So, I randomly wanted to post a paper I wrote for school on the Odyssey, based on this translation of Homer The Odyssey, that's about book 10 and Odysseus's relationships.
I like writing, and I'm hoping i can get a little feedback on whether or not i'm any good at writing :).
So. Here goes, thesis is in purple.
The Odyssey, Book Ten. Strange marriage morals and male/female interactions
By D'anerys Doe
The Odyssey is a tragic love story, written by Homer. It includes monsters, gods, and magic. After the Trojan war is finished- a war caused by lust and love for a married woman, Helen- Odysseus is left unable to get back home to his son and wife. The nymph Calypso keeps him on her island for seven years, until the goddess Athene starts to intervene in events, trying to get Odysseus home again. He finally gets started on his journey, heading towards his home in Ithaca, his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. In book ten of the Odyssey, Odysseus winds up running from cannibals and docks his ship on the island of a witch. Some of his men are sent to explore, and the witch turns them into pigs, as a reflection of their rude manners. With the help of the god Hermes, Odysseus devises a plan. He eats a plant to become immune to sorcery and decides to sleep with Circe, providing that she promises not to work any more magic against him. The aspects of marriage we consider normal, such as fidelity and faithfulness, are very different from the portrayal of relationships, particularly Odysseuss marriage, in the Odyssey.
Book 10 of the Odyssey opens with some lovely descriptions of tableside manners. Odysseus was released from Calypsos island and washed up on the banks of the Phaeacian land. With Nausicaas help, he secured a promise of help from King Alcinous. With his identity revealed, Odysseus, sipping wine at the king's table and farting, continues to tell of his journeys in book ten of the Odyssey. Still trying to get home to Ithaca, he and his crew are sailing with the current, lacking any idea of where they are. After angering Aeolus by carelessly misusing his gift, Odysseuss crew sails to a new island. Odysseus gets a little flash of insight, perhaps from the wisdom goddess, and lands his ship away from the harbor of the unknown inhabitants of the island. He sends out a search party to meet the inhabitants of the land, and one of them is eaten by the king of the giants that occupy the land. Odysseus and his crew flee the island, but his other ships are in the harbor of the cannibals, and those men are eaten. Then Circe is introduced. The crew moored their ship on an island they came across, collapsed into the sand and grieved for two days. While his men were grieving, Odysseus went out to explore the island and saw a house with smoke rising from it. He went back to his men and, after they had eaten and drunk, told them he wanted to send out a search party. His men were terrified, -so many of their numbers had already been eaten by Laestrygonians and a Cyclops- but they went anyways. Upon encountering Circes house, they made their way to the door, passing by friendly wolves and lions. While they were wondering what they had just experienced, they heard Circe singing. We are not told whether any of Odysseuss crew was married; regardless, their response was not appropriate. Ignoring the cautioning of Eurylochus, the men called out and were greeted by Circe. At the sight of her, Odysseuss foolish men lost their intelligence and crowded inside. They retained no manners and made lewd, lustful comments to Circe. Eurylochus was the only one to remain outside and watched what Circe did to his companions.
In the Odyssey, it appears a woman could be half naked without it being an unacceptable thing. When Odysseuss men encounter Circe, she is wearing a white dress, and their attention is on the way it highlights her breasts. His foolish men temporarily start thinking with their groins, and walk into this strange house, forgoing all caution and common sense. Only a few days earlier, they had sailed upon a strange island where cannibals had eaten several of their companions; regardless, Circes figure was too appealing for them to wait outside. Eurylochus was the only person of the scouting party that remained outside, and he spied on his companions through a window. Circe brought the men to couches and a meal, while women more naked than not moved to join them. Circe was also a witch, not just a beautiful woman, and she put a venom into the wine so the men forgot what they came for. After they finished eating, she touched them with a wand and they turned into pigs, to reflect their rude behavior. Odysseuss men walked into a strange persons house, ignoring Eurylochuss cautions because they were lustful and rude. It was also socially acceptable in Odysseuss time to fondle a breast or thigh or two (pg187), as we see on various occasions when girls are among men. However, as Eurylochus proclaimed, A womans wiles are sharper than the finest sword. And so, the men were turned into pigs.
Odysseus is married to Penelope and is trying to get back to her. He has escaped Calypsos island of Ogygia after seven years of sleeping with her. His men have angered Athene by attacking the Cicones, making their woman slaves, and stripping them, so they become naked slaves (debauchery, debauchery!- pg 165). Thus, when Hermes tells him the way to free his men from being pigs is to have sex with Calypso, he agrees wholeheartedly. He is given a sprig of moly to become resistant to her magic and is told to go to bed with her, but force her to promise not to use any more trickery before he satisfies her. Everything goes according to plan, and Circe seems to genuinely like him. When he is firm in his desire to have his men changed back into their human shapes, she turns them back. As Odysseus is telling the narrative of his adventure to King Alcinous, he refers to Circe as a witch-****** (even though his eyes took on the shining of fond memories pg 183). Circe and Calypso were both goddesses, but Odysseus loves his wife so much, that he is not content to sleep with these goddesses forever; he remains intent on getting home. However, he lingers with Circe for a year, for as he admits, Circes bed was warm and filled constantly with the mysteries of lovemaking. Odysseuss love for Penelope is inspiring and bizarre.
As you can see, the relationships between men and women of the Odyssey were bewildering and strange. Odysseuss strong love for his wife Penelope did not need to include exclusive sex rights. If Odysseus met a beautiful woman, he could sleep with her and love her, even while loving and longing for his wife. When Odysseuss men were eating on linen couches and women wearing little were among them, it was okay to fondle them. They were only turned into pigs because they had made pigs of themselves from their rude manners. And so, we are given a glimpse of a different world, where the marriage morals are completely foreign, and men do not seem to need to give an answer for inappropriate comments toward women. The Odyssey lets us view a world where people have friends eaten, and within a week those same people are lusting after unknown women. In other words, the Odyssey is a book filled with mysterious ideas that make you take a second look and provoke you to compare two different worlds. |
