The Odyssey Read-Along @ Plethora of Books
Book XIII
The Phaiakians give Odysseus numerous
gifts, store them in the ship and set off for Ithaka. On the way, Odysseus falls into a deep sleep and does not
even wake when the Phaiakians carry him on shore and leave him with his gifts
on the beach. They return home but
Poseidon is angry that they have helped our hero and, as punishment, he turns their
ship into a rock in their harbour for all the people to see. A prophecy has been realized and,
worried, Alkinoös vows they will never convey another man at the risk of making
the gods angry. When Odysseus
awakes he is furious, not recognizing Ithaka because of a mist Athene has put
around him, and he think the Phaiakians have dropped him on a foreign island. Grumbling, his first thought is to
check his treasure to make sure that they haven’t stolen anything. When Athene approaches as a man, he at
first does not recognize her and asks if she can rescue his possession and
him. She reveals to him that he
has landed on Ithaka, whereupon he tells her a pack of lies about his journey
and landing to cover his true intent, but then Athene turns herself into a
woman and he recognizes the goddess.
She lightly chides him in almost an admiring tone for his crafty, devious words. He reveals he still does
not think himself in Ithaka, that she is teasing him but Athene confirms it
again with words that are temperate, but speak poorly about Odysseus’
character. She lifts the mists and
he now sees Ithaka; rejoicing he promises her gifts. They then hide his gifts within a cave, placing a stone over
the door, and Athene transforms Odysseus into an old man for protection so no one
will recognize him. She then departs for Lakedaimon to fetch Telemachos while Odysseus goes on to find his
swineherd.
Hero or Ruffian
As the story moves on, Odysseus’ character becomes
more questionable. His
majestically contrived words earn him many gifts from the Phaiakians, yet when
he thinks they have left him somewhere other than where he requested, he is
quick to blame them and then suspect them of treachey. He is the most consumate liar when he
first meets Athene and even she, while appearing somewhat disgusted at his
display, cannot help sounding impressed, telling him he could almost fool a
god. He even appears to disbelieve
Athene when she confirms he is on Ithaka, and she chides him then as well: “Anyone else come home from wandering
would have run happily off to see his children and wife in his halls; but it is
not your pleasure to investigate and ask questions, not till you have made
trial of your wife ……” Yet we must
not forget that Odysseus is in the gravest danger from the suitors if they
realize he has returned. He must
be intensely careful now in order to guard is life. Deception and disguise are his weapons at this point, and no
one wields them as well as Odysseus!
Gifts
I’m trying to find out where these fit into
the story and the importance of them.
I do realize that they are connected to glory and honour and are
therefore of the highest import, but Odysseus appears addicted to them,
risking death at the hands of Polyphemus in the off-chance he could aquire
some; in this chapter he is first of all worried that the Phaiakians have stolen
some of what they’ve given him and when he meets Athene he says, “ ……. Rescue
these possessions and me.” His
treasure comes even before himself.
Is this the normal Achaian love of fame and glory, in that wealth is
directly proportional to status, or does Odysseus’ lust for goods contain
something extreme and unusual for the culture?
 |
| Minerva (Athena) Jacques-Louis Dubois (19th century) source Wikimedia Commons |
Book XIV
Odysseus finds his swineherd, Eumaios on
the porch of an enclosure, but is attacked by his dogs. Eumaois calls them off and then takes
Odysseus in as a stranger, offering him food and wine. While Odysseus eats, he tells him of
the intemperate behaviour of the suitors and their lack of respect towards
Penelope; as Odysseus listens, he contemplates the evil he will do these foul
men. The swineherd praises his
master and Odysseus is so impressed by his xenia and the way he has handled his
goods while he has been absent, he assures Eumaios that Odysseus is bound
homeward, yet the old swineherd does not believe his words. He gives further news of the suitors
and how they plan to waylay Telemachos on his way home, with murder in their
hearts. When he asks Odysseus his
identity and from where he comes, Odysseus weaves such shocking tales full of
deceit that even Eumaios does not believe him, showing wisdom in his scepticism. He laments that
Odysseus had not perished in the war, for if he had, he would have won fame for
his household. Odysseus, then seems to play a game with his
servant to get him to give him a mantle or tunic: when the first ploy of asking
for one in exchange for his information of Odysseus’ return doesn’t work, he
later employs another duplicitous story to aid his devices, yet Eumaois claims there
are no extra mantles, then helps to put him to bed under thick sheep fleeces,
covering him with a mantle.
Afterwards Eumaios goes out to watch the herds from a sheltered hollow of
rock.
Vengeance
The reality of the suitors' actions must be
getting more real to Odysseus as he comes closer to home. He now has from Eumaios a full account
of their actions and while listening, he was devising their destruction. When Eumaios tells him of their intent
to ambush Telemachos and murder him, Odysseus then really has no choice but to kill them all.
Lies and Deceit
I do understand why Odysseus feels it is
necessary to lie and deceive to conceal his identity (for protection in this
case), but the elaborate, florid, dramatic lies that he weaves ………….. well, are
they really necessary? In this
case, even Eumaios does not believe him.
Perhaps, subconsciously, from working for Odysseus before he left
for the Trojan War, he has learned to recognize falsehoods told by his master …….??
 |
| Uysses attacked by the dogs of Eumea Louis-Frederic Schützenberger (1886) source Wikimedia Commons |
No comments:
Post a Comment