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3MICHAEL SIL K

The Odyssey an d it s exploration s

Where the Iliad deal s with on e shor t phas e of the Trojan War, the Odysseytells the drawn-out story of the Achaean hero Odysseus after the sack of Troy:his enforced wanderings , hi s return to hi s homeland Ithaca , his struggle toregain his kingdom and Penelope, his queen, who ha s spent the bes t part oftwenty years resisting the advances of the local princes .

The Odyssey ha s lon g bee n regarde d a s a poe m like , bu t no t like , th eIliad. For 'Longinus', i n the first century AD, the poem is 'an epilogue' to theTrojan epic , an d i n suppor t o f this proposition th e criti c cites old Nestor' srecollections o f the Trojan battlefield, as told t o Odysseus ' so n Telemachusin Book m:1

There lie s warlike Ajax; there lies Achilles ;There lie s Patroclus, peer of the gods in counsel;There lies mine own son .

The Iliad celebrates a ritualised way of living and dying and, complemen-tary to it, practises a ritualised way of describing that living and dying - whichis the aesthetic rationale of its formulaic alternations and repetitions.1 It cel-ebrates also a human striving for heroism and an agreed, if elusive, harmonyof human striving and divine facilitation.3 Th e Odyssey i s different. Thoug hits formulaic idiom, its ritualism and its heroic ideal are similar, the Odysseanuniverse, by comparison, seems restless and lessjassjire d o f ajiyjJtimate~cor -respondence thanconcerned t o achiev e one. Eve n before the actio n o f thepnpm i s jmder way1 the Otlysvpy fnrpgrrmpd s th e issu e ot disharmony~of th espheres. Mankind read s lif e on e way ; rb e gods (apparently ) another -^O£joZeus would hav e us believe (i.3z-5):

1 111.109-11 : [Longinus], Subl. 9.1z Se e Silk (2004 ) 47-61, 88-9Z, an d below, p. 39. 3 Se e below, p. 40 .

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Look a t th e way we gods are blamed by mortals.Evil comes from us , they say, yet the trut h isThey suffe r al l too much through thei r own blin d folly ,Even as now Aegisthus . . .

and ther e follow s th e cas e histor y o f Agamemnon . Agamemno n come sback, victorious , fro m Troy ; hi s wife' s love r Aegisthu s murders him; hisson Oreste s kill s Aegisthus in revenge . How ver y different , then , fro m th efate o f Odysseus - which , i n narrative terms, i s precisely the point . As faras Zeus i s concerned, though, the point i s what i t sounds like: Agamemnonand th e problem of evil. It is as if Zeus ha s been brooding on Agamemnon's'apology' in the Iliad (19.78-144). 'Well', says Agamemnon there, 'I did robAchilles of his prize (89), but actually I am not t o blame (86): Zeus took mywits away (137). '

The Odyssea n Athena is only interested in Agamemnon and Aegisthus asajjarallel, contrastin g case to Odvsseus . 'Yes' , says Athena, 'Aegisthu s hassuffered hi s deserts, but. . . .' (1.48-50) -

my heart is smitten in two fo r smart Odysseus,Hapless man, sufferin g fa r from hi s dear onesOut on a sea-swept island -

and, from this point on , the Agamemnon theme recurs, again and again , asa paralle l case to Odysseus', 4 whil e Odysseus himself become s and remainsthe central figure of the poem. This centrality is, indeed, marked out b y theopening words o f Book i :

Tell me about that man, the ingenious one . . .

Odysseus heiet^polutropos^mssi o f many turns^, therefore 'ingenious'. TheOdyssey i s essentially the tale of one man (no t so predictable, this: the Iliadis not), and a ma n wit h a particular , defining quality , his ingenuity , whichensures his survival in a world o f unpredictable challenges and temptations .Odysseus' ingenuit y is proclaimed i n Li_by_th e uniqu e epithet polutropos,as it is elsewhere by his 'stock' epithd(^polumeti£)'man o f many wiles ̂an d

The them e i s articulated , i n all , by Zeu s (1.35-43) , Athen a (1.298-302.) , Nesto r (111.193 -zoo, 301-12) , Proteus , reporte d b y Menelau s (iv.512-37) , Agamemno n i n th e Under -world, reported b y Odysseus (xi.405-61) , Odysseus himself (xm.383-6), Agamemnon agai n(xxiv.191-202). See further Holscher (1967) 1-16.Odyssean epithet s wit h a simila r sens e includ e da'iphron (below , p . 33) . Th e meanin g o fpolutropos - 'much-travelled ' or (like polumetis) Versatile' - has been debated sinc e antiquity:see Heubeck e t al. (1988-92) ad loc. Odysseus is also, amon g othe r things , polutlas, 'much-enduring'. On Homeri c stock-epithets , se e below, ch . 8.

The Odyssey an d it s explorations

it i s borne ou t b y al l hi s persona l history : wanderings, escapes , disguises,triumphs against the odds .

Humanity reads life on e way , divinit y (accordin g t o Zeus ) another . Th ehorizons of the human poem, indeed, already go beyond Zeus and his appar-ent preoccupations. I t is not that we doubt the wisdom of Zeus, howeve r -if onl y becaus e hi s moralisin g vie w o f humanit y i s born e ou t b y th epoet-narrator's passing comment i n the opening lines . Ingenious Odysseuswandered much , learne d much , suffere d much , a s he strove to wi n hi s lifeand his comrades' retur n (i.z~5) . The comrades, however, perished 'throughtheir ow n blin d folly ' (1.7 ) - an d the word use d i s the word Zeu s use s ofhuman folly i n his denunciation of Aegisthus (1.34): atasthaliai. Even so .. .there is an odd relativisin g about the presentation o f Zeus here .

'Smitten fo r smart Odysseus ' (1.48) : in Greek, dai'phroni daietai. 6 Unlik ethe Iliad, the Odyssey favour s wordplay.7 The play here marks off Athena'sfirst reference to Odysseus in this, her first, speech, while her closing wordsin th e sam e speec h wor k i n a comparabl e way. Odysseus i s trapped o n aparadise islan d b y th e nymp h Calyps o (meanin g 'Cover': he r name , lik emany others, i s significant), bu t despite the obvious temptations he longs tobe home . 'What ' (ask s Athena ) 'has he done wrong ? Odysseus? - sound slike misuse, Zeus', wher e th e feature d sequence echoe s an d interpret s th ehero's nam e a s a sentenc e o f cosmic ill-treatment. 8 Th e guil e of ingeniousOdysseus wil l be^opotatiy e o n thi s sam e stylisti c leve l whe n h e meet s th egiant Cyclop^Qfolyphemu s flneanin g 'Famous') , and_trickshi m b y givinghis own name aT^o-manlJOfts: ix . 187-4 14). AthenaVforegrounding ofwordplay a t the outset establishes the technique as an Odyssean mode in itsown right . I t also serves to anticipat e a special relationship between herselfand Odysseus . Whe n Odysseu s finally reaches Ithaca, Athena , i n disguise ,meets him, and Odysseus, true to his ingenious self, seeks to conceal his iden-tity and outwi t th e strange r (xiii.22i-3io).C[thena§jrevelatio n o f her rea lidentity, and identificatio n of his, is as charming as i t is indicative. 'Enoughof this : we are both expert s i n trickery - yo u among men, I myse]|_amorigthe gods' (xm . 296-9). Athena i s both Odysseus ' divin e protectress an d hi spoetic-creative exemplar . Sh e is also, lik e Zeus an d th e poet-narrator , oneof th e mai n carriers o f thepoem's over t morality . Throughout, he r protec -tion o f Odysseus , hi s famil y an d hi s caus e i s coloured b y he r indignatio n

6 ctAA d (jo i anty' 'OSucrfi t 5ccT<|>pov t SaiETc a i^To p . The strikin g use o f 6aieTa i here i s unparalleled,whether a s the passive of Saico , 'kindle' or o f Saico , 'divide' .

7 Stanfor d (1939 ) 98-106.8 1.62 : T I v u o i TOCTO V cbSucrao , ZEU ; (literally , 'why hav e you s o hate d him , Zeus?', wit h th e

implicit equation o f odusao, Zeu and Odusseus). This Homeric 'etymology ' is picked up bySophocles, fr . 965 Radt .

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against Penelope' s 'shameles s suitors ' (1.25 4 etc.) , who, i n hi s absence , layclaim t o hi s wife , feas t i n hi s palace, us e th e palac e women an d consum ehis wealth . Sh e too i s on e o f th e articulator s o f th e Agamemno n them e('be lik e Orestes' , sh e tell s Telemachus , 'wh o wo n fam e b y avengin g hisfather', 1.2.98-300) , an d clearl y that them e sustain s th e sam e larg e mora llesson.

The Odyssey i s a poem of remarkable diversity, not leas t in technique andin mood. A t the end o f Book v, the shipwrecke d her o i s washed u p on th ecoast of Phaeacia. Alone and close to death, he finds shelter in a bed of fallenleaves (¥.488-91):

Like a farmer hiding a burning log in the ashesRight at the edge of his land, a man with no neighbours,Saving a seed of fire, lest he have to rekindl e from somewhere ,So Odysseus covered himsel f i n the leaves.

As whe n a farmer , on . the edg e o f hi s land , keep s a fir e going , eve n s oOdysseus, o n th e edg e o f life , keep s himsel f going . The simil e articulate sthe apprehensio n o f bar e life , and , wit h it s stres s o n remotenes s ('righ t a tthe edge', 'no neighbours', 'lest . . . from somewhere'), the precariousness ofOdysseus' solitar y condition. Remarkably , the simil e contains a metaphor ,'seed o f fire ' (sperma puros). Ther e ar e fe w demonstrabl e metaphor s i nHomer (formulai c idiom hardl y encourages tha t kin d o f linguisti c experi-ment), and this is one of the clearest examples.9 Remarkably, too, the vehicleof the metaphor (sperma, 'seed') interacts with the vehicle of the simile - thefarmer, no w sowin g a special kind of 'seed'. Striking moment o f individualcrisis: striking stylistic intensification, opening up a whole new landscape ofpoetic expression .

What follows , i n Boo k vi , represent s a complet e contrast . Th e youn gPhaeacian princes s Nausica a decide s t o d o th e famil y washing , a s a pre -text t o freshe n u p he r clothe s fo r a prospectiv e suitor . Of f sh e goes, wit hpermission fro m he r fathe r (and 'though sh e was too sh y to mentio n mar -riage, he understood', ¥1.66-7). The washing is duly done in the river , nearwhere our hero is still asleep; while the clothes are drying, Nausicaa and hermaids (wit h their veils off, 100) play ball ; she throws on e o f them a catch ,misses her target , an d th e bal l ends up i n the water , 'in a deep eddy' (116) ;the girls 'shriek out loud' - an d noble Odysseus wakes up (117).

9 I.e . new , live , deviant, defamiliarisin g metaphor (as opposed to 'dea d metaphor' , cliche etc.) ;see e.g. Sil k (2.003 ) 116-18, 122-4.

The Odyssey an d it s explorations

To 'Longinus' the Odyssey seemed to anticipate comedy of manners,10 andhere, certainly, are some of its characteristic ingredients: slice of ordinary life,comic coincidence, humorous appreciation of gender stereotypes (beautifull yunderstated) - fro m th e father who 'understood' t o the girls, who (bein ggirls) can't throw straight and cry when it all goes wrong. The disparity, now,between these fluttery innocents and the unkempt an d appalled hero ('oh no,where am I this time?' , 119 ) i s obvious, an d wha t enormousl y accentuatesthe disparity is a collision of fictional affiliations. H e is an Achaean warlord: .they come fro m a kind o f other-worldly paradise." Odysseu s has steppe dout o f a bprnir myth ; Nausicaa seems to belon g to a fairy-tale. And indeed,in the Phaeacian episode as a whole (Books vi-vm), the fairy-tal e elementsare striking : youn g princes s i n farawa y lan d dreamin g o f husban d meet smysterious strange r . . . Everythin g is there, eve n th e fro g turne d int o ahandsome prince - because Odysseus makes his entrance like an unappealingamphibian ('foule d wit h brine' , 137) , bu t (thank s to Athena ) re-emerges ,after a bath , taller , broader , wit h hai r curle d an d 'grac e o n hi s hea d an dshoulders' (2.2.9-35) , so that with good reason Nausicaa can say to her maids,'if onl y a man lik e this could be my husband' (2.38-45) . IZ

Eventually, i t dawns o n the Phaeacia n royal househol d tha t th e strange rhas a wife a t home an d yearns to get back to her, 13 an d tha t thei r role is tohelp him do it . Meanwhile, Home r linger s over the extraordinary momen tof meeting . Odysseu s hear s femal e voice s (122) : who an d wha t ar e they?Emerging naked from hi s thicket, he comes out to see - 'breakin g off a leaf ybranch with his strong hand to keep his embarrassments covered' (i2.7-9>.14

'Forth he came like a mountain lion' (130 ) - lik e an Iliadic hero, therefore -and th e maid s ru n of f in terro r (138) . Nausica a alon e stand s he r ground ,and, sizing up the situation, Odysseus 'pondered' (141). He needs help froma vulnerable-lookin g young person o f unknown provenance , taken b y sur-prise an d no t wearin g he r veil . Question: shoul d h e (a ) take hol d o f he rknees (normal suppliant's etiquette) (142. ) or (b ) try and explain himself a t a

10 Sub/. 9.15 . Likewise , t o th e nineteent h century , th e Odyssey prefigure s th e novel . 'Farra rdeclared tha t the Odyssey wa s the bes t nove l eve r written', Jenkyns (1980 ) 209 . ('Farrar ' isF. W. Farrar; the 'declaration ' comes in ch. 1 8 of his 185 9 novel , Julian Home.) Cf . Steiner ,p. 36 5 below.

11 Se e below, p. 40 .12 O n Odyssean folk-tale/fairy-tale , seePeradotto (1990) 32-93; Schein (1996) 20-6; Reinhard t

(1996) 63-132.13 This is apparent to the Phaeacians b y vm.243: cf. Hainsworth in Heubeck (1988-92) ad loc.14 'Embarrassments' : iar|Sea . Th e ton e o f thi s rar e euphemis m (cf . Hainsworth i n Heubec k

et al. (1988-92) ad loc.) i s elusive.

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distance (143-4)? Preserving one's dignity (and concealing one's 'embarrass -ments') while manoeuvring with knees, branches and leave s might be tricky.He chooses (b) , wins her confidence and , shortly , her heart : right answer.

The whole imagined scene is bizarre and in its complex ton e - romantic ,pathetic, comi c - a s charming a s its psychology i s delicate. In a celebratedessay, Eric h Auerbac h lai d emphasi s o n th e externa l realis m o f Homeri cdescription.15 Strang e realis m here : collision o f fictiona l realms ; haunting ,elusive ton e - an d all finely calculated t o hel p se t up a romance that (we"Know] ca n neve r happen. Transient Nausicaai s a foi l fo r durabl e Penelorje ,as^ murdered Agamemno n i s fo r survivin g Odysseus, an d playfu l romanti cinterlude for sombre heroi c return.

As th e Odyssey proceeds , it s range enlarge s an d th e contrast s wit h th eIliad multiply . These ar e apparen t eve n within th e martia l heroics that th etwo epics have in common. Iliadi c fighting involves warfare between massedarmies or duels between selec t pairs of heroes. The O dyssey's fighting (muchmore restricte d i n scale) is almost al l Odysseus, whether copjng_watk-aU&as >

like the Cyclops, or confronting the suitors (Book xxn) and their kin (xxiv).In both case s our hero relies , in part, on his proverbial guile. 1 he" Cyclopslstricked, and so are the suitors. Back in Ithaca, Odysseus must re-enter his ownpalace in a beggar's disguise and plan his campaign with the aid, eventually,of a fe w confidants - chiefly , hi s son Telemachus an d (surprisingl y i n thi saristocratic ambience ) two out-hous e servants , a pig-handler Eumaeu s anda cowma n Philoetius , who mak e u p hi s fighting force , as against th e muc hmore numerou s suitors . Th e unequa l arithmeti c o f th e riva l grouping s i sunderlined (xxn.zo3-4 ) -

Breathing might, they took thei r stand, there at the threshold:Four, against many fine men inside the palace -

though, a s always , somewher e nearb y i s Odysseus ' divin e protectres s(xxn. 2.04-5):

Four, against many fine men inside the palace.But now the y were joined by the daughter of Zeus, Athena .

After the battle i s over, Odysseus offers hi s considered view of the 'many finemen' of Ithaca (xxn.413-16) :

Heavenly Fate and their own iniquitous actionsUndid these men. No livin g soul did they honour ,Evil or good, wh o found his way among them .Thus b y their own blin d folly , their end has been shameful .

15 Auerbac h (1953 ) 3~Z3 .

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The Odyssey an d it s explorations

The 'blind folly ' i s that sam e atasthaliai which Zeus andth e poet-narratorascribed t o mankin d a t th e ver y star t o f th e poem . ThecoKerenc e o f tK epoem's insistenc e on this moral lesson is impressive - an d yet . . . 'No livingsoul di d the y honour. ' Really ? Thi s i s false , a s w e kno w fro m th e cas e ofthe suito r Amphinomus , who wa s respecte d b y Penelope (xvi . 397-8) an dwho pai d publi c 'honour ' t o th e begga r Odysseu s himsel f (xvni . 119-57),and agai n from th e case of the Ithacan soothsayer Leodes .

We meet Leodes twice. In Book xxi, on Penelope's initiative , a contest forher hand i s set up: whoever ca n strin g Odysseus ' bo w an d shoo t a n arro w'through twelv e axes ' ca n hav e her . Th e unkemp t strange r Odysseus , hi sidentity revealed now t o hi s son and t o th e loya l few, but no t t o Penelopeherself, will duly win the contest, but first the suitors try, among them Leodes(xxi. 144-74). The narrator' s descriptio n o f him i s startling: 't o hi m alon edeeds o f H' nrl f"H y wpr p hatpfiil ' anr l 'ti p hafp H the- sin'tQJs^Jl46-7) . 'Blin d

folly' is once again atasthaliai, and 'the suitors' means the other suitors, sinceLeodes himself, by virtue of both his participation i n the contest an d his ownwords in the event (152-6), is evidently one. Our second meeting with Leodesis hi s death scen e (xxn . 310-29). The Ithaca n nobilit y li e dying o r dea d i nthe palace halls, and Leodes rushes forward in supplication to Odysseus : theother suitor s (a s he call s them, 314-15 ) hav e me t a shamefu l en d throug h(once more ) thei r atasthaliai (317) ; he has don e n o wrong himsel f (318) . l6To Odysseu s th e fac t tha t Leode s wante d Penelop e i s enough; h e kill s thesoothsayer 'whil e he was stil l speaking' (329) .

There are obvious issues of cultural difference here . Odysseus is a returnedhusband, long missing and plausibl y presumed dead ; Leodes , among manyothers, desire d hi s wife . Fe w o f Homer' s moder n reader s woul d condon erevenge killing in such a context, let alone acclaim it, but the Odyssey doe s -or does i t . . . ? The modprn rffVr , rfrta' nly, i s left t o pondauhe grossnessof the overstatement in Odysseus' t r iumphant words, a hundred verses later:'no living soul did they honour'.17

As a mora l problematic , on e gathers , th e right s an d wrong s o f revengekilling are not i n themselves at issue (this is not ye t the world o f Aeschylus'Oresteia), bu t a (problematically?) high value is put on loyalty. This is the les-son of the Agamemnon theme ('m y wife had me killed, yours knows better' :Agamemnon, in Hades, to Odysseus, xi. 409-46), and as the poem proceeds ,

16 Leode s specifie s his consistent opposition to the way the other suitors use d the palace women,which wa s a particular offenc e t o Odysseu s (xvi.108-9).

17 No t th e onl y tim e Odysseus ' moralisin g i s clearly overstated . Cf . hi s unqualifie d assertionthat th e palac e wome n wer e forcibl y taken (xxn.37) , agains t th e clea r evidenc e o f xx.6-8(and, later , xxn.42,0-5, 443-5).

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the importanc e of loyalty in Odysseus' caus e becomes ever clearer. He win sout because , and only because, a small group centred on his immediate fanPily stands b y him o r keep s fait h i n him: wife Penelope , fobbing off the suit -ors, yea r afte r year , o n th e pretex t o f havin g t o finis h weavin g a sHrou dfor_Qdysseus' a ged father Laertes (11.93-110) ; son Telemachus, who goes insearch of news of his father an d assist s him when the two eventually meet inIthaca; loya l servants and functionaries (among them the two warrior s andthe minstre l Phemius); then als o Laertes, prove d loya l after protracte d test -ing (xxiv.2.16-355); Odysseus' old dog Argos, even, doggedly living on until^he sees his master (xvn.191-327); and Athena, active on behalf o f Odysseusand hi s family, fro m star t (1.44-50 ) to finish (xxiv.54i-8).

Even the grea t romanti c clima x of th e epic 1 the reunio n o f Odysseus am dPenelope in Book xxm, centres on loyalty. Old nurse Eurycleia (loyal servant)wakes u p her mistress, wh o ha s slep t throug h th e battle , knowin g nothin gyet o f he r husband' s return . The nurse' s messag e i s simple : Odysseu s ha scome, ha s come at last and killed the suitors (xxm.y-S ) - an d the repeated'has come ' i s fraugh t wit h emotiona l significance. 18 Confronte d wit h th e

•thought tha t th e unkemp t strange r i s really Odysseus , Penelop e is incred-ulous. Soon , sh e is prepared t o accep t th e killing , but, still, no t th e retur nof her man: no , one of the gods mus t hav e killed them - bu t Odysseus haslost hi s return hom e an d i s lost (dead ) himsel f (xxm.63-8) . The plangen trepetition of 'lost'19 echoes the nurse's repeated 'has come' and enforces thesharp psychological insight: PeneJ^pr fi"^« i< - easier to accep t the miraculou sthan the long-awaited .

The recognition scen e is delicately observed and exquisitely paced. Down -stairs, i n awkwar d silence , Penelope sit s 'opposit e Odysseus i n the ligh t o fthe fire against th e othe r wall ' (89-90) . Telemachus, also present , i s impa-tient. His fathe r calml y plans ahead . Everyon e bathe s an d dresses, includ -ing Odysseu s himself , who re-emerges , a t last , properl y dress£d_and_(wit hAthena's aid ) taller , broade r an d . . . precisely^ h e was t n Nansiraaj nthe playfu l young-lov e episod e t o whic h thi s husband-wif e reunio n i s thegrown-up counterpart. io Odysseu s is the great trickste r an d tester, but no wPenelope begin s to tes t him. Seemingl y losing patience , lik e his son befor ehim, he asks for his bed to b e made up. 'His' bed, we soon learn , i s special,designed an d constructe d b y Odysseus himself as a fixture in the roya l bed -room: a , symbol, then, of marr'ag^ a"d it s permanence. Penelope instruct s

f)A6' . . . 64/6 irep EA6ci>v . By the fift h century , such phraseology is definitively associate d withthe return , and perhap s recognition , o f a n absen t love r o r protector : Sil k (1988 ) 98-100 .Odysseus is both.XXIII.68: ciAOTE/wAETO . i 0 xxm.156-63 : VI.zzg-35.

The Odyssey an d it s explorations

the nurse to mak e u p the be d 'outside the well-built chamber' (xxm.ijS) ,provoking her startled husband to reveal the secret of the bed's constructio nwhich, a s she knows, n o other ma n could know. I n tears she embraces him,while h e weep s i n turn , a s h e 'take s i n hi s arm s hi s beloved , true-hearte dwife' (232) , and (2.33-9) -

Welcome as land, coming into view, to swimmersWhose well-wrought ship on the open sea PoseidonShattered, by wind and solid wave driven -Few of them made an escape to the shore b y swimmingAgainst the gray water, and thick brine' s stuck to their bodies ,And stepping on land they welcome their salvation:Just so, welcome to her , as she looked at him, was he r husband.

High-climactic moment ; anothe r extraordinar y simile . Two special featuresstand out : first, the vehicle of the simile - Poseidon , shipwreck , swimming ,lajid - i s drawn directly from the tenor of the poem, i n fact fro m Odysseus 'own painfu l adventure s themselves;21 second , th e tenor o f the simile, at tK estart seemingly his feelings about her, switches at the end to her feelings abouthim. The_cumulative effprt - i g o f reriprnrit v an d harmoniou s resolution-between the husband's return now and his whole painful past , and between^more immediately , anH wif p I h, p technica l brillianc eof th e momen t i s remarkable; n o les s so , th e pois e betwee n psychologica lrealism and a remorseless symboli c logic which require s the loyalt y of wif eto husband , a s o f husban d t o wife , t o b e proved , an d celebrated , almos tritually. The Odyssey, afte r all , has it s ceremonial affirmations .

In the most literal sense, the Odyssey i s the stor y ofj^waridererj eve n a nexplorer. 'Many men's cities he saw, many men's minds he discovered' (1.3) .The wanderings have been read as explorations o f Odysseus himself." Thehero whose name , he once give s as No-man, an d th e me^mng_of_which_thg -

qodsjehate. now becomes an explorer i n search of identity: perhaps a war-lord who becomes a moral man;perhaps a man who becomes a discovererof, even, existential value. How fa r Odysseus can be said \.obecome anything(not a normal_Horneric propensity)13 i s debatable. Beyonddispute, though,is the range_of experience - realms of experience, even - thathls~e3tpteraHbnsencompass: fro m heroic Troy to the various provinces of fairyland, from themythical Underworld whic h h e visits in Book x i t o Ithac a itself , which, i n

ZI Not e also the evocation o f an earlie r simile , ¥.394-8, and th e threefold stres s on 'welcome '(aCTTTacr-) i n both (xxm. 2.33, Z38 , 139; v.394, 397 , 398) .

" Among the very different attempts to read the poem along such lines: Dimock (1956), Ruther-ford (1986) , Pucci (1987) .

23 Sil k (zoo 4) 75-6 , 83-4 .

M I C H A E L S I L K

relative terms, is a credible and unglamorised world. In particular, the Ithacawhere Odysseu s first finds refug e i n his beggar' s disguise is a world o f poorpeople, humble food, modest dwellings and menaces from lords and masters ,in marked contrast to his two previous venues, the wonderlands of Phaeaciaand Calypso's Ogygia. Phaeacia is a place where fruit grows all the year round(vn. 117-21), ship s neve r sin k (¥111.557-63) , an d peac e rule s (vi.201-5) .Ogygia i s al l vines , violet s and parsley , where 'eve n a go d wh o cam e tha tway would gaze in wonder an d pleasure ' (¥.73-4). Phaeacia, of course, als ooffers marriag e with the young Nausicaa an d Calypso' s isle , for its part, sexwith the goddess and immortality too (¥.203-27) . Even by itself. Odysseus 'choice of his own Ithaca ove r such glamorous alternatives represents aclea raffirmation o f moral purpose: one, indeed, that resonates down the millenniaof Western fiction, high and low, from Virgil's Aeneid (whose^Aeneas , drivenfrom Troy , must spurn even Dido to found a new resurgent Troyjn Italy)^ 4

to The Wizard o f Oz: 'Oh, Auntie Em', says Dorothy, 'there' s no_ place lik ehome'.2'5

Counterpointed agains t the overt straightforwardness , both of Odysseus 'quest an d o f the mora l value s associated wit h it , i s the behavioura l quirk-iness o f a whol e serie s o f character s i n th e poem . Quit e unlik e the Iliad,the Odyssey abound s i n striking female characters,26 whoseactions are fre-quently devious or unpredictabl e or both . Athen a is the archetypal cummig~goddess. Circ e (who , lik e Calypso , detain s Odysseu s i n Wonderland ) i s awitch and a sorceress. Beautifu l Helen , visited by Telemachus on his travels,is all we might expect o f an Iliadic grande dame - excep t that , uniquely, shetakes drugs to obliterate the pain of living (iv.219-34).i7 Even Nausicaa triesto outwi t he r father . And Penelop e too ha s he r deviou s side (th e testing ofOdysseus, the shroud-trick) and her inexplicable behaviour, when she flauntsherself in front of the suitors ('with a meaningless laugh', xvm. 163), and thensets up the contest . I n both case s the decisio n i s presented a s Athena's ide a(xvm.158-60, xxi.1-4); but, by the rules of 'double determination' , divineinitiative in such cases should be divine prompting fo r human impuls e - s othat Penelope's behaviou r remains as inexplicable as ever.28

24 illic fas regna resurgere Troiae: Aeneid, i.zo6.25 Jud y Garland' s closin g words in the 1939 film.26 Se e e.g. Cohe n (1995 ) and Felson an d Slatkin , ch. 7 below .27 Circ e has 'drugs' that are magical, rather than merely mind-altering: x.212-13, 235-40, 290 -

3, 316-28. Odysseus' men in ix are given lotus, with eviden t narcotic properties , bu t non ebecome regula r user s (ix.9i-io4> . Contrast Tennyson' s 'Lotos-Eaters ' (1832) .

28 Doubl e determination: se e below, p. 59. Critics tend to ignore the general point about femalesin favou r o f specifi c 'explanations ' o f Penelope . Se e e.g. Cla y (1984 ) 73- 6 o n he r laugh ,Peradotto (1990 ) 82- 5 o n th e contest ; Kat z (1991 ) 77-113 , 192-5 , an d Felson-Rubi n i nSchein (1996 ) 168-75 on both .

40

The Odyssey an d it s explorations

In thi s context , th e deviousnes s o f Odysseu s himsel f - validate d b yAthena's endorsement and Penelope's emulation - seem s open to interpreta-tion as an essentially feminine quality, and alien indeed to the manly simplic-ities of the Iliad. i9 'Hatefu l a s the gate s of Hades i s the ma n wh o say s onething and hides another' is the representative statement of the Iliadic Achilles(to the Iliadic Odysseus, no less : 9.312-13). The Odyssey a s triumph of thefeminine, then ? Up to a point, maybe - bu t then again , it s defining figureOdysseus i s in al l othe r respect s utterl y masculine , and i n th e en d prove shimself, a s he evidently must, by a man's physica l prowess.30

In an important sense , the Odyssey a s achieved epic poem i s devious too,not leas t b y repeate d allusion s t o th e workin g in word s an d th e fashion -ing o f narrative s whic h constitut e th e mediu m o f epi c poetr y itself . Thi sis a poe m o f over t wordplay . Abov e all, i t i s a pne m o f j^toHesarifl story -telling within its own narrative.31 Telemachu s hears stories - mostl y abou tOdysseus - fro m Nesto r i n Pylos (Boo k in), fro m Menelau s an d Helen inSparta (iv) ; Odysseus recounts his own adventures to the Phaeacians (ix-xn),and in the Underworld, for instance, others (from his mother to Agamemnon)recount their s to him (xn) ; Athena, in human form, tells stories, part-false ,part-true, abou t he r persona e an d Odysseu s (firs t t o Telemachus , 1.179 -2.12); Odysseu s i n his beggar's disguis e tells fals e tale s - sometime s abou tOdysseus himself- to a series of attentive listeners, from Athena (xm.2.56 -86) t o hi s father (xxiv.266-79 , 3°4~ I4)- An d storie s ar e told b y aoidoi -minstrels, bards . I n Ithaca , Phemiu s sing s o f th e retur n o f th e Achaean s(1.325-7), and in Phaeacia, his counterpart, Demodocus, o f the Trojan horse(¥111.499-52.0) an d th e lov e o f Are s an d Aphrodit e (¥111.266-366) : two ,then, o f th e man y evocation s o f th e Troja n heroic s tha t (a s 'Longinus 'noted) giv e a n Iliadi c perspectiv e t o th e poem, 3Z togethe r wit h a caution -ary tale of infidelity that points u p the marital commitment o f Penelope andOdysseus.

29 Th e associatio n o f cunnin g and th e female , thoug h almos t ignore d i n th e classi c study of'cunning intelligence ' b y Detienne an d Vernan t (1978) (a t 32 1 n. 78) , is a featur e of Gree kthought fro m Home r an d Hesio d (Op. 67 ) t o Plat o (Leg. 78iab ) an d beyond . Odysseus 'epithet polumetis and his relationship wit h Athena evok e the female powe r embodied in thegoddess Metis ('Cunning') , who i s Zeus's first wife an d Athena' s mother .

30 A characteristic , eve r since , o f epi c poetr y and , mor e recently , th e Wester n film , wher e arelevant motif involves a reluctant fighter proving himself by fighting. Two classic instances :James Stewart i n Destry Rides Again (1939 ) an d Ala n Ladd i n Shane (1953) .

31 O n the Odyssey an d tale-telling : Goldhill (1991) 37-68; Pucci (1998) 131-77 .32 Th e ful l lis t includes the recollections (an d mere presence ) of Nestor in Book in , Menelau s

and Hele n i n iv , Agamemnon an d Achille s (fro m th e Underworld ) i n XI , together wit h th eAgamemnon them e itsel f (p . 3 2 n. 4 above).

41

M I C H A E L S I L K

In the Iliad a disillusioned Achilles sings unspecified 'heroic tales' t o him-self and a silent Patroclus (9.186-91). lusj^cjilysymptpj^not jus t that 'tales ' should b e more frequent , o r that we_actuall y hear mos£of them, but that tale-telling itself is presented as something special. The tw ocourt singer s ar e honoure d an d respected : eve n th e unrul y suitors behav ewhen Phemiu s start s singin g (1.325-6) . Odysseu s a s tale-telle r i s himselflikened to a tale-telling minstrel (xi-368, xvii.5i8) and his triumphant string-ing of the bow to a minstrel stringing hi s instrument (xxi.404-9) , while theclimactic recognition scen e of husband an d wif e reaches its appropriate ful-filment, first with a n act of love-making (xxm.3oo) , then with a n exchangeof personal histories , duly recapitulated for our information (xxm.301-30) .

The fac t that s o many of the tales told i n the Odyssey ar e false and decep-tive, or else 'tall stories' by any standard, has a deeper significance. Odysseus'narrow scrape s an d escapes ; th e uncertaintie s abou t ho w h e will , i n th eend, b e victorious; and th e unforeseeabl e development s en route, of whichPenelope's decisio n to hol d a contest is one: al l of these signify a n aestheti cof surpris e rather tha n suspense . The Iliad's powe r depend s o n a profoundcommitment t o an inexorable working-out o f conflict and it s consequences.The Odyssey, thoug h committed t o the eventual triumph o f Odysseus, is -Hkp it s own twiste d tale s - al l twists an d turns , wit h Odysseu s suprenqe .polutropos, 'man of many turns' (i.i) , himself.

In th e rang e an d configuratio n of it s basi c material , th e Odyssey ha s adistinctive complexity. The Iliad's character s ar e mostly adul t fightingjne nin their prime. The Odyssey offer s somethin g like a cross-section o f human-ity, male and female: from aristocrats t o slaves, from country to town, fromvagrants to cour t professionals . There ar e characters caugh t an d psycholo -gised, a s i f in vignette , a t particula r ages : ol d Laertes , diggin g his vine s inshin-guards and gardening gloves (xxiv.126-30); young Nausicaa, touched ^by her first love; young Telemachus, asserting himself, seemingly for the firsttime, t o hi s mother ('yo u go upstairs: I'l l d o the talking', 1.356-62) . Unlikethe Iliadic Achilles, reacting to a short serie s of related crises on, and oft , the~battlefield, the Odyssean OdysseusTsondisplay in every imaginable environ.-ment, home an d away , natural and supernatural , ennoblin g and * degrading,physical and intellectual, desperate, humorous^romantic and workaday. For"the first four books, he is presented in absentia ( a brilliant technical Device) -bv the ga p h p Ka c lpft T h v his reputation, b y eye-witness accounts; only thenby his own actions and his own version o f his actions.

Yet i f it s huma n cast-lis t i s longer an d mor e varied , an d (i n th e cas e ofOdysseus) its fullness o f presentation considerabl y greater, the Odyssey ha sa significantly simpler equivalent of that parallel realm of essentially amoralgods an d goddesse s wh o infor m the warrio r worl d o f the Iliad, competin g

The Odyssey an d it s explorations

and lamenting the human outcome. Ou r epic features a series of minor super-humans and , o n the divine level proper, a miniature and morall y schematicheaven. Somewhere in the background , Poseidon, like an Iliadic god, main-tains a personal hostility to Odysseu s (th e 'offence' wa s the blindin g of theCyclops, Poseidon' s son) , whil e his eventual triumph i s guaranteed b y th eassumed Tightnes s o f hi s cause , a s validated b y Athena wit h th e authorit yof Zeus ; mos t o f th e Olympia n pantheo n i s irrelevant . The defea t o f th eIthacans engender s n o disput e o r regre t i n heaven , eve n i f the Zeus wh odenounces mankind's 'blind folly' in Book i (32-43) is back at the end to callfor peac e between Odysseu s and the slain suitors' vengefu l ki n (xxiv.48i-6,542-4). An d yet . . . ends sta y open. In the Underworld, th e prophe t Tire -sias foretells a strange sequel, involving more trave l for Odysseus and som ekind o f propitiation o f Poseidon (xi . 119-37). Tne reconciliation i n the las tbook i s itself perfunctory. Has th e Home r o f the Odyssey, lik e the Tolsto yof Anna Karenina, problems with closures? - or , like the later Tolstoy, even,moral-theological preoccupation s a t odds with hi s own art? 33

In th e mos t fundamenta l sense^loo, th e contour s o f th e actio n i n th eOdyssey ar e distinctive . Where th e Iliad take s plac e ove r a fe w week s i none setting , th e Odyssey travel s backward s an d forward s i n plac e an d i ntime^Its tempora l range , i n fac t (essentiall y th e te n year s sinc e th e en dof th e Troja n War) , i s only exceeded h v it s topographica l coverag e (fro mTroy t o Ithaca , Pylo s to Sparta , Hade s t o Phaeacia , th e land o f the Lotus -Eaters t o Calypso' s isle) . The Iliad, furthermor e i s constructed o n a simple ,gowerrul linea r sequenc e (AB C . . .) . The Odyssey, mor e artfully , begin sinpresent time in Ithaca (Book s i-n), follows Telemachus o n his travels toPylos and Spart a (ni-iv) , then (ostensibly , still, in present sequence, thoug heffectively i n flashback to th e star t o f i), 34 turn s to Odysseus ' escap e tromOgygia to Phaeacia (v) and his meetings there with Nausicaa and her parents(vi-vni), the n gives , i n flashback , Odysseus ' accoun t (t o th e Phaeacians )of hi s wanderings , fro m Troy t o Ogygi a (ix-xn) , befor e narratin g (i n thepresent, again ) his return to Ithac a (i n xm), where the action remain s untilthe end. ThpserMn^ h g l f "f thp p^rni therefore , is like the whole of the Iliad,in that it s Sction takes place o n a single site and ove r a shor t space d t(seemingly, about a week) . In these terms, though , th e overal l differenc e i sobvious. If the Iliad is ABC . . .. the Odyssey i s BAC . . ., and a complicated

33 Th e end of the Odyssey - fro m xxm.297 - has been regarded as compositionally problematicsince th e Alexandria n ag e (se e p. 22 1 below) . In term s o f poeti c efficacy , wha t matter s isthat the end , though broadly necessary, is less than satisfying . Th e sam e goes for some lessnecessary sequences, notably the catalogues of heroines and heroe s in xi.235-327 and 568 -631.

34 Cf . Hainsworth i n Heubeck el al. (1988-92) ad loc.

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M I C H A E L S I L K

sort oi_BAC . . . too , where the A i s the flashback in Books ix-xn, and theB i s the tw o separat e sequence s involving Telemachus (i-iv) an d Odysseu s(v-vm). The majo r reversa l o f time her e ha s a disconcerting effect, height "ened by the switching between relativejiormalit y an d Wonderland exotica .

The shape , lik e th e scope , o f th e Odyssca n epi c enforce s it s restless ,exploratory character : end s ar e opened, question s raised, alternative voiceslet loose.35

FURTHER R E A D I N G

For genera l introductions t o th e Odyssey, se c Griffin (zoc>3 ) and Rutherfor d (1996) .The standar d editio n o f the Gree k tex t i s by van Thie l (1991) . Widely rea d moder ntranslations includ e those b y Fitzgerald (1961 ) and Shewrin g (1980). Commentarie son th e Gree k text , i n whol e o r part , includ e those b y Stanford (1958-9) , Heubec ketal. (1988-91), Rutherford (1992), Garvie (1994). A range of recent interpretation ,not necessaril y in line with the present author's positions , is offered b y Cohen (1995) ,Katz (1991) , Peradotto (1990) , Pucci (1987) , Schein (1996) .

35 I n Bakhtinia n term s - bu t pace Bakhti n ( 1 9 8 1 ) himsel f - th e Odyssey i s thus mor e o f adialogical nove l tha n a monologica l epic : cf . Peradotto (1990) 53-4.

44

4RUTH SCODE L

The story-telle r an d hi s audienc e

Narrative method ha s long been a central issue in Homeric scholarship , sinceAnalysts relied on narrative difficulties to identify earlier levels, while Unitar-ians responded by claiming that an understanding of Homer's narrativ e ruleswould explain inconsistencies. 1 More recently, ora l poetry and structuralis tnarratology hav e contributed t o mor e understandin g o f Homer's narrativetechniques.2 Yet even while scholars have treated Homeric narrative as prob-lematic, readers have been moved b y the poems .

To th e Greek s o f th e eight h century , epic presente d a remote , splendid ,sjiared past . Heroi c stories were a valuable cultural resourcejthey provide dentertainment, historica l continuit y an d a metho d o f ethical thought Fpi rperformance was an especially important vehicle for transmitting these tales:at a successfu l performance , everyon e share d i n excitement , sorro w an dadmiration, makin g th e occasio n a sourc e o f socia l cohesion . Th e famil -iarity o f the mai n character s an d stopp ^ reinforce d b v epic' s conservativelanguage and style , offered stabilit y in a changing world, while the flexibilityof performance mean t tha t the storie s could b e adapted t o thei r immediatecontexts.

However ou r epics were written down, thei r first audiences typically heardthem performed . Hearer s coul d no t g o bac k an d chec k a detail , o r ski pahead t o se e what happened . Home r learne d ho w t o perfor m fro m earlierperformers, and his poems reflect practical experience in story-telling and theparticular characters of this tradition.3 The basic stories had been told manytimes alread y an d wer e believe d to b e true. Th e traditio n provide d a stylefitting the importance o f the tales. The story-teller's task lay not i n inventing

For Unitarian s an d Analysts , se e Fowler i n thi s volum e ch . 14 . Amon g th e fines t Unitaria nstudies of Homer's narrative are Rothe (1910 ) and Basset t (1938) ; more recently Fenik (1974)and Erbs e (1972.) .For example, Edwards (1987) , de Jong (1987 ) an d (2.001 ) and Richardso n (1990) .For 'Homer' , see Introduction, pp . i, 5.

45

R U T H S C O D E L

a tale and telling it with originality, but in selecting his story, telling it at th ej^^Lnf H"*- 3'1 -jpprnpriat p tr » the occasion , an d deployin g the familia r epi clanguage to make it vivid.

Clearly, however , thes e poem s ar e no t routin e product s o f thi s once -thriving tradition. The return from war o f a long-delayed hero i s a familia r"theme ot tales around the world: why is the Odyssey special ? The answer liesin two differen t strength s o f these poepTfTTirst^e epic s define thei r plot sand control narrative tension with exceptional sophistication. The Odyssey,for example , begin s by following not Odysseus , bu t Telemachus . We havethe pleasurable frustration of waiting for the hero to appear, and we quicklyrealise tha t h e i s not th e onl y characte r wort h carin g about , an d tha t hi sworld is not a simple one, as we watch Telemachus learn to manoeuvre in it.Both epics are much longer than an ordinary performance could be, but theirlength is not the result of simple elaboration of standard material . They varythe relation between narrative and story time over the fullest possiblesome event s are full y dramatised , others briefl y summarised . The y concen -trate on particular spaces - Odysseus ' house , the plain of Troy -yet se e theseplaces within the entire panorama of earth, heaven and HadeSASecpnq^heyare thematically powerful. In their original context, the political problemsofthe army at Troy and o f Ithaca were immediately relevant.5 Yet it is easy forreaders in very different culture s to find meaning in them. Their centra l con-_cern is the mortal individual embedded i n complex socia l relations. Thoughthe Iliad and Odyssey ar e very different, the y are both abou t decidin g whatone's lif e is worth, and about connecting an understanding of one's ownjif ewitK the demand s o f communities, friend s an d family . Homeric character sseek goal s with whic h th e hearer sympathise s - t o satisf y injure d honour ,to driv e awa y invaders , to protec t a home an d son - unde r condition s ofextreme risk and usuall y with insufficien t knowledge . They make mistakes ,because thei r worl d i s realistically complicated . Home r wa s a n exception -ally strong tradition-bearer , who combined a vision of the meaning of inher-ited storie s wit h th e ambitio n t o organis e narrativ e o n a n extraordinar yscale.6

The poet could choose where i n the immense saga an episode started andended. The Iliad follows its hero's estrangement from his community throughits disastrous consequences for both the army and Achilles himself, until hisreconciliation wit h th e army and his moment o f human closeness to Priam .

4 O n space and duration, and on the classical plot , see Lowe (zooo) 103-56 .5 Se e Osborne in this volume .6 Fo r th e 'stron g tradition-bearer' , an d th e socia l functio n o f story-telling , se e Niles (1999 )

66-188, 173 , 193 .

46

The story-telle r and hi s audience

Ending with Hector' s funeral , no t Achilles ' death, an d wit h th e lament s ofthe Trojan women, th e Iliad define s itsel f a s concerned with both the socialand personal costs of the pursuit of warrior honour. The Odyssey begins withthe gods' decision to brin g Odysseus home, a decision prompte d b y Zeus'sreflections on the parallel story of Aegisthus and Orestes . The decision leadsto tw o divin e interventions : Athena goe s t o Ithac a t o rous e Telemachus,Hermes t o fre e Odysseu s from Calypso . S o from th e start , th e poe m pro -claims that i t i s about divin e order an d abou t th e hero' s famil y an d socia lworld. Each epic reaches a decisive closure, with the initial conflicts settled,the wider questions explored bu t not answered .

The Homeric poems are relatively self-contained. In many epic traditions ,knowledge o f the 'whol e story ' provides a contex t fo r performance of an yepisode, eve n thoug h nobod y eve r tell s th e whol e tale. 7 Suc h a tal e i s a'notional epic' ; i t may becom e a text whe n a collector ask s for a complet eperformance. I n this way , thf Troja n Wa r and it s aftermath clearly formedajrecognised, unified , story . However, th e Iliad an d Odyssey ar e not typical^pisodes from a notional epic . Our epics are too ambitiou s tobe episodes ,but they do not tel l the long series of famous events in order, either. Instead,each epic immensely expands a single incident - the Quarrel and the Return.

However, the poems do not define their themes narrowly, but incorporate awide range of narrative material. The Iliad transposes events that should havetaken place early in the Trojan War, such as the singl e combat o f Menelausand Paris, or Helen's description of the Greek heroes to Priam, to the first dayof fighting after Achilles ' quarrel with Agamemnon. 8 The Odyssey include sthe travel s o f Telemachu s in searc h o f hi s father , repeated summarie s an dallusions to the fates o f the other heroe s of the war, and Odysseus ' narrativeof his adventures.

All thi s stor y materia l i s o f ver y differen t kinds . Th e Gree k epi c tradi -tion was voracious, and singer s knew no t onl y the stories of the great warsof Thebe s an d Troy , bu t man y others . Indeed , th e epic s borrowe d mate -rial from other storie s t o expan d thei r ow n tales. 9 Bot h Iliad an d Odysseyinclude comic anecdotes of quarrels and sex on Olympus. Odysseus tells sev-eral lie s in which he is an adventurous Cretan: thes e play variations on th e'real' adventure s of Odysseus , but tak e place in the rea l fringes o f the con -temporary world, Egyp t and Epirus , rather than i n the imaginary world ofthe 'real ' adventures . The adventures combine folk-tal e themes - one-eye dgiants, witche s wh o transform me n to swin e - wit h th e 'travellers ' tales '

7 Se e Foley (19993 ) 42, and in this volume, pp . 176-7 . 8 Whitma n (1958 ) 2.65 .9 Se e Dowden in this volume. Fo r the Odyssey, Dane k (1998 ) meticulously discusse s possibl e

sources.

47

R U T H S C O D E L The story-telle r and hi s audience

that circulate in times of exploration and colonisation.10 Some of Odysseus'adventures open with brie f descriptions of the land and customs of the placehe visits . These ma y excee d wha t Odysseu s coul d plausibl y have learned ,and they are irrelevant to the following adventures. The epic made room forthe contemporary fascinatio n with exotic places .

Perhaps becaus e the poe t kne w ho w divers e his materia l was , an d ho wcomplicated hi s presentation is, he does not rel y too muc h on his audience'sknowledge of specific stories. The more familiarity the hearer has with heroi ctales, the richer Homer's version is, but th e poet demand s onl y basic fami l

jarity wit h the Trojan War and othe r epi c traditions . Hi s narrative make ssense without extensiv e prior knowledge . Home r provide s extensive expo -sition, typicall y placed i n speeche s by characters o r otherwis e naturalised.Telemachus, for example, explains to the disguised Athena who th e suitor sare (i . 2.45-51), even though it is hard to believ e that the audience would no tknow. Hence, the epics are in many ways still accessible .

Some Homeric technique s work directly for us. The Iliad draws the audi-ence in with a small mystery: having asked what god began the quarrel , andnamed Apollo , th e narrato r move s backwar d instea d o f forward , throug ha chai n o f causally linked event s to th e rea l beginning . This i s a dramatic ,pathetic scene , a s th e ol d pries t Chryse s trie s to ranso m hi s daughte r an dAgamemnon cruelly rejects him. The narrator waste s no time with explana -tions. Instead we are rapidly placed in a situation that encapsulates much ofthe experience of the whole epic . The hearer must sympathise with Chryses ,yet the plague that answers his prayer is horrifying." Fro m the start, Homershows hi s power an d unpredictability , in the vision of Apollo's descent 'lik enight', and the od d detai l that th e plague first attacks th e mules and dogs.Homer i s not a realistic author (o n his hat-Hpfipld , grisl y though it is. nobodydies slowly) . Ye t h e ofte n achieve s powerfu l realisti c effect s b y includingprecise-looking details, and powerfu l emotional effect s b y moving trornTlTe~heroes t o a broade r worl d o f women, slaves , even animals . Famou s examT "pies are Hector's little son,Trightened by his father's helmet (6.466-71), andOdysseus' faithfu l do g

However, many aspects of Homeric techniqu e rely on audience familiaritywith the generic rules. Everyone understood that tjioopanls^oljt^pe^scenes ^mark meaning . IZ Wher e th e poe t meticulousl y describes a sacrifice , socia lorder i s secure. When th e narrato r carefull y describe s how th e sacrific e a tPylos is organised (111.4-9) , the audience knows that thi s city is prospering.The poe t neve r describe s the sacrifice s o f Penelope' s suitors , becaus e their

10 Pag e (1973) . " It is thus a parallel for Achilles' anger ; see Rabel (1997 ) 37-56.11 Se e Clark i n this volume, pp. 134-6 .

feasting doe s no t expres s prope r order , bu t corrupt s it.' 3 Whe n Odysseus 'companions slaughte r the Cattl e o f th e Sun , thei r attemp t t o conduc t th esacrilege a s a sacrific e i s both patheti c an d frightenin g (xn . 353-65). I n th eIliad, th e poe t extensivel y describes the Greeks ' retur n o f Chrysei s to he rfather, especiall y th e sacrificia l ritua l (1.430-87) . Thi s re-establishmen t oforder stand s i n contrast t o the disruption that wil l soon aris e again.

Repetition with variation is the poet's most important method o f pointingto meaning . At a general level, the Odvssev i s organised aroun d th e hero' srepeated arriva l on a n islan d where h e confront s bot h hostil e me n an d apotentially dangerou s woman. 74 Th e mai n plo t o f th e Odyssey follow s afamiliar folk-tal e pattern : th e hero , absen t so long that h e is assumed to bedead, return s in disguise just in time to preven t his wife's remarriage.15 Th epoet expand s the basic story of the disguised hero in a number of ways. TheIthacan sectio n o f the Odyssey develop s through variant s on th e them e ofthe begga r wel l o r badl y treated . The beggar' s reception b y the swineherdEumaeus gives the poet ample opportunit y t o develop the theme. There ar ethree attack s b y suitors , an d insult s fro m th e paire d Melanthiu s an d hi ssister Melantho. 16 A n entir e episode i s built around th e suitors ' stagin g ofa fight between th e establishe d local beggar , Iros, and th e ne w beggar . Thefight sustains the stor y b y providing the disguise d Odysseus with a right t oremain i n the house , despite th e suitors ' hostility . Thematically it offer s th esuitors ye t anothe r warnin g tha t th e ol d ma n i s more tha n h e seems , an ddisplays their ba d behaviour . More abstractly , it offer s almos t a parody o fOdysseus' final battle with the suitors - a mock-epic would turn the fight toregain contro l o f one's home an d kingdo m int o a nstfigh t whos e priz e i s asausage. Homer als o parodie s Odysseus ' wandering s in those o f Menelaus :Odysseus hide s his men unde r shee p i n orde r t o escap e th e Cyclops ' cave,while Menelaus , in order t o catc h Proteus , hide s his men unde r seal-skins,and emphasises how badl y they smell (iv. 435-48). The poet varie s the samethemes, allowing the audience to draws its conclusions through compariso nand contrast .

Homer's listeners knew how to pay attention to significant variation. Theyknew other rules , too. Home r rarel y presents simultaneous actions, bu t putsevents in sequence , even when th e resul t is unrealistic.17 jVtanv storie s toldby characters are compressed an d are told through 'rin g composition': theystart injhe middle , go hack in rimpj and the n g o forward agai n (xx.66-y8) .The audienc e knew, however , tha t suc h storie s woul d reflec t o n th e main

13 Sai d (1979) . M Loude n (1999) . I 5 Holsche r (1989) 46-55.16 O n repetition s i n the Odyssey, se e Fenik (1974 ) 173-232. .17 'Zielinski' s rule' ; see Krischer (1971 ) 91-129.

48 49

RUTH S C ODE L The story-teller and hi s audience

action, and could look for their meanings without worrying too much abou ttheir internal coherence.1" Everyone knew that a digression marks the siicance o f the main action . Whe n Penelop e fetches Odysseus' bow , the poe tcarefully explain s ho w Odysseu s acquire d thi s bo w (xxi . 13-38). The stor yitself ha s broa d themati c relevance, with Heracles ' violatio n of the law s ofhospitality and Odysseus ' unfulfille d friendshi p with Iphitus, but i t is told a tthis moment because the poet has just revealed that the bow is 'the beginningof slaughter ' (xxi.4) . Th e narrato r move s awa y fro m th e mai n actio n pre -cisely at momentou s point s i n that action. 19 Th e bow , lik e other importan tobjects, is not introduce d i n advance. In modern narrative , if the hero's scaris to b e significant in the plot , th e sca r need s t o b e mentioned wel l befor eit serve s it s important function . Introducin g suc h narrativ e elements whe nneeded is easier for both poe t and audience .

Such technique s ar e foreign to moder n readers . Sometime s the narrativepreparation seem s ou t o f proportion t o th e outcome . Bot h Nausica a an dAthena lea d Odysseu s t o thin k tha t i t i s very important tha t Quee n Aret efavour hi m whe n h e supplicate s th e Phaeacians , ye t sh e initiall y takes n opart. Late r sh e asks hi m hi s identity, an d especiall y where h e obtained hi sclothes (vn . 2.37-9); thi s i s surel y a n importan t test , bu t i t i s brie f com -pared t o th e preparation . Stil l later , sh e take s th e lea d i n solicitin g mor egifts fo r Odysseus (xi . 336-4 i).zo The theme of Odysseus' possibl e marriag eto Nausica a i s richly developed. Ye t the en d o f this theme , whe n Odysseu ssays farewel l t o Nausicaa (¥111.457-68) , seems truncated, thoug h touching .Again, Telemachus meets on his way home the prophet Theoclymenus, wh oseeks his help fleein g th e famil y o f a man h e has killed (xv.z2.3-8i) . Whe nTelemachus reache s Ithaca , h e plans to sen d Theoclymenus t o sta y with afriend, bu t decide s that , despit e th e difficulties , h e want s hi m i n hi s ow nhouse, afte r Theoclymenu s interprets a bird-sign favourably for Telemachus(xv. 508-46). Yet all this preparatio n conclude s i n Theoclymenus' givin g aprediction o f Odysseus' retur n to Penelope - sh e does no t believe it - anddelivering an eerie prophetic visio n to the suitors (xvn . 151-61, xx. 345-72).Thereupon Theoclymenu s disappear s from the story/1

The audience could fit these characters int o familia r narrativ e types - thepowerfuLjiangerous queen ; the possible bride; the prophet ignored . The poeTdoes no t nee d t o emphasis e an expectation fulfille d o r overturnedJHearersmay hav e though t tha t th e prophec y t o Penelop e fulfille d Theoclymenus '

1 Frequentl y such stories allow differing interpretations; Alden (2000) is useful bu t too insisten ton a single , 'correct ' interpretation . On inventio n in such stories , se e Willcock (1964 ) an dAndersen (1990) ; on audience competence, Scode l (2.002) 62-4.

' Austi n (1966). 2 0 Feni k (1974) 105-30 . 2 I Se e de Jong (2001) 372-3.

5°

function. S o his ecstati c prophec y wa s a surprise , lik e Arete's interventio n wit h more gifts. "

The poet ofte n manipulate s the audience through tricky preparation. Th ereader mus t lear n fha t disappointe d narrativ e expectation s ofte n poin t t oevents later . Fo r example , Poiydama s warn s Hecto r agams F taking horse sacross th e ditc h i n attacking th e Achaea n camp . Polydamas ' warning s ar ecrucial to the narrative progression o f the poem. Hector listen s this time, buthe is scornful when Polydama s tell s him of a hostile bird-omen. H e acceptsPolydamas' advice once more, but rejects his warning not to keep the Trojansin the field after Achilles returns to battle (12.60-79; 11.2.10-50; 13.725-53;18.249-309). The bird-omen actuall y predicts onl y the long-term outcome ,and Hector's response has no immediate consequence. It prepares for his last,fatal rejectio n of Polydamas' advice . Asius rejects Polydamas' advice abou tthe horses, an d is killed - bu t his failure to heed Polydama s i s irrelevant tohis death. On the other hand, the Trojans late r take their horses across theditch, an d th e outcom e i s disastrou s (16.367-93) . Circ e warn s Odysseu sthat an y attemp t t o figh t Scyll a i s futile , bu t h e forgets , an d prepare s fo rbattle (xn . 116-36, 226-30) . Thi s actio n make s n o difference , bu t remind sthe audience of how difficult Odysseu s finds it not to fight when attacke d -precisely the challenge he will face i n disguise at home. Event s that seem tohave littl e point are oftensmaller-scale version s o f later, crucial moments.'

The narrator ca n also be tricky about characterisation. H e clearly defines 'what kin d o f peopl e th e character s are , and invite s the audienc e to imag -ine that the y havepsychological complexity. He then leaves many details ofmotivation opaque , s o that the audienc e mus t infe r o r gues s (especiall y intheOdyss^yJJiL^hy does Odysseu s as k to hav e his feet washe d b y an oldwoman, when this request leads to the dangerous recognition by Eurycleia?14

What i s going throug h Penelope' s min d whe n sh e appears befor e the suit -ors?15 The narrator i s omniscient, bu t sometimes sting y with his knowledge .

^At the sam e time , th e narrato r invite s the audienc e to fee l broa d sympa -thies with hi s characters/The Iliad direct s th e audience t o pit y the irojan sboth b y showing th e Trojan s i n both privat e an d politica l settings , a s wellas o n th e field , an d b y havin g Zeu s express hi s pit y fo r the m eve n a s h eacquiesces in Troy's destruction . Ther e i s reason t o think that this was not afeature o f the older tradition: ther e are few regular epithets for the Trojans ,

22 On e might also compare the Odyssey's re-us e of props, discusse d by Lowe (2000) 149-50.2' Griffi n (1980 ) 50-80.24 Kohnke n (1991 ) suggest s tha t Odysseus assumes that Eurynome , who i s close to Penelop e

but not to Odysseus , will perform the task.25 Se e Murnaghan (1995 ) 70-1. For bibliography on this scene, see Byre (1988) , Katz (1991) ,

78-93.

R U T H S C O D E L

their hostil e epithet s ('war-loving' ) see m underutilised , and th e formulai clanguage fo r bein g 'i n Troy ' o r comin g 'fro m Troy ' i s less developed tha nthat fo r going 'toward Troy'/6 The older tradition probably made the Tro-jans bad guys; Homer, i n contrast, see s them a s flawed, unable to overcom ethe corruptio n o f som e o f thei r leaders , an d perhap s justl y doomed , bu tsympathetic nonetheless. The Homeri c epic s show a n astonishin g range ofsympathy. Even the Odyssey, whic h make s it clear that th e suitor s deserveto die, invites pity for a few of them. The poet has a habi t o f momentaril yshifting th e centre of attention to a minor figure. When Briseis , for example ,is taken awa y from Achilles ' hut, the narrato r tell s us that sh e is unwilling(1.348): just for an instant , the pawn i s a person, an d w e are reminded tha tshe could have a story too (sh e tells it at 19.286-300) .

The narrato r occasionall y adapt s emotionall y coloured languag e from acharacter. I n th e extrem e case , Nausicaa' s mule s eat 'honey-sweet ' grass .When mora l judgment s appear i n suc h passages , i t i s impossible t o kno wexactly whose the y are. Agamemnon convince s Menelaus no t t o spar e thelives o f an y Trojans , 'persuadin g hi m i n accordanc e wit h ho w i t shoul dbe' (6.62) : this i s Menelaus' reaction , bu t b y giving his voice to Menelaus 'feelings, th e poe t hint s tha t fo r Menelaus , th e victi m o f Troja n outrage ,this reactio n i s appropriate. Zeu s wait s fo r Hecto r t o fir e a Gree k shi p asthe fulfilmen t o f Thetis ' 'excessive ' praye r (15.598) , invitin g the hearer' sagreement. When Achille s 'cruelly' sacrifices Trojan prisoners on Patroclus 'pyre, the poet almos t merges their viewpoint with his own. The technique issurprisingly modern.z?

This sympathy for the characters i s central to Homeric narrativ e tension .Perhaps th e mos t commo n misconceptio n abou t traditiona l storie s i s that_they do not allow for snsppngp Thi c js not true - a good story-teller can createsuspense even when the audience knows the outcome.;:8 In Homeric epic , thesituation i s especially complicated, sinc e many details of a traditional stor ycould vary among different versions . So the audience could never know justhow the end would b e reached. The poet carefull y keeps the audience awareof how the plot wil l turn ou t i n general, but uncertain about specifics, com-binmg_exl£asiye foreshadowin g o f event s with misdirectio n abou t oth"er ZReliable prophecies occur, but they are limited and imprecise. zy Besid e themappear human guesses about the future, sometime s right and often not. The_audience already knows som e o f what musthappen , but can stil l be drawnyno action rha t iclids th e 'wrun g way'.'The poet mates the threat that theTrojans will burn the Greeks ' ships real.30

i6 Sal e (1987) 21-50 ; (1994) 5-9 . Z 7 d e Jong (1987) . i 8 Gerri g (1989) .29 Schadewald t (1966 ) zo-ir , no n . 3, 140. 3 ° Morriso n (1992!:)) .

The story-telle r and hi s audience

The audience , wh o know s tha t Tro y wil l fall , ca n shar e Hector's antici -pation o f the catastrophe , an d b e pained b y his blindness when hi s successmakes him optimistic . The combination of foreshadowing and misdirectioncan hav e powerfu l themati c force . At th e beginnin g o f th e Iliad, Zeu s i sunwilling to yiel d t o Thetis ' ple a t o honou r Achilles , because Hera wil l beannoyed. Ye t in ange r agains t Hera (8.469-77) , h e predict s tha t Patrocluswill enter battle, as is fated, and later he predicts Patroclus' death (15.59-71).Patroclus is a 'fool' a t 16.46-7 when he pleads to enter battle, where he willdie. Yet the audience knows tha t Patroclu s cannot know what wil l happen.Even fo r the audience , the Pla n of Zeus in response t o Theti s a t first seemsto b e the controllin g structur e o f the plot . However, i t graduall y becomesclear that Zeus has more complex plans , and that Achilles , though closer tothe gods than othe r mortals , i s still fa r from bein g in charge. The poe t doe snot elucidat e when o r why Zeus devise d this way o f making the Iliad-plot,with it s Greek defeat , conform to the overall outline of the tradition, whichrequires tha t th e Trojan s lose . Thi s ver y ambiguity contributes powerfull yto the tragic effect .

The Odyssey work s somewha t differently. 31 Her e th e poe t repeatedl ymakes i t clea r tha t Odysseu s wil l b e successful : Athen a wil l no t le t hi mdown. However , i n the Ithaca n books , th e audienc e is not tol d wher e th eplot i s going except i n genera l terms . Odysseus ' actua l pla n doe s no t eve nbegin to appea r unti l Penelope announces her intention of holding the bow-contest (xix.571-81). Instead he plans a simple surprise attack. By not tellingthe audience too muc h about Odysseus ' plans , and emphasising instead hisstruggles to control hi s emotions, the narrator bot h keeps the audience won-dering what wil l happen and show s Odysseu s as a brilliant improviser.37

Imbalance this misdirection, there are firm narrative structures. The Iliadis organised around scenes of pleading: Chryses for his daughter, the airiEalTsadors fo r Achilles ' return t o battle , Priam for Hector' s body. In Odysseus'narrative of his wanderings, the adventures are in groups of three, one in eachgroup mor e elaborate d tha n th e others (Cyclops , Circe/Underworld, Cattl e^>t th e Sun) . There ar e thre e dominan t danger s i n th e Wanderings : bein geaten, forgetting one's return , and bringing disaster on oneself through lac kof self-control . One episod e i n each group emphasises each o f the dangers ,and the three elaborated sections each develop a ditterent one.33

Ihis pointed orde r i s obviou s to th e moder n reader , bu t the epics them-selves ten d t o den y it . Homeri c poetic s sharpl y distinguis h poeti c story -telling, which offers an uncontaminated, disinterested truth directly provided

31 O n exposition , see Sternberg (1978 ) 56-128 .31 Olso n (1995 ) 145-8 . « Mos t (1989!-)) .

53

R U T H S C O D E L

by the Muses, from the story-telling of everyday life, where the teller selectsdetails to meet his audience's needs or to make a point. By placing the sourceof it s authority outside th e socia l world, Homeric epi c gives itself roo m t omanoeuvre. This breathin g room i s both politica l and a matter o f practica lnarrative. Ami d differen t version s of stories , th e Mus e allow s th e poe t t orecombine familiar element s in new ways.

By stressing some detail s and ignorin g others, a story-telle r can impose^amoral o n hi s tale. However , a telling tha t i s directed towards a particularmessage lacks the impartiality that the tradition identifies with truth. Home rassociates trut h wit h th e catalogu e o r simpl e chronological narrative , an dthe poems seem almost uneas y with thei r ow n chronologica l an d narrativecomplexity.34 I n the Iliad, incident s are simpl y placed in th e nint h yea r ofthe war , a s i f they belonge d there . Th e Odyssey ha s it s her o tel l the mos tfantastic par t o f it s story : hi s tal e i s reliable , bu t i t als o serve s both a s adefence of Odysseus' failure to sav e his men, an d as a disguised sermo n o ngood hospitality. Character s summaris e events and tel l stories about earlie rheroes, but also tell about antecedents of the story itself, allowing the poet toframe his narrative without openly abandoning a straightforward movemen tthrough tim e or pointin g a moral . The Odyssey use s the paralle l stojies ofNestor, Menelaus, the lesser Aiax and especially Agamemnon both to_createsuspense about Odysseus ' stor y and to direct tbp alienee's judgement - butnot i n the narrator' s ow n voice . Similarly, the poet uses characters' guesse sabout th e future a s well as authoritative prophecies t o extend the narrativeto events beyond its conclusion, such as Achilles' death and the fall of Troy inthe Iliad. Although he directs the audience's sympathies and judgements, hedoes not force a single interpretation, and his guidance is usually unobtrusive.

The narrator als o moderates tendencies tp_be overly schematic. The expe-rience of hearing the story is not a s neat as a chart o f Odysseus' adventures.The Underworl d i s subordinate t o Circ e an d it s dangers ar e not thesam eas those o f the othe r adventures . Sometime s Odysseu s i s self-controlled i ncontrast t o his men, especially on Thrinacia, wher e they perish because theyeat the cattle, but he survives because he does not. Odysseus cannot convincehis men to take their plunder from the Cicones and fle e (1x43-4) . Yet in theCyclops episode, thi s pattern i s reversed: the companions unsuccessfull y tr yto convinc e Odysseu s t o stea l som e foo d an d flee (ix. 2.2.4-9). The y tr y t ostop him from boastin g afterwards (ix.494-500) , and they remind him thathe has stayed to o long with Circe (x.47i-4).

Though h e pretends to be a neutral reporter, Homer manages his materialruthlessly. H e summarises : 'a s lon g a s Hector wa s alive , and Achille s was

34 Finkelber g (1998) .

54

The story-telle r and hi s audience

angry, and the city of lord Priam was unsacked . . . but when all the best ofthe Trojan s were dead , an d o f Argives some ha d bee n killed , while other ssurvived, an d Priam' s cit y wa s sacke d i n th e tent h year , an d th e Argivessailed to thei r dea r home ' (12.10-16). Such a passage presupposes that th eaudience know s th e large r story , bu t i t als o ask s the m t o forge t al l tha thappened betwee n Hector' s deat h an d th e fal l o f Troy , s o tha t the y ma yfeel th e patho s i n equatin g Hector' s deat h wit h Troy' s end . Th e scop e ofHomer's narratives gives them immense authority. They reinvent their ow nantecedents and sequels . Even for modern readers , thei r claims are hard t oresist.

FURTHER READIN G

For th e applicatio n o f structuralis t narratology t o Homer , th e essentia l works ar ede Jong (1987 ) and (2001) . The earlier , Narrators and Focalizers, is concerned espe-cially with who speaks and whose experience filter s the narrative, whil e the narrativ ecommentary addresses a variety of questions, including focalisation, type-scenes, thetreatment o f tim e an d characterisation . Als o helpfu l fro m th e structuralis t sid e isRichardson (1990) . For Homer' s technique s for manipulating his audience for sus-pense, se e Morrison (i99zb) , an d Olso n (1995) , an d fo r th e plo t developmen t a sthe audience follows the early books of the Odyssey, Sternber g (1978). Lowe (2000)looks at the plotting of both epics; this and Sternberg are especially interesting becausethey study Homer i n wider context s o f Western fiction. Very valuable on narrativepattern an d the technique of repetition with variation is Fenik (1974). Danek (1998)discusses every passage in the Odyssey tha t implie s another version of the tale or anoutside source, and has rich bibliography. 'Originality' of narrative material in Homeris extremely controversial; see Scodel (2002) and L . Edmunds, 'Myth in Homer', inMorris an d Powel l (1997 ) 415-41. Two older, general books o n Homeric narrativemethods that ar e very much worth readin g are Bassett (1938) (reprinte d 2003), andthe insightful Roth e (1910) (neglected, probably in part because of its Gothic script).

55