Table of Content
But the homecoming is not so easy, for they have to struggle with their fate and the wrath of the Olympian gods they incurred. This is greater so for Odysseus, the greek warrior from Ithaca who played a key role in the Trojan War. His fate assures his return but his sudden incurring the wrath of Poseidon makes that returning almost perilous. Odysseus faces many adventures on his journey home which tests his strength and courage, and on his return, finds his household in greater calamity. It is this tale of Odysseus that Homer recounts in The Odyssey.
For example, arriving at the island where Helios kept his divine cattle, followed by the starving crew devouring that cattle, the original text described Helios’ reaction to the passing events . The graphic novel omits these details and only displays the main character’s story side . At the same time, the original’s six-day period of the crew feasting on the divine cattle only took a few moments in Hinds’ adaptation. The alterations can be considered to have taken place to make the plot move faster to keep the reader engaged.
History
The Odyssey and the Iliad formed the basis of education for members of ancient Mediterranean society. That curriculum was adopted by Western humanists, meaning the text was so much a part of the cultural fabric that it became irrelevant whether an individual had read it. As such, the influence of the Odyssey has reverberated through over a millennium of writing. The poem topped a poll of experts by BBC Culture to find literature's most enduring narrative. It is widely regarded by western literary critics as a timeless classic and remains one of the oldest works of extant literature commonly read by Western audiences.
Since I've only read the Fagles translation from the mid-90s, I can only judge that one, but Fagles is definitely a translation I'd recommend. It's straight to the point, quite modern in tone and not at all flowery or "lyrical". Other renown translators are Lattimore, Pope (even though that's an OOOOLD one), Graves and Fitzgerald. Emily Wilson is the first woman to translate the epic into English and her new translation (it's from 2018, I think?) has a feminist twist, so that might be up your alley. To call Homer's book simply "a preparation" for Joyce's work is now not only unfair, but also absurd to me. However, I'm glad that I finally read it, whatever the reason behind it was.
Full Book Summary
Afterward, Odysseus and his men landed on a lush, uninhabited island near the land of the Cyclopes. The men entered the cave of Polyphemus, where they found all the cheeses and meat they desired. Upon returning to his cave, Polyphemus sealed the entrance with a massive boulder and proceeded to eat Odysseus' men. Odysseus devised an escape plan in which he, identifying himself as "Nobody," plied Polyphemus with wine and blinded him with a wooden stake.
These are significant because a "correct" version of the poems had to be performed, indicating that a particular version of the text had become canonised. Also, during Odysseus' journey, he encounters many beings that are close to the gods. These encounters are useful in understanding that Odysseus is in a world beyond man and that influences the fact he cannot return home. These beings that are close to the gods include the Phaeacians who lived near the Cyclopes, whose king, Alcinous, is the great-grandson of the king of the giants, Eurymedon, and the grandson of Poseidon.
Preview — Homer's Odyssey
Odysseus asks the blind singer Demodocus to tell the story of the Trojan Horse, a stratagem in which Odysseus had played a leading role. Unable to hide his emotion as he relives this episode, Odysseus at last reveals his identity. That night, Athena, disguised as Telemachus, finds a ship and crew for the true prince. The next morning, Telemachus calls an assembly of citizens of Ithaca to discuss what should be done with the insolent suitors, who then scoff at Telemachus.
Given widespread illiteracy, the poem was performed by an aoidos or rhapsode and was more likely to be heard than read. Odysseus reveals himself to the entire palace and reunites with his loving Penelope. He travels to the outskirts of Ithaca to see his aging father, Laertes.
Penelope, meanwhile, is, even after a number of years, and not knowing whether her husband is alive or dead, still resisting the suitors who have almost taken over her house. In fact, she even plays a trick on them, promising to take a new husband only after she has finished weaving a shroud, while unpicking it each night to make sure that she never does. The beautiful nymph Calypso, possessed by love for him, has imprisoned him on her island, Ogygia. He longs to return to his wife and son, but he has no ship or crew to help him escape. While the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus debate Odysseus’s future, Athena, Odysseus’s strongest supporter among the gods, resolves to help Telemachus. Disguised as a friend of the prince’s grandfather, Laertes, she convinces the prince to call a meeting of the assembly at which he reproaches the suitors.
Like the palace of Versailles of Louis XIV, keeping someone as a guest was a way to keep an eye on them and to provide camaraderie and mutual reliance amongst the fractitious ruling class. Since the story turns on whims instead of heroic ideals, it is much less focused than the Iliad, meandering from here to there in a series of unconnected vignettes drawn from the mythic tradition. Like The Bible, it is a combination of stories, but without a philosophical focus. I signed up for a reading project with an anthropology professor.
I recreated his route as a Google map here, with notes on each of the stops. I also wrote summaries of each book of the Odyssey for a book club discussion; I've pasted them in the comments thread below, if you're interested. He attacked Poseidon's Giant son, Polyphemus, and then cursed Poseidon himself as well, thus committing hubris. This is exactly why it took him 20 years to get back to his kingdom. However, he was the favourite of Athena because of his ingenious mind. That is not to say that he rebelled on purpose, he just committed hubris.
Until the day I found him floating along the surface of the scummy water I’d forgotten to clean. It seemed, from the look of things, that he’d been unable to breathe and, maybe, just maybe, he had drowned in his own filth. Ten years have passed since the fall of Troy, and the Greek hero Odysseus still has not returned to his kingdom in Ithaca. A large and rowdy mob of suitors who have overrun Odysseus’s palace and pillaged his land continue to court his wife, Penelope.
Regardless, I found this book more entertaining pound for pound than the Iliad or the Aeneid and I hope you will too. Its language is not as elevated as Lattimore; it's still very eloquent and poetic, but in a very readable and fluid way. It doesn't make the poem too difficult or incomprehensive, but I still like the beauty and lyricism that it provides. Its rhythm is more noticeable than Wilson's attempted iambic pentameter, and on a few occasions , it actually rhymes.
I was disappointed by how little effort was put into his time with Calypso, and adored his time with Circe. (If you haven’t read Madeline Miller’s “Circe,” and you enjoy mythology, please do). And so, our decision made, we set off through the snow in the direction of home, following the route the bus would have taken.
Herodotus estimates that Homer lived 400 years before his own time, which would place him at around 850 BCE, while other ancient sources claim that he lived much nearer to the supposed time of the Trojan War, in the early 12th century BCE. Most modern researchers place Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BCE. As for the story, it’s full of action and imagination, fun characters and fantastical creatures. I especially enjoyed Odysseus’ fanciful encounters and challenges with these creatures, with the underworld, and with the goddesses.
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