Homer and the Odyssey
Most scholars agree that the time period in which the events in the
Odyssey took place was about 1200 B.C. Similarly, most scholars believe
that the Odyssey was not written down until somewhere between 800 and
600 B.C. During and prior to this time period, there was a strong oral
poetic tradition which involved traveling poets called rhapsodoi. These
poets performed to audiences all over Greece. They sang the lines of epic
poems while playing the lyre. Homer is believed to have been one of
these poets. The modern understanding is that the story of the siege of
Troy, an integral part of Greek mythology, was not created by a single
man. The tale of Odysseus' journey home is a common theme of this
tradition. The epic form of this tale as we know it is most likely the
synthesis of several oral traditions.
The two Homeric epic poems (Iliad and Odyssey) have very different
stories each focused on its own hero. One is of war and honor (Iliad) and
the other is of a long journey home and revenge (Odyssey). Both stories,
however, share common themes that make them unmistakably part of the
same culture and tradition.
The oral poetic tradition thrived before the advent of writing. The people
who lived in and around Greece at this time lived primarily in rather
isolated city-states. Frequent festivals were held where singers and poets
would compete for prizes. Out of this tradition comes the poet Homer
whom tradition maintains was born on an island bordering the Ionian Sea.
Homer not only composed the two epics that now bear his name, but he
also composed numerous hymns. The recitation of the Iliad was recorded
as one of the early events at the Olympic games.
The Odyssey
Summary of Books 1-4
Odysseus, lord of Ithaca, had been missing from his kingdom for twenty years. The first
ten had been fighting in the Trojan War, and the next ten had been spent in continual
wanderings en route home from the war. His wife Penelope, in the meantime, has been
harassed by dozens of suitors who have come from the surrounding islands in order to
win her hand in marriage. Penelope, still believing Odysseus to be alive, tries to delay the
suitors by making them a promise. She wills chose a husband among them when she has
finished weaving a shroud for her father in law Laertes, who lives on a farmed away from
the city. However, when alone at night, Penelope secretly undoes the work she had
completed that day so that the task will go on indefinitely. Unfortunately her plan has
been discovered by the suitors, who now demand she choose one of them immediately.
The suitors, who have been awaiting her decision for several years, have spent their days
feasting in Odysseus’ hall. In doing so, they are devouring his livestock and abusing his
servants. The direct victim of their behavior is Telemachus, the son of Odysseus who is
now approaching manhood. The suitors constantly taunt Telemachus, who is the heir of
Odysseus’ property and title.
Athena, goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus, begs her father to allow Odysseus to
return home at last, for he has spent the last seven years on the island of the nymph
Calypso, who holds him captive. Zeus agrees with his daughter and Athena comes down
from Mount Olympus to visit Telemachus in disguise. She convinces him that he should
sail abroad and seek information concerning his father.
Though feeling helpless concerning his father’s fate, Telemachus agrees to the journey.
Athena manages to get together a crew and ship for Telemachus, and he departs without
informing his mother and the suitors. When his mother finds out he has left, she despairs
with the thought that Telemachus will share the same fate as his father. The suitors,
angered by Telemachus’ departure, set out an ambush for his return.
Telemachus arrives at Pylus where Nestor, the famous counselor of the Trojan War,
warmly greets him. He tells Telemachus of the various homecomings of the Greeks,
including the fate of Agamemnon, who was killed by his wife Clytemnestra. He then
advises Telemachus to visit Menelaus in Sparta.
In Sparta he meets with Menelaus and Helen and learns of Odysseus’ imprisonment on
the island of Calypso.