The poem of Odysseus is interesting because... Characteristics of heroes based on Homer's Odyssey
I. Trotsky
The Odyssey is a Greek epic poem, along with the Iliad, attributed to Homer. Being completed later than the Iliad, "O." adjoins the earlier epic, but does not constitute a direct continuation of the Iliad. Theme of "Odyssey" - wanderings cunning Odysseus, king of Ithaca, returning from the Trojan campaign; in separate references there are episodes of the saga, the time of which coincided with the period between the action of the Iliad and the action of the Odyssey. Like the Iliad, O. is an epic of the era of the formation of the ancient socio-economic formation and expresses the ideology of the ancient Ionian military-landowning aristocracy, which degenerated into a trade and slave-owning plutocracy. This process of degeneration left a greater imprint on the Odyssey than on the Iliad, since by the time of the creation of O. he has already advanced further. Military-“feudal” ideology gave way to glorification cultural life, and about." The ethical deepening of Greek religion, which accompanied the class struggle of the 7th-6th centuries, had already touched upon. In accordance with this "O." creates a much less archaic cultural background for the age of heroes than the Iliad, reflecting quite closely the present: the time of the fall of royal power in Greek communities and the initial periods of the development of Ionian trade and navigation. Most researchers attribute the time of registration to “O.” to the 7th century BC and most likely - by the second half of this century. The “cunning” and “long-suffering” Odysseus is already a hero of a completely different type than the heroes of the “Iliad”; the field of poetic vision is expanded by increased interest in foreign lands, in the life of small people, in the psychology of women; attitude "O." not without even a touch of sentimentality.
While the Iliad is built on the legends of the heroic saga, in O. The material that predominates is everyday life and fairy tales, essentially unrelated to the heroic saga. The text of “O.”, like the text of the Iliad, came to us in the edition of Alexandrian philologists and was divided by them into 24 books.
Plot outline
Action "O." dated to the 10th year after the fall of Troy. Odysseus languishes on the island of Ogygia, forcibly held by the nymph Calypso; At this time, in Ithaca, numerous suitors are wooing his wife Penelope, feasting in his house and squandering his wealth. By decision of the council of gods, Athena, who patronizes Odysseus, goes to Ithaca and encourages the young Odysseus’ son Telemachus to go to Pylos and Sparta to ask about the fate of his father (Book I). With the help of Athena, Telemachus (who tried in vain to remove suitors from his house) secretly leaves Ithaca for Pylos (Book II). The elderly king of Pylos, Nestor, informs Telemachus of information about some Achaean leaders, but for further information he sends him to Sparta to Menelaus (Book III). Welcomed by Menelaus and Helen, Telemachus learns that Odysseus is being held captive by Calypso. Meanwhile, the suitors, frightened by the departure of Telemachus, set up an ambush to destroy him on his return journey (Book IV). From Book V, a new line of storytelling begins: the gods send Hermes to Calypso with the order to release Odysseus, who sets sail on a raft. Having miraculously escaped from a storm raised by his hostile Poseidon, Odysseus swims to the shore of the island of Sharia, where happy people live - the Phaeacians, sailors with fabulously fast ships. The meeting of Odysseus on the shore with Nausicaa, the daughter of the king of the Phaeacians Alcinous, forms the content of book VI, rich in idyllic moments. Alcinous receives the wanderer in his luxurious palace (Book VII) and arranges a feast and games in his honor, where the blind singer Demodocus sings about the exploits of Odysseus (Book VIII), who finally reveals his name and tells about his adventures. Stories (“apologists”) of Odysseus: Odysseus visited the country of lotus eaters who eat lotuses, where everyone who tastes the lotus forgets about their homeland; the cannibal giant, the cyclops Polyphemus, devoured several of Odysseus’s comrades in his cave, but Odysseus drugged and blinded the cyclops and escaped with his other comrades from the cave under the wool of rams; for this, Polyphemus called upon Odysseus the wrath of his father Poseidon (Book IX). The god of the winds, Aeolus, favorably handed Odysseus a fur with the winds tied in it, but not far from his homeland, Odysseus’s companions untied the fur, and the storm again threw them into the sea. The cannibal Laestrygonians destroyed all of Odysseus's ships, except one, which landed on the island of the sorceress Kirke (Circe), who turned Odysseus's companions into pigs; Having overcome the spell with the help of Hermes, Odysseus was the husband of Kirke (Book X) for a year. He went down to the underworld to question the soothsayer Tiresias and talked with the shadows of his mother and dead friends (book. XI); sailed past the Sirens, who lure sailors with magical singing and destroy them; drove between the cliffs where the monsters Skilla and Charybdis live. On the island of the sun god Helios, Odysseus's companions killed the god's bulls, and Zeus sent a storm that destroyed Odysseus's ship with all his companions; Odysseus sailed to the island of Calypso (Book XII). The Phaeacians, having given Odysseus a gift, take him to his homeland, and the angry Poseidon turns their ship into a cliff for this. Turned by Athena into an old beggar, Odysseus goes to the faithful swineherd Eumaeus (Book XIII). Stay with Eumaeus (Book XIV) - an idyllic genre picture. Returning from Sparta, Telemachus safely avoids the ambush of the suitors (Book XV) and meets with Odysseus at Eumaeus, who reveals himself to his son. Odysseus returns to his home in the form of a beggar, being insulted by suitors and servants (Books XVII-XVIII), and makes preparations for revenge. Only the old nanny Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus by the scar on his leg (Book XIX). Evil omens hold back the suitors who intend to destroy the stranger (book XX). Penelope promises her hand to the one who, bending Odysseus's bow, shoots an arrow through 12 rings. The beggar stranger alone carries out Penelope's task (Book XXI), kills the suitors by revealing himself to them, and executes the servants who betrayed him (Book XXII). Penelope finally recognizes Odysseus, who tells her the alcove secret known only to the two of them (Book XXIII). The poem ends with scenes of the arrival of the souls of the suitors in the underworld, the meeting of Odysseus with his father Laertes, and the conclusion of peace between Odysseus and the relatives of the murdered (Book XXIV).
Composition
"ABOUT." built on very archaic material. The hero Odysseus (among the Etruscans Uthsta, lat. Ulixes) is an ancient, apparently still “pre-Greek” figure with a name somewhat Hellenized by folk etymology. The plot of a husband returning unrecognized to his homeland after long wanderings and ending up at his wife’s wedding is one of the most widespread folklore stories, as well as the “son going in search of his father” plot. Almost all episodes of Odysseus's wanderings have numerous fairy-tale parallels. The very form of the story in the first person, used for the stories about the wanderings of Odysseus, is traditional in this genre (folklore of seafarers) and is known from Egyptian literature of the beginning of the 2nd millennium (the story of the “shipwrecked man”). Comparison of stories "O." with related fairy tales, he discovers that in the Greek epic the fairy-tale material has already undergone significant processing in a rationalistic direction and many fairy-tale moments are preserved only in a rudimentary form; the fairy tale already has a tendency to turn into an everyday short story, and many moments that at previous stages of the plot belonged to the supernatural world receive a realistic-descriptive interpretation. In the stories put into the mouth of Odysseus (“apologists”), geographical observations of Ionian sailors could also be deposited, but numerous attempts to geographically localize Odysseus’s wanderings did not lead to any unambiguous and satisfactory results. The archaic nature of both the plots and the figure of Odysseus does not yet testify to the original connection between the hero and the plots, and much in “O.” may be “borrowing” from tales about other heroes, for example. from the Argonauts cycle, the popularity of which is indicated in the “O.” itself. In any case, numerous traces of previous developments of the plot remained unsmoothed out in the text of the poem.
Narration technique in "O." in general it is close to the Iliad, but the younger epic is distinguished by greater art in combining diverse material. Individual episodes are less isolated in nature and form integral groups. The “song” theory, which explained the emergence of large poems by the mechanical “stitching together” of individual “songs,” was therefore rarely applied to “O.”; Kirchhoff’s hypothesis that “O.” is much more widespread among researchers. is a reworking of several “small epics” (“Telemachy”, “Wanderings”, “Return of Odysseus”, etc.). The disadvantage of this construction is that it tears into pieces the plot of the “return of the husband,” the integrity of which is evidenced by parallel stories in the folklore of other peoples, which have a more primitive form than “O.”; a theoretically very plausible hypothesis of one or more “proto-odysseys,” i.e., poems that contained the entire plot and formed the basis of the canonical “O.”, encounters great difficulties when trying to restore the course of action of any “proto-odyssey.” The “analytical” hypothesis is opposed to the “unitary” one, which considers the poem as complete work a single author who used diverse sources; the inconsistencies and unevenness observed in the “Unitarian” stylistic processing observed in the “Odyssey” are attributed to the “author” himself, who processed ancient material into different directions in order to create a broad canvas, and due to the difficulties of combining heterogeneous material in the early stages of the epic. The ideological unity of the “O.” testifies in favor of the unitary hypothesis. And creative nature processing of the plot, but the lack of objective criteria in the available material for identifying the individual style of the Greek epic poet within the class style of the epic makes it extremely difficult to resolve the issue. Some of the “Unitarians” also support the traditional idea of a single author of the Iliad and Odyssey (Homer), considering the Odyssey only more late work Homer.
In the later fate of Homer's poems "O." played a much smaller role than the Iliad, around which ch. arr. and literary disputes about the epic poem played out (see The Iliad). Unknown in the Middle Ages and influencing European literature only through Virgil's Aeneid (the motif of the descent into the underworld), "O." aroused noticeable interest in the XV-XVI centuries. Hans Sachs dramatized it in his “The Wanderings of Ulysses,” and since the “wonderful” was an almost obligatory component of the European poem, the fairy-tale-fantastic side of “O.” It was repeatedly used by poets of this time (Boiardo, Ariosto, Spencer), until the ideology of the Catholic reaction gave preference here to the Christian miraculous element (merveilleux chrétien). But generally speaking, the morally descriptive (“ethical”, in ancient terminology, in contrast to the “pathetic” “Iliad”) character of “O.” brought it closer in the literary consciousness of modern times to the novel rather than to the epic. The comparative simplicity of Homeric morals (for example, Princess Nausicaa washing clothes), the genre-idyllic interest in the commoner (the “divine” swineherd Eumaeus), etc. - these “base” elements (bassesse) made “O.” even less acceptable than the Iliad for poetics French classicism. But the “naturalness” and “innocence” of the morals depicted in “O.” aroused the admiration of theorists of the emerging bourgeois literature XVIII century (their predecessor is Fenelon both in theoretical works and in the moralistic novel “The Adventures of Telemachus”), and the material “O.” was widely used along with the Iliad to build the theory of bourgeois epic (Goethe, Schiller, Humboldt).
Bibliography
I. Editions of the text: NauckA., HomericaCarmina, Berlin, 1874
Ludwich A., Odyssee, Lpz., 1888-1891
Monro D. and Allen T. W., Odyssee, Oxford, 1917
Van Loieuwen, 1917
Bérard V., L'Odyssée, t. I-II, P., 1924
Schwartz E., Odyssee, Munich, 1924
Wilamovitz-Möllendorff U., Die Heimkehr des Odysseus, Berlin, 1927
And Lotophagi
Soon Odysseus's flotilla sailed to an island on which many goats were grazing. The Greeks ate a hearty meal of their meat. The next day, Odysseus set off with one ship to inspect the island. It soon became clear that it was inhabited by fierce giant cyclops, each of which had only one eye in the middle of the forehead. Not knowing how to cultivate the land, the Cyclopes lived as shepherds. They had no cities, no authorities, no laws. The Cyclops lived alone - each in his own cave among the rocks. Seeing the entrance to one of these caves, Odysseus and his companions entered there, not knowing that it was the abode of the Cyclops Polyphemus, the son of the sea god Poseidon, a ferocious cannibal. The Greeks lit a fire, began to fry the little goats found in the cave and eat cheese hung on the walls in baskets.
The Destruction of Troy and the Adventures of Odysseus. Cartoons
In the evening Polyphemus suddenly appeared. He drove his herd into the cave and blocked the exit with a stone that was so huge that the Greeks had no way of moving it. Looking around, the Cyclops noticed the Hellenes. Odysseus explained to Polyphemus that he and his men were sailing home from the long Trojan War and asked for hospitality. But Polyphemus growled, grabbed Odysseus’s two companions by the legs, killed them by striking their heads to the ground and devoured them, not even leaving bones.
Odysseus in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus. Artist J. Jordaens, first half of the 17th century
Having finished his bloodthirsty feast, the Cyclops snored loudly. The Greeks could not get out of the cave, since the exit was blocked by a huge stone. Rising in the morning, Polyphemus smashed the heads of two more of Odysseus’s companions, had breakfast with them and left to graze the flock, locking the Greeks in a cave with the same stone. But while he was away, Odysseus took the trunk of a wild olive tree, sharpened its end, burned it on fire and hid it under a pile of dung. In the evening the Cyclops returned and dined on two more of Odysseus's men. Pretending to be polite, Odysseus brought Polyphemus full cup strong wine. Cyclops, who had never tried wine before, really liked this heady drink. Having emptied another cup, Polyphemus asked Odysseus his name. “My name is Nobody,” Odysseus replied. “Well, then, Nobody, as a sign of my favor, I will eat you last,” Polyphemus laughed.
The drunken Cyclops quickly fell asleep, and Odysseus and his not yet eaten comrades heated the barrel on a fire, stuck it in the giant’s only eye and began to rotate it.
Odysseus blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus. Black-figure vase from Laconica, mid-6th century. BC
Polyphemus screamed loudly. Other Cyclopes came running to his cry, asking their neighbor what had happened to him.
- No one, my friends: due to my oversight, I am dying. No one could harm me by force! - Polyphemus shouted.
“If no one,” answered the other Cyclopes, “why are you crying so much?” If you are sick, then ask your father, the god Poseidon, for help.
The Cyclopes are gone. In the morning, Polyphemus removed the stone from the entrance to the cave, stood nearby and began to let his flock out to graze. At the same time, he groped with his hands to grab the Greeks if they tried to leave. Then Odysseus tied up three rams and attached his men under their bellies, one at a time. He himself placed himself under the belly of the leader of the sheep herd, holding the wool from below with his hands.
Polyphemus, releasing the rams, felt their backs to make sure that no one was riding the animals. Cyclops did not think of putting his hands under the belly of the rams. Odysseus and his companions rode out of the cave under the rams and boarded the ship. While sailing, Odysseus shouted to Polyphemus that, having now become blind, he would no longer be able to devour the unfortunate wanderers. The enraged Polyphemus threw a huge rock into the sea, which fell in front of the ship and raised a wave that almost threw the ship back to shore. Pushing off the land with his pole, Odysseus shouted:
- Know, Cyclops, that you were blinded by the destroyer of cities, King Odysseus of Ithaca!
Flight of Odysseus from the island of Polyphemus. Artist A. Böcklin, 1896
Polyphemus prayed to his father, the god of the seas Poseidon, asking that Odysseus endure many misfortunes on his way home. The Cyclops threw another rock after the Greeks. This time she fell behind the stern of the ship, and the wave she raised carried Odysseus’s ship out to sea. Gathering the remaining ships around him, Odysseus left the island of the Cyclops. But the god Poseidon heard the request of his son Polyphemus and vowed to fulfill it.
Odysseus on the island of Aeolus
The heroes of the Odyssey soon arrived on the islands of Aeolus, the god-lord of the winds. Aeolus honored sailors for a whole month. Before they set sail for further path he handed Odysseus a fur tied with a silver thread. In this fur, Aeolus placed all the stormy winds under his control, except for the gentle western Zephyr, which was supposed to carry the ships of Odysseus towards his native Ithaca. Aeolus said that Odysseus should not untie silver thread on a sack before it sails home.
The journey became calm. Odysseus was already approaching Ithaca and could even discern the lights of the fires burning on it, but at that moment he fell asleep from extreme fatigue. Odysseus's companions, believing that Aeolus' bag contained rich gifts given to their leader, secretly untied the silver thread. The winds broke out and rushed home to Aeolus, driving Odysseus's ship ahead of them. The heroes of the Odyssey soon found themselves again on the island of Aeolus and began to ask him for help, but the angry god drove them away.
Odysseus and the Laestrygonians
For more details, see a separate article.
After leaving Aeolus, Odysseus sailed to the country of the terrible giants Laestrygonians. Like the Cyclopes, they were cannibals. Not yet knowing where they had been taken, the Greeks entered a bay with a narrow entrance, surrounded by sharp rocks, and moored at the place where the road approached the water. Odysseus himself, out of caution, did not bring his ship into the bay. He sent three people to find out what kind of island it was. Homer reports that these people met a huge maiden, who led them to the house of her father, the Laestrygonian leader Antiphatus.
Odysseus and the Laestrygonians. Wall painting from the end of the 1st century. BC
At the house, Odysseus's three companions were attacked by a crowd of giants. They ate one of them, the other two ran away. The cannibals rushing after them began throwing stones from the cliffs at the ships of Odysseus’s flotilla. All the ships standing at the edge of the land were destroyed. Having gone down to the shore, the Laestrygonians, like fish, strung the dead on stakes and carried them with them to be eaten. Odysseus barely escaped with a single ship standing outside the bay. Avoiding death, he and his comrades worked with oars as best they could.
Odysseus and the sorceress Circe
Rushing east across the sea, they soon reached the island of Ei, where the sorceress Circe, daughter of the sun god Helios, lived. On her father's side, she was the sister of the treacherous king of Colchis, Eetos, from whom the Argonauts mined the golden fleece. Like this brother of hers, like her niece Medea, Circe was skilled in witchcraft and did not like people. Odysseus's friend Eurylochus and 22 other people went to explore the island. In the center of it, in a wide clearing, they saw Circe's palace, around which wolves and lions roamed. The predators, however, did not attack the people of Eurylochus, but began to fawn over them, waving their tails. The Greeks did not know that these beasts were actually people bewitched by Circe.
Circe herself also came out to the Greeks and, smiling welcomingly, offered them a meal. Everyone agreed, except the cautious Eurylochus. He did not go to Circe’s house, but began to peek through the windows at what was happening there. The goddess set before the travelers delicious dishes with a magic potion added to them. Homer's poem reports that when the Greeks tasted it, Circe touched them with a magic wand, turned them into pigs and drove them into a pigsty with a malicious grin.
The crying Eurylochus returned to Odysseus and told about what had happened. Odysseus rushed to help his comrades. Along the way, the god Hermes appeared to him and gave him a remedy that could protect him from Circe’s witchcraft. It was a fragrant white moth flower with a black root. When Odysseus reached Circe's house, she invited him to the table. However, while eating her treat, the hero, on the advice of Hermes, smelled the magic flower all the time.
Circe hands Odysseus a cup of witchcraft potion. Painting by J.W. Waterhouse
Circe touched Odysseus with her staff with the words: “Go and roll in the corner like a pig.” But the witchcraft did not work. Odysseus jumped up and raised his sword over Circe. The sorceress began to beg for mercy, promising that she would treat Odysseus well and share his marital bed.
Odysseus and Circe. Greek vessel ca. 440 BC
Having taken an oath that Circe would not cause him any harm, Homer's hero lay down with her. He did not respond to Circe’s lovemaking until she removed her spell not only from his comrades, but also from all the sailors she had previously bewitched. Odysseus lived for a long time on the island of Circe. She gave birth to him three sons: Agria, Latina and Telegona.
Odysseus descends into the kingdom of Hades
Longing for Ithaca and his wife Penelope, Odysseus nevertheless decided to leave Circe. She advised him to first visit the underground kingdom of the dead of the god Hades and ask the shadow of the famous soothsayer Tiresias of Thebes living there about his future fate at home. Homer's poem describes how Odysseus and his companions, driven by a fair wind sent by Circe, sailed north, to the edge of the world, where a tribe of Cimmerians lives in thick fog and twilight. At the place where the underground rivers Cocytus and Phlegethon merge with the Acheron, Odysseus, on the advice of Circe, sacrificed a cow and a black ram to Hades and his wife Persephone. The souls of dead people immediately flocked to drink the sacrificial blood. On the advice of Circe, Odysseus had to drive away all the shadows with his sword until the soul of Tiresias of Thebes came to drink the blood.
The first to appear at the place of sacrifice was the shadow of Elpenor, Odysseus’s companion, who a few days ago drunkenly fell from the roof of Circe’s palace and fell to his death. Odysseus was surprised that Elpenor reached the kingdom of Hades faster than his comrades, who sailed there on a fast ship. Strictly following the words of Circe, Odysseus, overcoming his pity, drove the soul of Elpenor away from the blood of the slaughtered cow and ram. He even drove away from her the shadow of his own mother, Anticlea, who also flew to where her son stood.
Odysseus in the kingdom of Hades, surrounded by the shadows of his dead comrades
Finally Tiresias of Thebes appeared. Having drunk his fill of blood, he told Odysseus that the god Poseidon would cruelly persecute him for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus. Tiresias convinced Odysseus to do his best to keep his companions from kidnapping the bulls of the sun god Helios on the island of Trinacria (Sicily). He said that great troubles awaited Odysseus in Ithaca, but he would be able to take revenge on the thieves of his property. But even after returning to his homeland, Odysseus’s wanderings will not end. He must take a ship's oar and travel until he meets people who have never seen the sea. Where Odysseus' oar is mistaken for a shovel, his wanderings will end. There he should make a sacrifice to the propitiated Poseidon, and then return to Ithaca. Having lived there to a ripe old age, Odysseus will receive death because of the sea.
After listening to Tiresias, Odysseus finally allowed his mother to drink blood. Then the shadows of the dead wives and daughters of glorious heroes clung to her. According to Homer, Odysseus noticed among them the famous Antiope, the mother of Helen the Beautiful Leda, the wives of Theseus – Phaedra and Ariadne, as well as Eriphile - the culprit of the campaigns against Thebes of the Seven and epigones.
Odysseus also spoke with the souls of his dead comrades in Trojan War: Agamemnon, Achilles. Ajax Telamonides, who was unkind to him, did not engage in conversation and left in gloomy silence. Odysseus saw how the judge of the underworld passed sentences on the shadows of the dead Minos how to hunt Orion, Tantalus and Sisyphus suffer, and I saw the mortal soul of the great Hercules.
Before continuing to Ithaca, Odysseus returned to Circe's island. The sorceress warned the hero that he would have to swim past the island of sirens, bloodthirsty women with the body and legs of birds (some legends tell, however, that sirens had the body and tails of fish). With beautiful, enchanting singing, they lured sailors to their magical island and put them to a cruel death, tearing them into pieces. They say that the sirens were turned into birds by the goddess of love Aphrodite because these arrogant maidens did not allow anyone to take their virginity. In the meadow of their island, piles of human bones could be seen. Circe advised Odysseus to cover the ears of his men with wax so that they would not hear the sirens singing. If Odysseus himself wants to enjoy their beautiful singing, then let him order his companions to tie themselves tightly to the mast and not untie them, despite any requests.
Odysseus and the Sirens. Attic vase, ca. 480-470 BC.
Now Odysseus had to pass between two cliffs standing close in the middle of the sea waters, on which lived two disgusting monsters - Scylla and Charybdis. The huge Charybdis (“whirlpool”), the daughter of the god Poseidon, sucked up masses of water from her cliff three times a day and then spewed it out with a terrible noise. On the opposite rock lived Scylla, the daughter terrible monsters Echidna and Typhon. It was a monster with six terrible dog heads and twelve legs. Revealing the entire area with a heartbreaking screech, Scylla hung from her cliff, caught sailors passing by, broke their bones and devoured them.
Odysseus's ship between Scylla and Charybdis. Italian fresco from the 16th century
To escape from Charybdis, Odysseus directed his ship a little closer to the cliff of Scylla, which grabbed six of his companions with its six mouths. The unfortunate people, dangling in the air, stretched out their hands to Odysseus with screams, but it was no longer possible to save them.
Odysseus on the island of Helios Trinacria
Soon Trinacria (Sicily), the island of the solar god Helios, who grazed seven herds there, appeared before the eyes of the sailors. beautiful bulls and numerous flocks of sheep. Remembering the prophecies of Tiresias of Thebes, Odysseus took an oath from his comrades not to kidnap either a bull or a ram. But, according to Homer’s story, the Greeks’ stay on Trinacria was prolonged. A nasty wind blew for thirty days, food supplies were running out, and hunting and fishing yielded almost nothing. Once, when Odysseus fell asleep, his friend Eurylochus, tormented by hunger, persuaded his companions to slaughter several selected bulls, saying that in gratitude they would erect a temple to Helios in Ithaca. The sailors caught several bulls, slaughtered them and ate their fill of meat.
Waking up and learning about this, Odysseus was horrified. Helios complained to Zeus about the arbitrariness of travelers. When Odysseus' ship left Trinacria for the sea, Zeus sent a strong wind and struck the deck with lightning. The ship sank, and everyone who sailed on it, with the exception of Odysseus himself, drowned - as Tiresias of Thebes predicted in the kingdom of Hades. Odysseus somehow tied the mast and keel floating on the water with a belt and held on to them. He soon realized that the waves were carrying him to the Charybdis rock. Clinging to the roots of a fig tree growing on a cliff, he hung on them until Charybdis first swallowed the mast and keel with water, and then released them back. Grabbing the mast again and starting to row with his hands, Odysseus sailed away from the whirlpool.
Odysseus at Calypso
Nine days later he found himself at the island of Ogygia, the home of the nymph Calypso, covered with meadows of flowers and cereals. Calypso lived there in a huge cave overgrown with poplars, cypresses and wild grapes. The beautiful nymph greeted Odysseus, fed him and put him to bed with her. Soon she gave birth to twins Nausithos and Navsinoas from the navigator.
Odysseus and Calypso. Artist Jan Styka
For seven years Odysseus lived with Calypso on Ogygia. But he never stopped yearning for his native Ithaca and often spent time on the shore, looking out to sea. Finally, Zeus ordered Calypso to free Odysseus. Having learned about this, Odysseus tied the raft, said goodbye to the hospitable nymph and sailed to his homeland.
But the hero’s light ship was accidentally seen by his hater, the god Poseidon, riding across the sea on a winged chariot. Sending a huge wave onto the raft, Poseidon washed Odysseus overboard. The sailor barely swam to the surface and somehow climbed onto the raft again. Next to him, the merciful goddess Leukotea (Ino) descended from the sky in the form of a diving bird. In her beak she held a wonderful blanket, which had the property of saving those who wrapped themselves in it from death in the depths of the sea. Poseidon shook Odysseus's raft with a second wave of terrible height. Thinking that this time the hero could no longer escape, Poseidon went to his underwater palace. However, Leucothea's blanket prevented Odysseus from drowning.
Odysseus on the island of the Phaeacians
Two days later, completely weakened from the fight against the water element, he reached the island of Drepana, where the Phaeacian tribe lived. Here, on the shore, Odysseus fell into a deep sleep.
Odysseus at the court of the Phaeacian king Alcinous. Artist Francesco Hayez, 1814-1815
The next morning, Nausicaa, the daughter of the king and queen of the Phaeacians (Alcinous and Arete), came with her maids to the stream to wash clothes. After work, the girls began to play with the ball and screamed loudly when it fell into the water. This cry woke up Odysseus. Covering his nakedness with branches, he went out to the girls and with skillful speech aroused the sympathy of Nausicaä. The Tsar's daughter took him to the palace, to his father and mother. King Alcinous listened to the story of Odysseus's travels, gave him gifts and ordered him to take the hero by sea to Ithaca.
The departure of Odysseus from the land of the Phaeacians. Artist C. Lorrain, 1646
Being already near his native island, Odysseus fell asleep again. The Phaeacians who were with him did not wake up the navigator, but carried him sleeping to the shore, placing Alcinous's gifts next to him. When the Phaeacians were returning by ship to their pier, Poseidon, angry at their help to Odysseus, struck the ship with his palm and turned it and its crew into stone. He began to threaten Alcinous that he would destroy all the ports on the island of the Phaeacians, covering them with the rubble of a large mountain.
Odysseus and the suitors
Return of Odysseus to Ithaca
Waking up in Ithaca, Odysseus walked away from the seashore and met along the way the goddess Athena, who took the form of a shepherd. Not knowing that Athena was in front of him, Odysseus told her a fictitious story, calling himself a Cretan who fled his homeland because of a murder and accidentally ended up in Ithaca. Athena laughed and revealed her true form to Odysseus.
The goddess helped the hero hide the gifts of King Alcinous in the grotto and made him unrecognizable. Odysseus's skin became covered with wrinkles, his head went bald, and his clothes turned into miserable rags. In this form, Athena took him to the hut of the servant of the kings of Ithaca, the faithful old swineherd Eumaeus.
The son of Odysseus and Penelope, Telemachus had recently gone to see Odysseus’s comrade-in-arms in the Trojan War, the Spartan king Menelaus. On way back From the walls of Troy, Menelaus also underwent many adventures and misfortunes, and was even in Egypt. Telemachus asked Menelaus, who had recently returned home, if he had heard news of Odysseus anywhere.
In Ithaca everyone thought that Odysseus was dead, and 112 noble youths from this and neighboring islands, they began to brazenly court his wife, Penelope. By marrying her, each of these young men hoped to obtain the local royal throne. The suitors hated Telemachus and were going to kill him when he returned from Sparta.
The suitors, Homer says, asked Penelope to choose one of them as her husband. At first she flatly refused, saying that her husband Odysseus was undoubtedly still alive. But the young men’s persuasion was very persistent, and Penelope outwardly agreed to choose a new husband. However, she said that she would do this only after she had woven a shroud in case of the death of Odysseus' old father, Laertes. For three years Penelope sat over the shroud. Staying faithful to her husband and deceiving her suitors, she weaved during the day, and in the evening she secretly unraveled all the work done during the day. Over the course of these three years, the suitors feasted in the palace of Odysseus: they drank his wine, slaughtered and ate his cattle, and plundered his property.
Having met a warm welcome from Eumaeus, Odysseus did not yet begin to reveal his real name to him and called himself a foreign wanderer. At this time, Telemachus returned to Ithaca from Sparta. The idea of hurrying home was inspired by the goddess Athena. She brought Telemachus to the hut of Eumaeus, where his father was. During their meeting, Athena temporarily returned Odysseus to his former appearance, and the son and father recognized each other. Odysseus decided to act against the suitors by surprise and therefore did not allow Telemachus to tell anyone about who he was. Telemachus should not have even revealed his mother, Penelope, to this secret.
Once again taking on the image of a beggar tramp, Odysseus went to his house, where the suitors were feasting. Along the way, no one recognized him, and the rude goatherd Melanphius even attacked the rightful king of Ithaca with abuse. In the palace courtyard, Odysseus saw his faithful hunting dog, Argus, once strong and agile, but now dying of old age on a heap of manure. Having recognized the owner, Argus wagged his tail, moved his muzzle - and died.
Eumaeus led Odysseus into the hall where the feast of the suitors was taking place. Telemachus, who was present here, pretended that he did not know the stranger and affectionately invited him to the table. Continuing to pretend to be a beggar, Odysseus walked along the table, asking the suitors for scraps. But these greedy and arrogant young men unceremoniously drove him away. The most shameless of the suitors, Antinous, threw the bench on which he had previously placed his feet at Odysseus. The local beggar Ir, fearing that the stranger would now compete with him for the leftover food left by the suitors, began to drive Odysseus out of the hall. Trying to present himself as a brave man, Ir challenged Odysseus to a fist fight. The impudent Antinous, hearing this, laughed and promised to treat the winner of the fight with goat stomachs.
Odysseus threw off top part Rags and went to Ira. Seeing the powerful muscles of Odysseus, the beggar was terribly scared. Odysseus knocked him to the ground with the first blow of his fist. Watching the clash between the two old tramps, the suitors died of laughter. Then they continued to feast, and in the evening they went home. When there was no one left in the hall, Odysseus ordered Telemachus to remove and hide the suitors’ weapons hanging on the walls in the storeroom.
Meanwhile, Penelope, having heard about a stranger who had come to her house, called him to her and asked if he had heard news about her missing husband Odysseus. Odysseus has not yet begun to open up to her, saying only that her husband is alive and should return soon. Penelope ordered Odysseus's old nurse, Eurycleia, to wash the wanderer's feet. Having brought water, Eurycleia suddenly saw an old scar familiar to her on Odysseus’ thigh. She screamed with joy and surprise, but Odysseus put his finger to her lips, making it clear that the time had not yet come to reveal his presence to Penelope.
The maid Eurycleia washes Odysseus's feet
The next day, the newly gathered suitors began noisily demanding that Penelope make the final choice and call one of them her husband. Penelope announced that she would marry someone who was strong enough to pull her strong bow. ex-husband Odysseus and shoot from it so accurately that the arrow would fly through the holes in twelve axes. The bow in question was once given to Odysseus by Iphitus, the son of that hero Eurytus, who competed in shooting with Hercules himself. Several suitors tried to bend the bow, but were unable to. Telemachus could have done this, but Odysseus ordered him with a look to put the bow aside and took it up himself. Telemachus took his mother from the hall to the inner rooms, grabbed the bow, easily pulled it and shot accurately. The arrow he shot flew through the holes of twelve axes.
Odysseus stood with a bow and arrows at the entrance to the hall, and Telemachus stood next to him, holding a spear and sword. Having killed Antinous with the next shot, Odysseus told the suitors his true name. The suitors rushed to the walls for heavy weapons, but saw that they were not there. Most of them, however, had swords. Having exposed them, the suitors rushed at Odysseus, but he hit them with extraordinary accuracy with his arrows. Telemachus brought shields, spears and helmets from the storeroom for his father and his two faithful servants - Eumaeus and Philotius, who, recognizing the owner, stood next to him. One by one, Odysseus killed all the suitors except the herald Medon and the singer Phemius. Several palace maids were also killed, who were debauched with the suitors and helped them plunder the Odyssean property.
Massacre of the Suitors by Odysseus. From a painting by G. Schwab
Odysseus's litigation with the inhabitants of Ithaca
Homer goes on to tell how Odysseus went to Penelope, opened up to her and told her about his adventures. He also met his old father, Laertes. But in the morning, the rebels of Ithaca, relatives of Antinous and other dead suitors, approached the palace. Odysseus, Telemachus and Laertes engaged them in battle, which was stopped only by the intervention of the goddess Pallas Athena. The relatives of the murdered suitors began a legal battle with Odysseus, which was handed over to the decision of the son of the great Achilles, the Epirus king Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus decreed that Odysseus must leave Ithaca for ten years for the murders, and the heirs of the suitors must pay for this period to Telemachus for the damage caused to the royal property by the insolent men who wooed Penelope.
Odysseus's last journey and death
Later legends say that Odysseus decided to devote the years of his exile to appeasing Poseidon, who had not yet forgiven him for the murder of his son. On the advice he received, Odysseus set off to wander with an oar on his shoulder. His path lay through the years of Epirus. When the hero reached Thesprotia, far from the sea, local residents, who had never seen an oar, asked what kind of shovel he was carrying on his shoulder. Odysseus made a thanksgiving sacrifice to Poseidon and was forgiven by him. But the period of his exile from his native island has not yet expired. Not yet able to return to Ithaca, Odysseus married the queen of the Thesprots, Callidice. She bore him a son, Polypoit.
Nine years later, he inherited the Thesprotian kingdom, and Odysseus finally went to Ithaca, which was now ruled by Penelope. Telemachus left the island because Odysseus received a prediction that he would die at the hands of his own son. Death came to Odysseus, as Tiresias predicted, from across the sea - and indeed from the hand of his son, but not from Telemachus, but from Telegonus, whose son the hero betrothed with the sorceress Circe
The image itself central character reflected belonging different eras ideas about what should be, about the human ideal. The hero of an epic is always the perfection of physical and moral qualities, but if in the Iliad central characters distinguished primarily by physical strength and military talents, then Odysseus- the first hero of world literature in whom bodily perfection is combined with a high mind.
The roots of the image of Odysseus go back to ancient times. Mythological Odysseus is the great-grandson of the god Hermes, the patron of trade and thieves, from whom he inherited intelligence, dexterity, and practicality. His grandfather Autolycus is the “great oathbreaker and thief,” his parents are Laertes and Anticlea. But the poem no longer emphasizes the divine origin of the hero, although he, as is typical epic hero, a brave warrior, master of hand-to-hand combat and archery. But many people surpass him in military prowess and physical strength. Odysseus has no equal in intelligence, cunning, initiative, patience, and in the art of advice and words. In the Odyssey, for the first time, strength is forced to give way to intelligence. Intelligence itself is an ethically neutral quality. It manifests itself in Odysseus in a wide range: from selfish cunning to sublime wisdom. "Many minds" and a bright mind are the main advantages of Odysseus. Homer also depicts his will, enterprise, his greedy curiosity, interest in new lands, life, love for family, homeland, but the “godlike” Odysseus is also endowed with human weaknesses: he is arrogant, boastful, subject to momentary fear and despair.
All researchers emphasize the amazing breadth of the image of Odysseus, his openness. Odysseus, with his rush into the unknown and at the same time his desire to go home, arousing the envy of the gods, experiences the fullness of life. He is the most controversial and therefore the most modern of all the heroes. ancient epic. T. G. Malchukova lists: “Odysseus is a king, a leader, a guest, a beggar wanderer. He is peace-loving, but in other circumstances he can be cruel. He has an inventive mind, practical and contemplative, and dexterous hands, capable of any work. He is a warrior, spearman, archer, first in hand-to-hand combat, husband of the council, eloquent speaker and diplomat, sailor, helmsman, merchant, sometimes pirate, athlete, plowman, reaper, carpenter, mason, saddler."
Such completeness of disclosure of the image makes it classic in the above sense. Odysseus embodies the ancient requirement of balance, rejection of extremes. This is a holistic image presented in all life situations that may befall a man. Only Homer depicted man in all his fullness: Odysseus - wise king, loving husband and father, brave warrior, eloquent and inventive politician, brave wanderer, lover of the goddess, suffering exile, legislator, triumphant avenger, favorite of Athena. Odysseus, according to the classic of twentieth-century literature J. Joyce, is the most “rounded”, complete image in the entire history of world literature, and Joyce creates his own, modern version Odyssey is Leopold Bloom, the hero of his novel Ulysses.
It is important to emphasize that Homer’s Odysseus is the architect of his own happiness, and at the same time he rids society of arbitrariness and anarchy, restoring justice. Odysseus's successes grow out of his patience, which allows him to overcome difficult troubles and obstacles on his way home.
The Canadian scientist N. Fry speaks about wise balance in the Odyssey: “The Odyssey is the story of the adventures of a hero who safely avoided incredible dangers and returned to last moment to get his wife back and punish the villains. But the moral satisfaction experienced by the reader is based on our complete acceptance of the picture of nature, society, and law created by the author: the rightful owner returns to himself everything that rightfully belongs to him.”
The universal, archetypal meaning of the image is revealed by the words of T.G. Malchukova: “The Odyssey is a myth that is created anew at all times, and Odysseus is a prototype, an eternally repeating archetype, like Plato’s idea. Therefore, modern man is a differently dressed and named Odysseus, and life modern hero or even one episode of it is an allegory of the Odyssey.” That's why this image belongs completely unique place in subsequent literary history. Its history includes incarnations in the ancient tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides, Cicero and Seneca, in " Divine Comedy"(1307-1321) by Dante ("Hell", circle VIII), in "Troilus and Cressida" (1602) by W. Shakespeare, in the unfinished play by I.V. Goethe about Odysseus and Nausicaa and in the works of many others authors. In the 20th century, images comparable in significance to Homer's were created in the novels of the Irishman J. Joyce "Ulysses" (1922) and the Greek N. Kazantzakis "Odyssey" (1938). Various episodes of the story of Odysseus inspired artists and composers of all times , so we can say that each cultural era offers its own interpretation of the image of Odysseus, more and more distant from the Homeric epic hero.
As you know, the Odyssey belongs to the genre of epic poetry. It contains more than 12 thousand poems. Scientists claim that several centuries before the beginning of the new era, philologists from Alexandria divided it into 24 books, according to the number of letters Greek alphabet. Thus, the ancient book was a fragment of up to 1000 lines, which were placed on one papyrus scroll. Modern historians have discovered about 250 papyri, which depict parts of the Odyssey.
It is also known that Homer wrote his poems, focusing on the fact that they would be recited by rhapsodist singers, who usually performed at all kinds of folk festivals. In general, the Odyssey, together with the Iliad, should be considered a monument to an era when society moved from one system to another, eliminating the communal-tribal system and giving birth to the slave system.
Analysis of the work
“The Odyssey” is dedicated to the story of how the Greek king returns home from the war. Thanks to his skills and efforts, Troy was taken (remember the famous Trojan horse). The return was long - a whole decade, however Special attention devoted to the most recent trials on the protagonist’s path to the island of Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and son Telemachus are waiting. It is noteworthy that the woman has to resist impudent suitors who are trying to convince her of the death of the king and force her to choose a new husband. Having reached his destination, the husband takes revenge on those who encroached on his wife and kingdom.
In addition, there is a lot in the Odyssey lyrical digressions- the protagonist's memories of Troy, a story about the adventures that befell the conquerors over all the years spent on campaigns. If you look broadly, the poem describes the events of two decades. If we compare this work with another Homeric creation - “The Illiad” - then we can notice that in the work in question more attention is paid to descriptions of everyday life, as well as the adventures of the main characters.
Heroes of the poem
There are many heroes in The Odyssey: these are gods, mythological creatures, and people. For example, among the patrons of Odysseus, the goddess of wisdom Athena stands out. The antagonist and persecutor of the protagonist is Poseidon, the god of the seas. Throughout his travels, the Greek king communicates with Hermes, is captured by Circe, succumbs to the spell of the nymph Calypso, and descends into the kingdom of the dead to Hades.
The image of Odysseus itself is painted in as much detail as possible. In the poem he appears as a real hero who accomplishes great feats. Moreover, his main achievements are visible not on the battlefield, but among temptations - wizards and fairy-tale enemies. He is often resourceful and cunning, and he needs these qualities no less than honesty or decency.
Penelope is the wife of Odysseus. To maintain love for her husband and fidelity to him during his long absence, she also endures a heroic struggle. Homer makes it clear that Penelope, in her feminine way, is as smart and resourceful as her husband.
The Odyssey mixes reality and fiction. Very often mythology interferes with reality. At the same time, the poem is as realistic as possible, there are even social episodes - for example, when Odysseus acts as a master who takes care of what belongs to him. The conflicts between private and public, desire and duty come to the fore in the poem.
In conclusion, we can say that “The Odyssey” reflects not only the real journey of the protagonist in space, but also his movement within himself, the solution of various ethical and moral problems.
Odysseus is the most striking figure of the Ionian epic. This is not just a diplomat and practitioner, and certainly not just a cunning hypocrite. The practical and business inclination of his nature acquires its true significance only in connection with his selfless love for his native hearth and his waiting wife, as well as his constantly difficult fate, forcing him to continuously suffer and shed tears far from his homeland. Odysseus is primarily a sufferer. His permanent epithet in the Odyssey "long-suffering." Athena speaks with great feeling to Zeus about his constant suffering. Poseidon is constantly angry with him, and he knows this very well. If not Poseidon, then Zeus and Helios break his ship and leave him alone in the middle of the sea. His nanny wonders why the gods are constantly indignant at him, given his constant piety and submission to the will of the gods. His grandfather gave him the name precisely as “the man of divine wrath.” The motive of love for the homeland. In the 10th song of the Iliad, Odysseus is glorified in war. In the Iliad, he fights bravely and is even wounded, but Diomedes tries to keep him from fleeing and reproaches him for cowardice. Cunning, fantasy of cunning. Either he gets out of the cave under the belly of a ram, grabbing its wool, and thereby deceives the vigilance of the blind Polyphemus. Then he intoxicates the Cyclops and the cannibal and gouges out his only eye. Either he slips past the sirens, where no one has ever passed alive and well, then he makes his way into his own palace and takes possession of it. He himself speaks of his subtle cunning, and Polyphemus guessed that it was not the strength, but the cunning of Odysseus that destroyed him. Odysseus is a complete adventure, resourcefulness. He lies even when there is no need for it, but his patronizing Athena praises him for this:
If you were very thieving and cunning, who could compete with you?
Could use all sorts of tricks; it would be difficult for God too.
Always the same: a cunning man, insatiable in deceit! Really,
Even when you find yourself in your native land, you cannot stop
False speeches and deceptions that you loved from childhood?
Introducing himself to Achilles, he announces himself: I am Odysseus Laertides. I am famous among all people for my cunning inventions. My glory reaches to heaven.
Everyone praises Odysseus's love for Penelope. He was both the husband of Calypso, and, moreover, for at least seven years, and the husband of Kirka, and according to other sources, he even had children from them. However, he prefers returning to his homeland to immortality. He spent his nights with Calypso, and during the day he cried on the seashore. Odysseus also likes to assume the appearance of a merchant and entrepreneur: he is a very prudent owner. Arriving in Ithaca, he first of all rushes to count the gifts that were left for him by the Phaeacians. Finally, let us add to all that has been said the brutal cruelty shown by this humane and sensitive person. Tracking down the suitors, he chooses an opportune moment to deal with them and their corpses fill the entire palace. The sacrificial fortuneteller Leod tries to ask him for mercy, but he blows his head off. Melantius was cut into pieces and given to dogs to eat; Telemachus, on the orders of his father, hanged his unfaithful servants on a rope. After this wild massacre, Odysseus, as if nothing had happened, hugs the maids and even sheds tears, and then has a happy meeting with his wife.
So, Homer’s Odysseus is the deepest patriot, bravest warrior, suffered, diplomat, merchant, entrepreneur, resourceful adventurer, woman lover, wonderful family man and cruel executioner.
11) The image of Penelope in "Odyssey"
Penelope is the queen of Ithaca, the wife of Odysseus, who married for love and remains faithful to her husband in Ithaca during 20 years of separation and never ceases to believe in his return, despite the rumors spread about his death. These main features of Penelope made her image key in world literature.
Penelope, like her husband, is also endowed with a number of heroic qualities: she has intelligence, loyalty, chastity, respect for the gods and customs of her ancestors, as well as cunning and, to a certain extent, bloodthirstiness, which manifests itself in a cunningly clever plan for dealing with suitors (song 21):
“The bright-eyed daughter of Zeus Athena inspired desire
into the chest of Penelope, the reasonable wife of Laertes' son,
bringing a bow to the suitors of the Odysseans and formidable arrows,
call them to shoot at the target and thereby prepare for their death.”
The defining characteristic of Penelope's character is her intelligence. Speaking about her, Homer characterizes her with the epithets “much-wise”, “much-wise”: “the many-wise daughter of the elder Icarius, Penelope”, “Penelope hastily descended down the high steps, / the wise daughter of the elder Icarius...”; “The wise Penelope came out of her chambers here, / With a bright face with a golden Aphrodite, with a young Artemis / Similar...”, “But the wise Penelope, having come up with something else, / Came out to her riotous suitors from the women’s chambers.” Agamemnon gives a peculiar description of it to Odysseus in Hades (song 11):
“Be too trusting, Odysseus, beware of your wife;
You shouldn’t openly reveal to her everything you know;
entrust one thing to her, carefully keep another to yourself.
But for you, Odysseus, death from your wife is not dangerous;
Your Penelope is too intelligent and too kind;
Elder Icarius’s daughter is well-behaved...”
Agamemnon contrasts Penelope with his wife Clytemnestra, who killed him upon returning home. Unlike her, Penelope is incapable of this; she remains faithful to Odysseus and loves him, although both women have a remarkable mind. Instead, she prefers her own death.
“We don’t get life in this world for long;
who is here without love and does not show love in his actions,
he is hated while he lives on earth, and they wish
People are evil to him; from them we vilify him mercilessly and he is dead...”
Penelope's intelligence, constantly emphasized by the people around her, is also evident in her speeches.
Penelope also has a nobility of soul, the concepts of honor and dignity, kindness and hospitality. This is how she meets a stranger:
“Wanderer, until now I had only regret for you,”
From now on you will be loved and honored with us beyond words.”
Her generosity amazes even her suitors, and she does not skimp on anything for her own.
“If your prediction, foreign guest, comes true,
you will be treated to us as a friend and showered with gifts
so abundantly that everyone will marvel at such happiness.”
“Otherwise, wanderer, will you believe that even a little from others
As a wife, I was distinguished by an exalted spirit and a bright mind,
If I dirty you and uncleanly dressed at our table
Will I allow you to sit down?”
She also does not disdain labor: she embroiders fabric for the proposed wedding, trying to delay its approach (Penelope’s fabric), and she herself takes care of the old man.
“During the day, lamenting and lamenting, I strengthen my soul
I do needlework, housekeeping, and supervise the maids’ work…”
The image of Penelope is inseparable from grief.
“…queen
With tears she then turned to the inspired singer:
“Phemius, you know so many others who delight the soul
Songs composed by singers in praise of gods and heroes;
Sing one of them, sitting before the congregation; and in silence
Guests will listen to her over wine; but stop what you started
A sad song; my heart skips a beat when I
I hear her: I have suffered the most severe grief of all;
Having lost such a husband, I grieve for the deceased every hour...” ;
“At night, when everything calms down and everything around me, immersed
Sweetly resting carelessly in sleep, I’m alone, worried
Suffering, in severe insomnia, I sit on my bed and cry [...]
So, crushed, I cry, and I don’t know what to choose...” ;
“Now I wither in sorrow; an evil demon is at enmity with me”;
“So a beautiful stream flowed down Penelope’s cheeks
tears of sadness for her dear husband, who was sitting in front of her”;
“It’s time, however, for me to go upstairs to lie alone
There on the bed, covered with sadness, a bitter stream
I've been shedding tears ever since my husband left here
He went by sea to the fatal, untold walls of Ilion”;
“... His wife, waking up from anxiety,
She sat down sleepless in bitter tears on her bed...” ;
“...and, having delivered
Onion, Penelope laid it on her knees;
Sitting down with it and taking it out of the case, she began to sob for a long time,
She cried for a long time...”
Love and loyalty are the defining motives of her actions. As she admits:
“I don’t like anyone: neither the one asking for protection, nor the wanderer,
Below is the herald, the servant of the people; one is desirable
I am Odysseus, only his unrelenting heart demands.”
Without Odysseus, Penelope cannot imagine herself, her beauty fades, her eyes flow with tears, death seems close.
“... I lost my beauty by the will of the immortals
Ever since the Achaeans sailed in the black-sided ships
To Troy, and my husband, God-equal Odysseus, went with them.
If he were the patron of my life, returning
To the house, I would be unspeakably glorious and beautiful then;
Now I wither in sorrow; an evil demon is at enmity with me"
12) Images of gods in the Odyssey
The action of Homer's poems takes place among heroes and gods. The first live on earth, sail the seas, and the gods descend to them from the top of Olympus. Occasionally, the gods appear in their ancient zoomorphic form, such as Athena, who turned into a bird. Usually gods are anthropomorphic and endowed human passions and vices, but on a scale disproportionately large compared to human ones. The gods quarrel, fight, are jealous, deceive each other, moral standards are alien to them, and in everything they consider only their whims. It is possible that in the images of the gods, in the description of their homes and relationships with each other, memories of the life and morals of the ancient Mycenaean rulers were reflected.
The gods dictate their will to the heroes. They see dreams, watch the flight of birds, watch the signs during sacrifices, seeing in this a manifestation of the will of the gods. Hector's fate is decided by Zeus. He places two lots on the scales, and Hector's lot falls down. Although the proem of the Iliad says that the will of Zeus was revealed in everything that happened, the story about the lots reflected more ancient ideas about fate, or destiny. The power of fate is parallel to the power of the gods, but there are cases when fate rules over the gods and they are powerless before it. Thus, Zeus cannot save his son Sarpedon from death and expresses his grief in drops of bloody dew falling from heaven to earth.
Unlike the gods of the Iliad, the gods of the Odyssey become guardians of morality, guardians of goodness and justice.
However, the blessed gods do not like lawless deeds: There is only truth and the good deeds of people are pleasing to them (Od. Book XIV, Art. 83-84)
These gods, with the exception of Odysseus' patroness Athena, are separated from people, and people are more free in their actions, more proactive and energetic than in the Iliad. The images of the heroes combined features of distant legendary ancestors and ideal heroes the time of creation of the poems.
The Odyssey describes peaceful life, much more vibrant, complex and meaningful. Instead of the idealized heroes of the Iliad, whose characters were still dominated by the features of the ancient Achaean conquerors who walked the earth with fire and sword, peaceful people live and act in the Odyssey. Even the gods of the Odyssey, with the exception of Poseidon, are calm and peaceful. The heroes of the Odyssey seem to be copied from contemporaries familiar and close to the poet, inquisitive, naive and sociable people, whose life and time, according to Marx, were childhood human society"where it developed most beautifully..." 17. Even the few female characters are diverse: the devoted old nanny, the faithful and virtuous Penelope, the hospitable and caring Elena, the wise Aretha, the charming young Nausicaä, who girlishly dreams of marriage and even, contrary to tradition, of marriage of her own choice.
Divine intervention helped the poet and his listeners explain the origin of the well-known emotions that give rise to certain actions. By reference to the divine will and direct divine intervention, ancient man explained everything that seemed mysterious to him. But the power of artistic truth has contributed to the fact that the modern reader understands, even without the participation of the gods, the experiences of Homer’s heroes and the various motives for their behavior.
13) Hood. Features of the Homeric epic "Homer.Question" in literature
In terms of plot (mythological sequence of events), the Odyssey corresponds to the Iliad. But it tells not about military events, but about wanderings. Scientists call it: “an epic poem of wanderings.” The fate of Odysseus comes to the fore - the glorification of intelligence and willpower. The Odyssey corresponds to the mythology of late heroism. Dedicated to the last 40 days of Odysseus’ return to his homeland. That the center is return is evidenced by the very beginning.
Composition: more complex than the Iliad. There are three storylines in the Odyssey: 1) the Olympian gods. But Odysseus has a goal and no one can stop him. Odysseus gets out of everything himself. 2) the return itself is a difficult adventure. 3) Ithaca: two motives: the actual events of the matchmaking and the theme of Telemachus’ search for his father. Some believe that Telemachy is a late insertion.
First appears female image, equal to the male - Penelope, the wise one - the wife of Odysseus. Example: She spins a burial cloth.
The poem is more complex not only in composition, but also from the point of view of the psychological motivation of actions. The main plot of the “Odyssey” refers to a type of tale widespread in world folklore about the “return of the husband” to the moment when his wife is ready to marry another, and upsets the new wedding.
The action of the poem dates back to the 10th year after the fall of Troy. All the most important heroes of the Greek camp of the Iliad, living and dead, are also depicted in the Odyssey. Like the Iliad, the Odyssey was divided by ancient scholars into 24 books.
The poem opens, after the usual appeal to the Muse, with a brief description of the situation: all the participants in the Trojan campaign, who escaped death, have returned safely home, only Odysseus languishes in separation from his family, forcibly held by the nymph Calypso. Further details are put into the mouths of the gods, who discuss the issue of Odysseus in their council. Athena, who patronizes Odysseus, offers to send the messenger of the gods Hermes to Calypso with an order to release Odysseus, and she herself goes to Ithaca, to Odysseus’ son Telemachus. In Ithaca at this time there are suitors wooing Penelope. Athena encourages Telemachus to go to Nestor and Menelaus, who have returned from Troy, to find out about their father and prepare for revenge on the suitors (book 1).
Book 2 gives a picture of the Ithacan people's assembly. Telemachus complains about the suitors, but the people are powerless against the noble youth. The suitors demand that Penelope choose someone. Along the way, the image of the “reasonable” Penelope appears, using tricks to delay consent to marriage. With the help of Athena, Telemachus equips a ship and secretly leaves Ithaca for Pylos to visit Nestor (book 2).
Nestor informs Telemachus about the return of the Achaeans from Troy and the death of Agamemnon, but for further news he sends him to Sparta to Menelaus, who returned home later than the other Achaean leaders (Book 3). Welcomed by Menelaus and Helen, Telemachus learns that Odysseus is captured by Calypso. The suitors, frightened by the departure of Telemachus, set up an ambush to kill him on his return journey (book 4). This entire part of the poem is rich in everyday sketches: feasts, holidays, chants, and table conversations are depicted. "Heroes" appear before us in peaceful home environment. A new line of storytelling begins. The next part of the poem takes us into the realm of the fabulous and miraculous.
In the 5th book, the gods send Hermes to Calypso, whose island is depicted with features reminiscent of Greek ideas about the kingdom of death (the very name Kalypso - “coverer” - is associated with the image of death). Calypso releases Odysseus. Having escaped from the storm, thanks to the goddess Leucothea, Fr. Scheria, where happy people live - the Phaeacians, seafarers who have fabulous ships, fast, “like light wings or thoughts,” not needing a rudder and understanding the thoughts of their shipmen. Odysseus meets Nausicaa on the shore. (6 books)
Alcinous, with his wife Aretha, receives the wanderer in a luxurious palace (book 7) and arranges games and a feast in his honor, where the blind singer Demodocus sings about the exploits of Odysseus. O. is crying. (book 8). There is reason to think that, according to the original meaning of the myth, the Phaeacians are the shipmen of death, carriers to the kingdom of the dead, but this mythological meaning in the Odyssey has already been forgotten, and the shipmen of death have been replaced by fairy-tale people leading a peaceful and luxurious lifestyle.
Odysseus's tale of adventure occupies books 9-12 of the poem and contains a number of folk stories. The first adventure is still quite realistic: Odysseus and his companions plunder the city of the Cyconians (in Thrace), but then a storm carries his ships along the waves for many days, and he ends up in distant, wonderful countries. At first, this is a country of peaceful lotus eaters, “lotus eaters.” Having tasted it, a person forgets about his homeland and forever remains a lotus gatherer. Then Odysseus finds himself in the land of the Cyclopes (Cyclopes), one-eyed monsters, where the cannibal giant Polyphemus - O. blinds him. the god of the winds, Aeolus, handed Odysseus a fur with unfavorable winds tied in it, but not far from their native shores, Odysseus’s companions untied the fur, sending them back to the sea. Then they again find themselves in the country of cannibal giants, the Laestrygonians, who destroyed all of O’s ships except 1, the cat then landed on the island of the sorceress Kirke (Circe). Kirka, like a typical folklore witch, lives in dark forest, turns O’s companions into pigs, but O, with the help of a wonderful plant (Hermes helped), overcomes the spell and enjoys the love of Kirka for a year (book 10).
On Kirk's instructions, he goes to the kingdom of the dead in order to question the soul of the famous Theban soothsayer Tiresias. Odysseus talks with his mother, with his comrades, Agamemnon, Achilles, sees various heroes and heroines of the past (book 11) Returning from the kingdom of the dead. Odysseus visits Kirka again, sails with his ship past the deadly Sirens, past Scylla and Charybdis.
The final episode of Odysseus's narrative depicts the cruelty of the gods and their contempt for human grief. On the island of Trinacaria, where the herds of the god Helios (the sun) grazed, Odysseus and his companions were forced to linger because of the winds; food ran out. O. fell asleep, the companions killed the sacred animals, Zeus destroyed the ships. Odysseus was saved, thrown out by the waves onto the island. Ogygia, where he then stayed with Calypso (book 12).
The Phaeacians, having richly presented Odysseus, take him to Ithaca. The kingdom of fairy tales ends. Odysseus, turned by Athena into an old beggar, goes to the faithful swineherd Eumaeus (book 13). The hero's "unrecognizability" is a constant motif in the plot about the "return of her husband." Unrecognition is used to introduce numerous episodic figures and everyday scenes. A string of images, friends and enemies of Odysseus passes before the listener, both of them believing in the possibility of his return.
Stay with Eumaeus (book 14) - an idyllic picture; a devoted slave, honest and hospitable, but tempted by heavy life experience and somewhat distrustful, depicted with great love, although not without slight irony. Here Odysseus meets his son Telemachus. it is revealed to the son (books 15 - 16). Odysseus appears in his home in the form of a beggar tramp. Odysseus's "recognition" is repeatedly prepared and again postponed. Only the old nanny Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus by the scar on his leg.
The rape of arrogant and “violent” suitors, which should entail punishment from the gods, is vividly depicted; signs, dreams, prophetic visions - everything foreshadows the imminent death of the suitors (books 17-20).
The denouement begins with the 21st book. Penelope promises her hand to the one who, bending Odysseus's bow, shoots an arrow through twelve rings.
O. reveals himself to the suitors and, with the help of Telemachus and Athena, kills them (book 22). Only after this does Penelope “recognize” Odysseus (book 23). The poem ends with the scene of the arrival of the souls of the suitors in the underworld, the meeting of Odysseus with his father Laertes and the conclusion of peace between Odysseus and the relatives of the murdered (book 24).
