Welcome readers, to one of the very first posts of this scattered and somewhat shapeshifting blog. How fitting, that we would start with a pretty early piece of literature itself, although it is by no means the oldest. The Odyssey comes in second in Homer’s series of epics, starting with The Iliad. As I’m not quite finished with The Iliad, I have no overall review of it as of yet, however, that’s not to say I don’t have any opinions... I have quite a lot of opinions.
Both of Homer's epics discussed today take us into a world unrecognizable to us. It is a world where men carve out their legacies with valour and women, with children—preferably sons. It is also a place where gods can be cherished and blamed in equal parts. They are as responsible for successes as they are for failures, yet throughout life, still have an iron grasp on people's lives... and hearts. The world of Greek mythology is a complex one, filled only with gods, heroes and the commonplace. The gods include the twelve Olympians: Zeus, Hera, Athena, Ares, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hermes, Hephaestus, Dionysus, and the twins Apollo and Artemis. The heroes here include the likes of kings and knights such as Agamemnon and his brother, Menelaus; Nestor, the knight of Gerene; Odysseus himself, the devious trickster and many more including Achilles or Ajax. These characters all exhibit feats of impossible strength and shows of unbelievable courage in the face of danger, however, Homer's works were not meant to be limited to physical capabilities, I think. Rather, they were meant to highlight the rewards of glory and chastise ego with humility, favoured by the gods. Despite Odysseus's many hardships in The Odyssey—suffered due to the wrath of Poseidon or Zeus—Homer still pulled off a classic happy ending smothered with mercy and undiminished resolve. It is the typical Greek hero story; courage, strength and divine intervention prevails over all... However, simply glorifying it wouldn't do the readers any justice.
The Iliad centered wholly on the Trojan War which in turn was provoked by a beautiful woman, Helen, being seduced and taken to Troy (Ilium) by one of the Trojan king's sons, Paris. The entire book was a deep-dive into the art of war and petty feuds. My experience of The Iliad included violent cursing under my breath, sad shakes of the head and a gritting of the teeth that sometimes made my head hurt. If one were to stare at me as I read, one would have the impression that I was reading under virtual gunpoint. Paragraphs would blur and merge in my mind as I zoned out countless times from the endless repetition. In truth, I had no interest for the dynamics of war or character growth, frankly, all the characters had static representations that were fueled by Homer's love of adjectives. Wartime does not make for a good literary setting as it turns out and ten books in (chapters in The Iliad) I struggled to keep count of all the cattle they had slaughtered to appease the merciless gods or the names and backstories of all the people who died.
The first of Homer's epics was—and still is—a literary battle in and of itself. I can say with quite certainty that once I'm done, I will not be going back. I am, however, most thankful to appreciate that The Odyssey was a balm to my battle hardened senses. After the events of The Iliad, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, struggles to make his way back home to his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, after twenty years of war and wandering. Odysseus ends up visiting the Lotus eaters who ensnare people in their country with the lure of lotuses; the Laestrygonians, a vicious sort of people, bigger than average size, with appetites for human flesh; the legendary Cyclops who devoured a number of Odysseus's crew in a cave; wily Circe, either a goddess or a witch depending on her mood and finally, Calypso, a lonely Titan's daughter marooned on her island home, Ogygia. All the while, Odysseus's wife and son have their own battles to fight as their palace gets taken over by Suitors vying for the hand of beautiful Penelope. In other words, they do absolutely nothing worth of consequence and wait for "master strategist" Odysseus to come home and rescue them.
All in all, not a complicated plot.
Initially, the long monologues and repetitive adjectives threw me off. This isn't your traditional YA novel and was never meant to be. The Odyssey presents a clash of cultures and severe generational gaps that is hard to overlook as a young reader. Honestly, I still struggle to understand why this book is helpful for any other reason than freedom of expression. And even there, it oversteps.
As you progress through the book, you will eventually become immune to the stiff tones spoken by every character and the skintight courtesies they drape themselves in. A word out of place becomes an offense or a rebuke. Modern speech in Homer's world would land us in more fistfights than we could care to partake in. The generosity of hospitality shown to strangers, such as Nestor's treatment of Telemachus or Odysseus's treatment in Scherie is also a wonder, with both father and son being packed off with mounds of golden gifts. Even the humble-bragging adopted by every nobleman gathered in the various palaces could be stomached along with a quick eye roll and a sharp word on behalf of men and their beloved physical prowess.
What cannot sit well with me however, is the constant manipulation of women's roles. The fact that Helen was blamed for the entire Trojan War when it was Aphrodite who seduced her and Paris who carried her off. When Queen Clytemnestra's lover, Aegisthus, murdered her husband, King Agamemnon, Aegisthus received a fraction of the curses but the choicest insults were reserved for the Queen, even going so far as to suggest that her example spoiled the reputations of all women, whether wicked or decent. Funny, I never read about anyone damning the male sex after Hercules killed his wife and children.
Besides, I think I read somewhere that Agamemnon sacrificed his own daughter to Artemis. For the Trojan War. If so, his end was well met, I say.
Women in The Odyssey are belittled, blamed and brought down to beauty as their only redeeming quality. Ironic, considering Odysseus himself was spoon-fed at every step of the way by the warrior goddess Athena, a true master strategist I would say. Athena is a strong contradiction of sexist beliefs and was a surprising choice of saviour for Odysseus, although she was forced to beg at Zeus's feet on several occasions. Despite Olympian hierarchy, Athena drove the plot decisively and was often used as a transition point between Odysseus and his son, Telemachus, thus, successfully creating dramatic irony and providing a bird's-eye-view for the various settings in the novel. Her plan is the one used by Odysseus to regain his palace, however, by the end of the book, somehow all of the credit is transferred onto Odysseus. One would think Athena would be capable of asserting herself and encouraging women, her specialty is war and strategy after all.
But even bold Athena kept disguising as a man when she guided Odysseus. She kept uttering the same orders given by men when she encouraged Penelope to marry again despite her grieving for Odysseus. Although remarrying Penelope was never part of Athena's plan. Still, it has to be said that Athena's central role as mentor to Odysseus and Telemachus is simply an ideal and unattainable by human standards as women were never able to be anyone's mentors. Penelope couldn't have a hand in her own fate as it was made clear when Odysseus instructed her to remarry when Telemachus grew older and again when Telemachus as a young man kept ordering his mother to go back to her bedroom and leave him to deal with her Suitors. Penelope was made out to be intelligent and wise by males of high ranking, but readers will be disappointed to know she never went farther than simple trickery to delay and eventually cancel her second wedding. Her sagacity though, I will not underestimate, her means are unrelated to her abilities.
As if this couldn't be bad enough, casual stories of trafficking, slavery and forced concubinage crop up and chafe your insides. Especially seen in the swineherd, Eumaeus's story of how he was trafficked and sold into slavery and unable to revisit his royal parents. He is expected to care for his master and expresses a desire to do so himself. Another character manipulation by Homer? I would think so, kidnap and slavery doesn't bode well for a child and the kind of strict obedience shown by Eumaeus does not take root without its setbacks.
You know that this is just a typical ancient world, yet somehow your modern human rights do not allow you to look past the cultural taboo. The Odyssey is rife with so much wrong, yet it is still a historical symbol, carefully preserved to taint us with its record of human suffering. Let it be a lesson to us all. Historians would have us appreciate Homer's ancient civilization and the world of literature would have us admire Odysseus's cunning. Why not cut out half the epic and appreciate Telemachus's coming-of-age? Why not sigh in relief as the odious Suitors are butchered in the palace for their greed? Why not let yourself be drawn to the dramatic irony and follow Athena from Laecedemon to Scherie to Ithaca? After all, it was heartwarming to see Penelope embrace her husband at last and smile after twenty years of sobbing.
I guess it depends on your limits and which side of the story you're more willing to focus on. As for me:
The only thing that changed for Telemachus was that he was no longer the "master of the house." The Suitors' downfall was seen from a mile away, just like Richard III in a classic Shakespearean plot. And the change of setting only distanced the characters from me more.
I cannot imagine what this narrative would have sounded like, sung from the lips of Homer in a crowded hall. Presented to me now, I have to say I've been... displeased.
— Displeasure