The Odyssey

“Tell me about a complicated man. Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy, and where he went, and who he met, the pain he suffered on the sea, and how he worked to save his life and bring his men back home. He failed, and for their own mistakes, they died. They ate the Sun God’s cattle, and the god kept them from home. Now goddess, child of Zeus, tell the old story for our modern times.” (beginning lines of The Odyssey)

All the big news about a new film about the ancient hero Odysseus inspired me to read the book this week. Yes, I agree with thousands of years of literary opinion — definitely a Classic! I loved reading the details about the famous characters: Odysseus the traveler; Penelope his faithful wife and her resourceful refusal to accept a greedy suitor; Telemachus their wimpy son; and the various gods and goddesses who either help or try to hinder Odysseus. I found the brief descriptions of ancient technology intriguing —such as the ships powered by rowers and wind. I loved the many sensory details as each long description unfolds:

“There sat Calypso with her braided curls. Beside the hearth a mighty fire was burning. The scent of citrus and of brittle pine suffused the island. Inside, she was singing and weaving with a shuttle made of gold. Her voice was beautiful. Around the cave a luscious forest flourished: alder, poplar, and scented cypress. It was full of wings. Birds nested there but hunted out at sea: the owls, the hawks, the gulls with gaping beaks. A ripe and verdant vine, hung thick with grapes, was stretched to coil around her cave. Four springs spurted with sparkling water as they laced with crisscross currents intertwined together. The meadow softly bloomed with celery and violets.”

I enjoyed recalling my visit last summer to one place mentioned by Homer. In the words of Odysseus: “We reached the holy cape of Athens, Sounion. There Phoebus with his gentle arrows shot and killed the pilot, Phrontis, as he held the ship’s helm as she sped along. No man knew better how to steer through any storm, so Menelaus stopped to bury him with proper rites.”

A year ago we visited the exact spot that Homer mentioned: Cape Sunion;
In the distance, in this photo, you can see how it looks now, with the ruins of an ancient temple
(but built long after Odysseus was there) on the hilltop above the shore.

How is it possible to relate to people who lived in such a totally different world? The nights then were darker than anything I’ve ever seen, since I live in a lit up city. Even the foods of elite men like Odysseus, a king, were basic and relatively unvaried: mainly hearth-baked bread, seasonal vegetables, milk and fresh cheese. For entertainment even the king’s household had only oral poetry — the scribe who wrote down the tale was long after the events. But I think most modern readers like me become captivated by Odysseus and his tale.