In Dialogue with Humanity

Choices and Transformation

-the Odyssey
Generally seen as one of the two earliest works of Western literature (the other being the
Iliad), the Odyssey merges two different historical eras. The story takes place in the twelfth
century BCE, the historical date of the Trojan War, but its composition has been dated to four
centuries later. Both works are attributed to Homer, and both are written in the form of an
epic, a long narrative poem typically set in a war of historical significance. Unlike the Iliad, the
Odyssey-or the story of Odysseus-does not focus on the cunning heros glory on the
battlefield, but on his homecoming after the war.
Not much is known about Homer, the storyteller, who might have lived around the
eighth century BCE. Legend has it that Homer was a blind poet from a coastal town, identified
as Smyrna or Chios on the Aegean Sea. Some think he told his stories orally, by singing were
transmitted by memory and were unified into a single written text much later. (An oral
tradition existed in this part of the world until quite recently.) Others are impressed by the
elaborate structure of the epic, and insist that Homer could not have composed 12,109 lines
of poetry (the length of the Odyssey) without the aid of writing.
Both the Iliad and the Odyssey are centered round the Trojan War. According to
Homer, the conflict began with Paris, prince of Troy, fell in love with Helen. He eloped with
this beautiful woman who was also Queen of Sparta. Her husband Menelaus, the Spartan king,
sought help from his brother Agamemnon, the powerful King of Mycenae. They formed a
great alliance of Greek Armies, vowing to destroy the city of Troy. Odysseus, King of Ithaca,
was one of the Greek kings who joined the expedition. The Iliad focuses on the action in the
tenth and final year of the war, not long before the citys downfall. The Odyssey tells how,
after another ten years, the Greek hero Odysseus finally gets to go home, with the blessing
and constant help of Athena, goddess of war and wisdom. But by then the sons of rival
nobleman are tempting to marry his wife Penelope and plotting to kill his son Telemachus.
How is Penelope coping-what does it mean to wait or not to wait? How is Telemachus taking
it-is growing up all about being his fathers son? Held up for a decade by hostile gods and

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amorous goddesses, what choices are left for Odysseus? Above all, how may he be father,
husband, and king again?
The Odyssey has lived in the Western imagination as a story of monsters, shipwrecks,
and adventures that take readers to strange lands, including the Underworld. But the epic is
also a story about self-understanding, or transformation, gained through a physical or
psychological journey of twenty years-of godlike Odysseus, of wise Penelope, and of
clear headed Telemachus. Reading the epic in our times, how do we see the heroes choices?
What do we make of the Greek ideas of hospitality, immortality, and time as moving in a cycle?
The epic opens in the last month of Odysseuss homecoming and flashes back to
scenes in Troy and subsequent encounters before the journeys end. It comprises twenty-four
books, which can be divided into journey of Telemachus (Books 1-4); the wanderings and
homecomings of Odysseus (Books 5-12); and the ultimate reunion and revenge (Books 13-24).
This selection contains excerpts from seven books (1, 2, 5, 16, 19, 21, 23) where Telemachus,
Odysseus and Penelope take center stage.
The Odyssey was written in pre-classical Homeric Greek. We read it in an English
translation by Stanley Lombardo who, publishing the work in 2000, tries to capture the oral
performance. His short verse lines impress a critic as fresh, quick, and verbally engaging to
the modern ear.1

Julie Chiu
1

A remark of Joseph Russo, quoted on the back cover of The Odyssey, tr. Stanley Lombardo
(Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett, 2007).

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[Lines 282-502 are omitted. Coming back from Ethiopia, Poseidon is enraged to find Odysseus
sailing on the Sea. He raises a big storm that destroys the raft and throws the man overboard.
After much struggle in the open sea, Odysseus reaches dry land with the help of the goddesses
Ino and Athena.]
[Books 6 to 15 are omitted. Odysseus is discovered by Nausicaa, daughter of King Alcinous,
who rules the land where Odysseus finds himself. With the help of Nausicaa, Odysseus wins
the kings favor and the offer of a safe passage home. Odysseus entertains the king by
recounting his adventures in the last ten years. Impressed by Odysseuss storytelling, Alcinous
honors his promise and has his men escort Odysseus to Ithaca. Athena appears before

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Odysseus, now back in his homeland, and makes him look like an old beggar. In the new
disguise, Odysseus visits his swineherd to find out about the situation at home. Meanwhile,
Athena goes to Sparta and instructs Telemachus to go home by a route safe from the suitors
ambush. She also tells him to go to the swineherd instead of going home in the city.]

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[Lines 51-164 are omitted. Odysseus, still speaking as a stranger, makes Telemachus talk
about the suitors and his family. Telemachus sends the swineherd off to tell Penelope and
nobody else that he is safe and back.]

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[Lines 340-517 are omitted. The ship that Telemachus has sailed in reaches the Ithacan port.
A herald announces Telemachuss return, unaware of his wish to keep it a secret. The suitors
scheme on the next move suggesting to kill Telemcahus. On the other hand, the swineherd
tells Penelope of the suitors earlier ambush plot. She confronts Antinous about it]
[Books 17 and 18 are omitted. Telemachus goes home to Penelope, relating to her what he
hears in Pylos and Sparta, including Odysseuss detention in Calypsos Island. Odysseus arrives
later with the swineherd as an old beggar. He begs among the suitors to test them out for
decency. He is insulted by another beggar, his own servants as well as the suitors Antinous
and Eurymachus. Penelope shows herself to the suitors and creates a big stir, and more nasty
words are directed at Odysseus.]

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[Lines 178-223 are omitted. Odysseus makes up a story about his identity, saying he comes
from the island of Crete, where he once received Odysseus as a guest, when Odysseus was
blown off course on his way to Troy. It is all lies, but Odysseus tells them as if they were true.]

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[Lines 423-551 are omitted. Eurycleia is washing Odysseuss feet when she notices an old scar
on his thigh, which betrays his identity. Odysseus got it as a boy when he was hunting a boar
with his grandfather. The old nurse wants to tell Penelope of her discovery, but Odysseus stops
her from doing so while Athena diverts Penelopes mind.]

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[Book 20 is omitted. Odysseus spends a night in his palace and wake up to suffer more
humiliations from the goatherd and the suitors, one of whom hurling an oxs hoof at him. But
Odysseus also finds comfort in the kindness of the swineherd and the cowherd.]

[Lines 5-39 are omitted. Penelope goes to her bedroom to fetch the key for the store room,
where lies Odysseuss curved bow. It is a much treasured gift from a deceased friend of
Odysseus. Odysseus has kept it at home as a memento of his friend.]

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[Lines 144-327 are omitted. The suitors take turns to string the bow. All try and fail, except
Antinous and Eurymachus, the two strongest among them. Odysseus secretly reveals himself
to the faithful cowherd and swineherd. When Eurymachus, too, fails to string the bow,
Antinous proposes to feast in honor of the Archer God and continue with the contest the next
day. Still in disguise, Odysseus asks to try the bow and is humiliated by Antnous.]

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[Book 22 is omitted. Odysseus reveals his true identity and shoots an arrow through Antinouss
throat. Eurymachus tries to persuade Odysseus to spare the rest of the suitors, but Odysseus
insists that they pay in full for having courted his wife. With the blessing of Athena, odysseuss
team of four, including Telemachus, the swineherd and the cowherd, kill all the suitors, sparing
only the bard and the herald. Eurycleia names the twelve women servants who have had an
amorous relation with the suitors. With Odysseuss consent, Telemachus hangs all twelve to
death.]

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[Book 24 is omitted. Led by Hermes, the ghosts of the suitors reach the underworld. Agamenon
rejoices at Odysseuss deeds and sings praises of Penelope. Odysseus reunites with his father
Laertes, who then joins with Odysseus and Telemachus in dealing with some of the suitors
families, now desperate for revenge. When the two parties meet, Athena intervenes and
makes them swear a binding oath of peace.]

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