So my first “non-school related" experience with Homer’s classic tale, and my most powerful impression, beyond the overall splendor of the story, was...HOLY SHIT SNACKS these Greeks were a violent bunch. Case in point: ...they hauled him out through the doorway into the court, lopped his nose and ears with a ruthless knife, tore his genitals out for the dogs to eat rawand in manic fury hacked off hands and feet. then once they’d washed their own hands and feet they went inside again to join odysseus.their work was done here now. "Their work was done here now." What a great line. Want more violence you say? How about slaughtering over 100 house guests for over-indulging in your hospitality? Can you say overkill!! And for the true splatter junkies out there, you can add in some casual rapes, widespread maiming, a score of people-squishing, crew members being chewed and swallowed, healthy doses of mutilation and torture, and one cyclops blinding. That should make even the most discriminating gore hound leg-humping happy. Yes...that's me...guilty. However, beyond the cockle-warming violence and mayhem, this is a rocking good story that I enjoyed (as in "smile on my face thinking this is genuinely cool”) much more than I expected to going into it. There is nothing dry or plodding about the story. Beautifully written, and encompassing themes of love, loyalty and heroism while commenting on many facets of the human condition. As important as this story is to literature, it is above all else...ENTERTAINING. In fact, without its massive entertainment factor, I'm pretty sure it's overall importance among the classics would be significantly reduced. Thankfully, there is no risk of that. A NOTE ON THE TEXTBefore I continue, I want to comment on the version I read/listened to because I think can be critical to people’s reaction to the story. There are a TRUCKLOAD of Odyssey translations out there and, from what I’ve seen, they range wider in quality and faithfulness to the original text than those of almost any other work of Western Literature. These versions can differ so much that I believe two people with identical reading tastes could each read a different translation and walk away with vastly different opinions on the work. The version I am reviewing (and from which the above quote is derived) is the Robert Fagles translation which uses contemporary prose and structure while remaining faithful to the content of the original. I found it a terrific place for a “first experience” with this work because of how easy to follow it was. Plus, I listened to the audio version read by Sir Ian McKellen which was an amazing experience and one I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. In addition to the Fagles version, I also own the Alexander Pope translation as part of my Easton Press collection of The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written. While listening to the Fagles version, I would often follow along with the Pope translation and let me tell you....they are vastly different. While the overall story is the same, the presentation, prose and the structure are nothing alike. As an example, here is the same passage I quoted earlier from the Pope translation. Then forth they led [______], and beganTheir bloody work; they lopp’d away the man,Morsel for dogs! then trimm’d with brazen shears The wretch, and shorten’d of his nose and ears;His hands and feet last felt the cruel steel;He roar’d, and torments gave his soul to hell.They wash, and to Ulysses take their way:So ends the bloody business of the day. Very different treatments of the same scene. In my opinion, the Pope language is more beautiful and far more poetic and lyrical than the Fagles translation. However, I am glad I started with the Fagles version because it provided me with a much better comprehension of the story itself. No head-scratching moments. Now that I have a firm grounding in the story, I plan to go back at some point and read the Pope version so that I can absorb the greater beauty of that translation. In a nutshell, I'm saying that you should make sure you find a translation that works for you. That’s my two or three cents. THE STORYSo Odysseus, master strategist and tactician (not to mention schemer, manipulator and liar extraordinaire), travels home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Delays and detours ensue which take up the first half of the story. Most of these travel snags are caused by Poseidon, who is grudging on Odysseus for stick-poking Poseidon’s son (i.e. the Cyclops) in the peeper. Not to fear, Athena (goddess of guile and craftiness) is a proud sponsor of Odysseus and, along with some help for big daddy god Zeus, throws Odysseus some Olympian help. Odysseus’ travels are full of great summer blockbuster-like entertainment and at the same time explore all manner of Greek daily life as well as touching on many of their beliefs and traditions. It really is a perfect blend of fun and brain food. From his time on the island homes of the goddesses Calypso and Circe (who he gets busy with despite his “undying” love for his wife, Penelope...men huh?), to his run ins with the giant Laestrygonians and the Lotus-eaters (i.e., thugs and drugs) and his fateful encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Odysseus even takes a jaunt to the underworld where he speaks to Achilles and gets to listen to dead king Agamemnon go on an anti-marriage rant because his conniving wife poisoned him to death. Homer does a superb job of keeping the story epic while providing the reader with wonderful details about the life of the greek people during this period. The man had story-telling chops.. Meanwhile, while Odysseus is engaged in the ancient greek version of the Amazing Race, back on Ithaca we’ve got a full-fledged version of the Bachelorette going on as over a hundred suitors are camped out at Odysseus pad trying to get Penelope to give them a rose. This has Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, on the rage because the suitors are eating, drinking and servant-boinking him out of his entire inheritance while they wait on Penelope. You might think that Telemachus could just kick the freeloaders out, but the law of “hospitality” was huge for the Greeks and the suitor-douches use it to full advantage. Well Odysseus eventually makes it back to Ithaca, alone and in disguise, after all of this crew have been eaten, squashed, drowned or otherwise rendered life-impaired. Not an easy place to live is ancient Greece. Odysseus proceeds to work a web of deceit and revenge against the suitors that is a wonder to behold. I’ll leave the final climax to you, but I will say that there was no free lunch in Homer’s time and the checks that people wrote with their bad behavior are paid in full. MY THOUGHTS This was a fun, fun, fun read. I want to start with that because this is not one of those classics that I think is worth while only to get it under your belt or checked off a list. This was a great story with great characters and in a style that was both “off the usual path” but still easy to follow. Going back to my comments on the various versions of the story, I think this may end up being a five star read in one of the more flowery, densely poetic translations where the emotion and passion is just a bit more in your face. I am still thrilled to have listened to the version I did (especially as read by Gandalf) because I now have a firm foundation in the story and can afford to be a bit more adventurous with my next version. The tone of the story is heroic and yet very dark. The gods are capricious and temperamental and cause a whole lot of death and devastation for nothing more than a bruised ego or even a whim. The pace of the story is fast and moves quickly with hardly a chance to even catch your breath. It is a big epic story...it is THE BIG EPIC STORY...and its reputation is well deserved. A terrific read as well as one of the most important works in the Western canon. Definitely worth your time. 4.5 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!
Oh no, I didn’t! Did I just give Homer’s Odyssey 3 stars?! (Well, 3.5 really) What gall! Who the hell do I think I am?! Believe me, I am as shocked as you are. I thought I would end up liking this much more than its twin The Iliad, but the opposite turned out to be the case. Don’t get me wrong, Homer’s a great writer…he’s got a real future in the industry! (I kid, I kid) But seriously, while the Odyssey certainly contains more down to earth concerns than the vast epic of blood, guts and glory that was the Iliad, I just didn’t find it quite as compelling. As a literary artifact and founding work in the Western canon this is probably a five star book, but for me personally and my own enjoyment of it, it was still just a 3.5.I think part of this may stem from my misapprehension that The Odyssey was primarily about the adventures and travels of Odysseus on his way home from Troy. While those aspects are certainly here, they took up a much smaller proportion of the book than I thought they would. The lion’s share seems more devoted to the travails that Odysseus encounters when he does finally get home to Ithaca and has to approach his own wife and home incognito due to the presence of dozens of overzealous, greedy suitors who are bleeding his estates dry with high living as they wait for his wife Penelope to make a decision on which of them she will marry. There were also some interludes with Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, and his foray into the wider world in search of his lost father. To be frank I found Telemachus a little less interesting than his dad. The picture we get of Greek domestic life and traditions of hospitality & obligation in these segments of the poem are certainly interesting, but I think I was just hoping for a bit more adventure and a little less skulking and planning as Odysseus attempts to sound out everyone around him and gain the lay of the land. It certainly spells out why Odysseus is the “man of twists and turns”, but I found it a little less compelling.Overall there’s still a lot of great stuff going on here. The catalogue of the travails Odysseus must overcome to finally make it home after the Trojan War are probably known by everyone even if you haven’t read the Odyssey: you’ve got your adventure with the Cyclops, capture and seduction by not one, but two divine beauties (cry me a river Odysseus), the navigation between Scylla & Charybdis, the Siren’s song, a journey to the land of the dead, and an ill-conceived cattle raid on Apollo’s divine herd. For the most part these stories are related in the past tense by Odysseus himself while he’s on one of his layovers on the way to Ithaca. I also enjoyed seeing the obvious links being made between the Odyssey and The Iliad as each built upon the other and each was augmented by the lustre and resonance of the other. I especially enjoyed seeing old friends (such as Nestor, Menelaus, and most importantly Helen) in a new context as they appear in their own domestic tableaux and give some laudatory commentary on Odysseus, primarily remembering the ‘good old days’ when they were sacking Troy. Also carried over from The Iliad was the chronic meddling of the gods in human affairs. This time, however, it’s mostly restricted to two divine puppeteers: Poseidon who has a raging hate-on for Odysseus and wants to see him sunk sooner than find his way home, and Athena who views the kingly trickster as the apple of her eye. The gods still seem, therefore, to have a vested interest in the doings of humanity, though just what they gain by this, especially when the life of only a single man, and not an entire nation, is at stake is open to question. It would appear that the pride of the immortals concerns itself with all levels of human affairs, from the epic to the domestic.As noted above the preponderance of the text concerns itself with the actions of the suitors in Odysseus’ house and the plans and subterfuge our hero must undertake in order to return to his dearly remembered domestic bliss. Despite this we are given a scene that in its way is no less violent than many of the over the top battle scenes from the explicitly war-centred Iliad. The killing of the suitors may be somewhat toned down from the blood-drenched battles before the walls of Troy, but not by much. In this context I found it interesting how the spur to Odysseus’ actions, the ‘crimes’ of the suitors in their contravention of the rules of hospitality (in the spirit of what they do, if not the letter), while always spelled out explicitly and in no uncertain terms by the poet, still had a certain amount of ambiguity. Despite the fact that Odysseus is constantly presented as the wronged party it is apparent that he still feared the just retribution of the avenging furies of his victims. One wonders if Odysseus truly felt justified in his harsh actions against the suitors, or whether there was more than a little uncertainty in the justice of his actions on his part. Luckily for Odysseus his patroness Athena, through the auspices of Zeus, once again intervenes to save him from the consequences of his actions.One of the most interesting aspects of the story for me was the return to the Underworld with the spirits of the suitors after they have been slain by Odysseus. There we once again meet with the shades of the heroes of The Iliad, namely Achilles, Ajax and Agamemnon, and are given their commentary, and commendation, on the actions of Odysseus and his wife despite the complaints of the suitors. I was also struck by the observation of Agamemnon regarding the ‘luck’ of Odysseus in both having a faithful wife to come home to (something of which he would obviously be envious), and in the fact that he views him as happy in that his death will be a quiet one in the arms of his loved ones. Indeed we are presented with three visions of death: Achilles is praised and envied by Agamemnon for having died a hero’s death on the plains of Ilium and having been celebrated by his comrades-in-arms, Odysseus is envied for making his way home and having the prospect of a quiet death surrounded by those he loves, and Agamemnon singles himself out for pity due to his treacherous and untimely death at the hands of his wife and her lover. Given the unambiguous way in which the Greek Underworld is the same (in both its characteristics of eternal boredom and regret over the loss of one’s life) for all of the dead I’m not sure I think it matters exactly how one died…even the ‘fortunate’ ones end up pining for the life they can no longer experience. I suppose, though, that it’s all about how you are remembered, and your death is the capstone to that. Both Achilles and Odysseus get an epic poem based on their actions and mode of death (even though those deaths do not occur in said poems),and while Agamemnon did get a play or two it was certainly not anything its audience would envy.
What do You think about The Odyssey (2006)?
A Greek warrior sails home after ten year’s fighting the Trojan War. But the brutality is not yet over, and the Olympian thirst for blood has not been slaked. Though Poseidon vows to drown Odysseus, Athena endows him wisdom needed to find his way to Ithaca where his wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus, await his return and daily look to sea for his sails.The journey home steals a second decade from Odysseus’ life and will require the last measure of his courage and perseverance. Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds, many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home. Odysseus encounters danger, death, and temptation. In the face of so many storms, sirens, lotus eaters, Cyclops, Circe, Scylla and Charybdis, he nearly despairs in the face of reckless supernatural hate. Sometimes he seeks a pleasure-haven, and more than once it takes divine intervention to get Odysseus to shoulder his burden of duty.Odysseus consoles himself and tries to summon the last scraps of his courage. “Bear up, my heart. You will have had worse to endure before this.” Indeed, Odysseus finds sufficient measures of grace, strength and wisdom in the voice of the divine lady inside his head (Athena) and with the vision of the woman of his heart (Penelope). But all strangers and wanderers are sacred in the sight of Zeus. Sometimes, a mortal finds signposts where he least expects them. “For the gods do take on all sorts of transformations, appearing as strangers from elsewhere.”Upon arrival at Ithaca, Odysseus must battle for home against a plague of suitors, descended upon the land to steal his kingdom. The suitors do not comprehend that they see the face of death in Odysseus, who is disguised as an old beggar. As they all took this in, sickly green fear pulled at their entrails, and their eyes flickered looking for some hatch or hideaway from death. Odysseus' arrow hit him under the chin and punched up to the feathers through his throat….And the suitors mad with fear stampeded like stung cattle by a river when the dread shimmering gadfly strikes in summer, in the flowering season, in the long drawn day. After them the attackers wheeled, as terrible as falcons from aeries in the mountains veering over and diving down with talons wide unsheathed on flights of birds, who cower down the sky in chutes and bursts along the valley, but the pouncing falcons grip their prey, no frantic wing avails, and farmers love to watch those beaked hunters. So these now fell upon the suitors in that hall, turning, turning to strike and strike again, while torn men moaned at death, and blood ran smoking over the whole floor. No plea can save them from this hard bed of death.The slaughter in the hall complete; blood on our garments, let us give ourselves to lovemaking. Beneath the olive tree bed-canopy, as he slips her gown from her luminous shoulders, he says to Penelope: “Let us drop war now, you and I, and give ourselves to pleasure in our bed. My soul was never so possessed by longing. Greater desire now lifts me like a tide.” A man who has suffered much and sailed the wine dark sea now indulges in rapturous love with his beloved until they both are greeted by the promise of a rose-fingered dawn.
—Steve Sckenda
1) Odysseus is a jerk to women everyone.2) Chapters are called books. Just like The Iliad, there are 24 books in the Odyssey. An approximate division of story lines is:4 books about Telemachos growing balls4 books about Odysseus getting away from Kalypso4 books that recount his adventures and how he lost his crew12 books about his homecoming and killing the suitorsMan! The coolest parts (the adventures) are only 4 books long. What I get from this (and the lectures about the book) is that this isn't about adventures. It's about coming home. Sad and all, but woah man don't get your hopes up about sailors getting turned into pigs too much, because it's over really quickly.3) The Iliad made me cry several times. The only part of the Odyssey that made me cry is when Odysseus finally makes it home after 20 years, and his poor faithful dog that he left behind when he was just a puppy immediately recognizes him, lifts his head in greeting, and DIES.4) There was a great show in the late 90s that I watched the hell out of. For a long time, my knowledge of classics came from it. Some of the episodes stuck with me more than others, but I have always had a soft spot for the scene with the axes from The Odyssey episode. I'm talking about Wishbone, of course! Enjoy the full episode on YouTube.
—Kaila
http://youtu.be/oRsh8OKzZNwLealdade e fidelidade!Sobre o relacionamento do homem com o cão!Simples e forte.... Argos era cão de Ulisses que,20 anos depois,regressa a casa.Ulisses encontra-o deitado,velho e cansado.Argos reconhece-o imediatamente.A pouca força apenas lhe permite abanar a cauda.Não se pode levantar para cumprimentar o seu mestre.Ulisses passa,comovido,e entra na sala.Argos morre... Tinham uma relação sincera que contrastava com o seu relacionamento com a esposa (Penélope).A ausência não afectou o relacionamento com o cão,ao contrário do que acontecia com esposa,família e amigos!Dá que pensar...
—Rosa Ramôa
