slaughters the suitors and it takes the command of an Olympic goddess, in this case Athena, the goddess of wisdom, to cease the bloodshed. Odysseus is polytropos, or of many ways, and continues to be until the end.

3. The Son of Laertes

Another form of identification used frequently by Odysseus is "Odysseus, son of Laertes". This is significant because it is only when Odysseus reveals himself to his father, Laertes, as his father's son that he truly recovers the last piece of his identity. Similarly, Telemachus searches for, and achieves, his identity by reuniting with the father he had never before known.

When Odysseus first goes to see his father, he hides his identity from Laertes. Odysseus' intention is not to be cruel to his father; rather metis is a feature of his character - it initially overwhelms any desire to put his father at ease. When he finally reveals himself to his father, the homecoming is complete, as is the full recovery of identity. The disclosure of Odysseus to his father serves as a conclusion to the search to regain his identity as domestic king of Ithaka.

4. Nobody

Odysseus, as a function of his craftiness, tells the Cyclops after he blinds him that his name is "Nobody". When asked who did this to his eye, Odysseus replies "Nobody did it". Yet the fact that Odysseus identifies himself as nobody is significant apart from his metis in that he is searching for his rightful identity as King of Ithaka - in effect, a somebody.

Development of Odysseus' Character

The character of Odysseus undergoes changes during the course of the story. He has moments of maturity and intelligent decision making, and moments when his more carnal primitive impulses and passions overwhelm his reason. The course of his journey takes him from warrior to domestic king, but even so there are tensions through the end between his impulses and his self-control. It is this intermix of progression and regression that make Odysseus vulnerable and human. There is an assumption for all humans that one is wiser at the end of the journey than at the beginning, but there are always mistakes present. Odysseus is continually tested throughout the epic. In the end, he learns humility and patience, even if he doesn't always act on them.

Penelope

Penelope is a character of exemplary virtue, and according to Homer, and exception for her sex. In Hades, Agamemnon warns Odysseus of the dangers of women, of how his own wife, "with thoughts surpassingly grisly splashed the shame on herself and the rest of her sex, on women still to come, even on the one whose acts are virtuous". Still, Agamemnon admits that Penelope's virtue is her own, and she is a just match for Odysseus.

Another reoccurring theme is endurance. The endurance of Odysseus finds its match in that of Penelope's. Her metis is demonstrated by her weaving and unweaving of the tapestry so that she would not have to make the impossible decision of whether or not to remarry. Her loyalty contrasting with the lack of loyalty in Clytemnestra wins her praise from the ghost of Agamemnon.

1. The Marriage of Penelope and Odysseus

Throughout the story, Penelope displays a strength of character and faithfulness that is rarely found anywhere. Penelope, in many ways, is indeed a perfect match for Odysseus. This is exemplified several times throughout the story. One such time is when reverse similes are used to describe both Penelope and Odysseus. When Odysseus cries during the songs of Demodokos, the book compares his tears to that of a woman, and yet the connotation is not negative. Similarly, Penelope's characteristics are equated with those of a lion, a masculine comparison. Also, when Odysseus and Penelope are reunited, a simile in which the two are merged in identity renders them nearly interchangeable.