Study Guide for Odyssey Book 11 and Aristophanes’ The Frogs
I have used the following translations:
Fagles, Robert, trans., Homer The Odyssey (New York, Penguin Classics, 1998)
Barrett, David, trans., Aristophanes The Wasps The Poet and the Women The Frogs (London, Penguin
Books, 1964)
The prescribed translation of The Frogs on the 2010 Classical Works List is by David Barrett but
revised by Shomit Dutta, (Penguin Classics, 2007) using more contemporary language.
The socio-historic contexts of the works
The Odyssey is attributed to Homer, who may have lived in the 8th century BCE.
There is no certain knowledge about Homer but there are many conflicting traditions. Some Greeks
believed that he was a blind poet from the Ionian island of Chios; that he wrote both the Iliad and the
Odyssey and other works which have been lost (but not the Homeric Hymns which are considered to be
later works); that he performed his works for aristocrats at festivities as a court singer (though in other
traditions he was a wandering minstrel) and that they swiftly acquired great cultural importance for all
Greeks as the most perfect expression of Greek values. Modern scholars do not agree about the
authorship of the Iliad and Odyssey but they do agree that whoever put the works in their final forms
was drawing on a centuries-old oral tradition. All agree that these two epic poems are the foundation of
Greek literature.
If Homer was a Greek of the 8thCBCE then he lived in a time of transition. Greece was emerging from
the Dark Age which followed the collapse of Mycenaean civilization. Trade was expanding in the
Mediterranean and the period of colonization had begun with Greek trading stations in Italy and Sicily.
Advances in military strategy were occurring, and political changes were not far away. Though most
people lived as farmers who never went further from their land than the local market, states were
emerging with government in the hands of large landowners. The kingdoms of the Mycenaean age were
long gone, the citadels abandoned. But there were new settlements, and although some kings ruled, there
was a growing trend towards oligarchy, and later, tyranny. There had been a great deal of re-settlement
and migration during the previous centuries and now the Greeks were re-building, seeking to establish
their culture on a firmer footing through the development of common religious practices, sacred sites
and religious festivals like the Olympic games. Greeks of Homer’s time were predominantly villagers
who dreamed of the great deeds of the heroes of the past, but who had still some links with the Heroic
Age. They respected the rules of hospitality; they respected the brave and enduring; they valued their
homes and loved ones and they were curious about distant places. An entrepreneurial spirit was
emerging and the ‘man of many ways’ was a fitting hero for such a time. They were enraptured by
stories of their ancestors, the heroes, and proud of their place in the story of their people.
Aristophanes was a comic poet of the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. He is thought to have been born
around 445 BCE and to have died in the 380s. We know a great deal about Athens during his lifetime
from many contemporary sources. It was the golden age of Athens culturally but it was also a time of
catastrophic warfare. His craft gave Aristophanes a unique power – in comedies, the poet could freely
criticize any person he chose without fear of retribution, as long as he avoided blasphemy and did not
offend the Athenians generally. From his earliest plays, Aristophanes was a steadfast critic of political
leaders, especially those who were hypocritical or demagogues exploiting their popularity with the
demesmen. He urged repeatedly a return to the dignity and courage of the ‘men of Marathon’, but no
leader had emerged since the death of Pericles in 428 to steer the ship of state, as it veered from one
disaster to the next. By 405 Athens was on the brink of defeat in the Peloponnesian War. Gross errors of
judgment by the assembly resulted in the disastrous defeat of the Sicilian Expedition in 413. A group of
oligarchs staged a short-lived coup in 411 in an attempt to take power from the popular assembly; when
they failed many lost their citizenship and the extreme democrats became even more firmly entrenched
than they had been before. Led by Cleophon they foolishly spurned a peace offer from Sparta after their
victory at Arginusae in 406 and now the noose was tightening with Lysander blockading Piraeus and
Spartans in force at Decelea. The seriousness of the situation is always close to the surface in The Frogs.
Aristophanes urges that the Athenians need a leader to save them. All the great men are in Hades so
that’s where Dionysus goes in search of the city’s saviour. It isn’t surprising that Aristophanes chooses
Aeschylus, given his conservatism, but whether rescue will follow is doubtful. Aeschylus belongs to a
very different Athens from the city which over-reached itself and crashed in 404BCE.
The Frogs is the product of a sophisticated urban community, self-reflective, ironical and engaged with
the world.
Epic and Comedy
The Odyssey follows the conventions of epic poetry. These include:
An epic theme – a long and hazardous journey for the hero – as part of the epic cycle in which the hero
is tested and only just manages to achieve the desired outcome with divine assistance
Vast scale – the journey covers great distances, many lands, and many experiences, mostly dangerous
A hero, a man of exceptional qualities, brave, courageous and enduring
Intervention by the gods, some assisting the hero and some hindering him
A visit to the underworld by the hero
An elevated tone enhanced by the use of epithets which endow the characters with gravitas, formal
speeches, noble language and extended descriptions
A steady, rolling and sonorous rhythm, never monotonous but with a powerful conviction; no frivolity
or levity
No authorial comment. There is no chorus in Homeric epic nor any equivalent device to permit intrusion
of the poet in the narration. The poet recites according to the inspiration of the muse; there is no
authorial “I” and his personality never intrudes. Book 11 is part of an extended narration of his journeys
by Odysseus to the Phaeacians and Odysseus becomes the singer, putting Homer at a second remove
from the story.
The Frogs is a comedy, a dramatic piece. It also has conventions, many of which are antithetical to those
of the epic.
It makes use of an epic theme or motif, the journey to the underworld, and though the main character
ultimately prevails, after a fashion, the outcome is not exactly the expected one.
The scale is cosy, there are no great distances to conquer, nothing particularly exotic or challenging for
the main character, though he does act squeamishly on occasions.
The main character is not heroic in any way. He is earthy, cowardly, greedy, lascivious, impulsive, and
ignorant, and though he represents a god there is no hint of the divine about him.
Though gods appear as characters, the divine is largely absent, except for the Chorus of Initiates
The tone is irreverent with humour of every type – sight gags, incongruity, slapstick, wordplay,
absurdity, parody, irony and toilet humour
The comedy employs a great variety of metres and rhythms, most of them light-hearted but some serious
Using the Chorus, Aristophanes doesn’t hesitate to intrude in the tale to deliver his personal opinions
about various Athenians and the state of Athens. He does this when the Men’s Leader notes (p 171)
“Some people there are who, when guyed in a play / Take it out on the poet by cutting his pay” and
more extensively in the direct political statements of the parabasis (p181) “And first for these misguided
souls I plead / Who in the past to Phrynichus paid heed”. The “I” is undoubtedly Aristophanes.
A Journey to the Underworld
Both texts deal with a visit to the underworld – in Greek, a katabasis (a ‘going down’) or nekuia
We can compare the treatment of the theme of the journey to the underworld in a table:
What is the Underworld?
Where is it?
How do you get there?
Odyssey 11
The Kingdom of Pluto (Hades) and
Persephone, where the spirits
of the dead reside
Beyond the Ocean in the west
By a very long and perilous sea journey
Only a great hero would do it
Who goes?
Odysseus and his crew
What is it like?
Odysseus summons the dead on a dreary,
dark plain where the sun never shines.
Sometimes this appears to be Hades itself,
but sometimes the dead appear from
elsewhere, a place called Erebus
The spirits of the dead
Who is there?
What are the spirits of the
dead like?
Why go?
What happens there?
What is the outcome?
They are mere shadows until the sacrificial
blood gives them ‘life’ and the power of
speech
To get answers to important questions:
How will I return home? Has my wife
been faithful? Can I re-new
acquaintanceship with the dead people
I knew?
Odysseus is able to converse not only
with Tiresias but with many other spirits
as well
Odysseus learns what he needs to know
and regains his waiting ship which
returns swiftly to the Ocean River and
eventually the open sea
The Frogs
The same
Just across a lake
Charon takes you across in his boat for two
obols but if you are a slave
you have to walk around
Dionysus, disguised as Heracles , and his
slave, Xanthias
Pretty cheerful, actually. Flowery groves and
meadows for the Chorus of Initiates and a
fine palace for Hades and Persephone.
Sinners, however, get rivers of dung
The servants of Persephone, possibly some
monsters, and the spirits of the dead
They seem no different from the living
To find a hero to save Athens. Initially, it is
Euripides, but finally it is Aeschylus who
is chosen
A competition between Aeschylus and
Euripides to decide who is the greater poet .
The winner will return with Dionysus and
Xanthias to save Athens
Aeschylus wins the competition and
presumably will save Athens with his wise
advice when he returns to the city with
Dionysus
Questions raised by Odyssey 11 and The Frogs
In the hour of need where do we turn for guidance?
Necromancy was widely practiced in Europe and the Middle East in ancient times and continued to be
practiced in shamanistic cultures until modern times. Essentially it consisted of rituals designed to
summon the spirits of the dead who would then answer questions put to them.
In Odyssey 11, the sacrifices and offerings made by Odysseus to summon the dead are typical of
necromantic practice. He follows Circe’s instructions that the rites must be carried out in darkness, and
must be based around a pit with fire. He has to follow a recipe, which includes using sacrificial animals'
blood for ghosts to drink, while he recites prayers to both the ghosts and gods of the underworld.
Necromancy in literature already had a long history by Homer’s time. In the epic of Gilgamesh,
recorded before 2000 BCE, Enkidu goes to the underworld to recover some lost possessions but fails to
return and there is subsequent contact between the living hero Gilgamesh and his friend in the
underworld.
In Greece, the Orphic, Dionysiac and Pythagorean cults were all concerned with the fate of the soul after
death. In myth both Orpheus (founder of Orphism) and Dionysus visited the underworld and returned.
Their followers believed that there were rewards in the afterlife for those who were righteous on earth.
They also believed in metempsychosis (transmigration of the soul) and devoted considerable energy to
ensuring that they would be re-born in better circumstances. It was conjectured that the dead might be
consulted if the correct procedures were followed. In desperate circumstances necromancy probably was
employed, just as the Delphic oracle was consulted by Themistocles in 480 BCE.
What questions need answering?
For Odysseus the question was what he needed to do to get home. He had another pressing question too.
Was Penelope faithful? And he was also keen to be reconciled with his dead peers. These are the
concerns of a hero, whose motivation is always personal. He is keen to save as many of his crew as he
can but his first responsibility is towards himself. Odysseus is also curious to learn the thoughts of other
spirits, even simply to hear any reflections they have to offer on life in general.
For Aristophanes the problem was the same one that always bothered him, the erosion of Athenian
values. But it had become urgent in recent times and now Athens was teetering on the brink of defeat
because of poor leadership attributable to a collapse of civic values. His question was: How might
Athens be saved and who could do it? Dionysus goes to Hades on a quest for Athens. His journey might
be seen as altruistic, except that altruism does not sit well with this rather venal character.
Why consult the dead?
Firstly, the dead, being removed from the world, have a certain objectivity. Consultation with them also
assumes that they have reflected on their lives and have acquired wisdom that those in the midst of life
lack. They will not lie or mislead. They may have information that the living can’t access elsewhere. In
this sense the dead may be an eternal receptacle of knowledge. There is an element of ancestor worship
in necromancy. Common sense should tell us that the dead are unlikely to have any more answers in
death than they had in life but both Homer and Aristophanes imply that there is knowledge among the
dead that is worth having. It may be a way of seeking solutions to present troubles by looking into the
past. It is likely that the spirits will see things differently from the living, and their experience may be
handy.
Over and above these considerations is a fascination with the possibility of talking to the dead. Odysseus
is intrigued by the chance to converse with all sorts of people who have died and he spends more of his
time in the underworld with the “grand array of women” and the “heroes down in the House of Death”
than he does with Tiresias. Aristophanes’ play is constructed around a contest that he imagines between
the two great tragic poets. Euripides and Aeschylus could never have debated the merits of their works
in real life as Aeschylus died shortly before Euripides’ first play was produced. Only in the underworld
could such an interesting contest occur, and only in the imagination of a great satirist.
What is the underworld?
It is a place. It doesn’t appear to be under the earth, though Aristophanes may have considered it a bit
difficult to create the impression of an underground Hades onstage. There wasn’t much money for
staging productions in Athens in 405 BCE.
Homer places Hades in the far west, at the furthest limits of the Ocean Stream which is generally
believed to have been the Atlantic Ocean. Apart from its remoteness, it is a dreary and featureless
landscape where the light of Helios is never seen. What provides the dim light is not explained in the
Odyssey. Odysseus makes landfall as he might on any unknown land – it appears uninhabited at first and
the dead only begin to appear when they become aware of the food that he has brought for them. There
is some vagueness about whether Odysseus meets the dead in Hades itself or in a place to which the
dead are summoned from Erebus – which may be part of Hades or another name for Hades.
Aristophanes’ underworld is not remote and not particularly exotic. Charon provides the boat and
instructs Dionysus in rowing technique, and they cross a “great big bottomless lake” (p161). It might be
a neighbouring state to Athens, a dark and muddy one, at first, with “Muck Marsh” and the “Eternal
River of Dung” where wrongdoers must wallow eternally. Xanthias is able to walk around the lake in
the time it takes Dionysus to row. They meet an absurd monster which is easily disposed of (the
Empusa). The first denizens that Dionysus and Xanthias meet are the Initiates, who are particularly
lively and in every way unlike the traditional ghostly dead. Their underworld is composed of flowery
groves and meadows as a reward for their piety. The idea of eternal reward for good deeds on Earth is
not to be found in Odyssey 11 but it is mentioned several times by Aristophanes. The Initiates sing of
‘salvation’ and ‘the splendour of a never-setting sun’. The other feature of Aristophanes’ underworld is
the palace of Persephone and Pluto, before which most of the play’s action unfolds.
What are the dead like?
In Homer’s work they have lost their bodies though they are visible and recognizable as images of their
former selves. They are no more than images until the blood they drink invigorates them. They retain the
characters, motivations and interests they had in life and have perfectly clear memories. They speak as
themselves. They are also interested in the living. In fact the only thing that interests them is what occurs
among the living. There is no life in Hades.
One of the most important Homeric ideas is that death is loss which cannot be redeemed. The afterlife is
a cruel emptiness. It is better to be the lowliest person on Earth than king of all the exhausted dead,
according to the shade of Achilles. It is worse than nothingness (characterized as eternal sleep by Plato
in the Apology) because memory endures and nourishes sorrow and regret.
In the advice she gives Odysseus, Circe says that Tiresias retains his wisdom in death but “the rest of the
dead are empty, flitting shades” (Odyssey 10.145). But it proves to be otherwise. The Odyssey is
inconsistent here, describing the ghosts of the dead suitors in Book 24 as flittering bats and burnt-out
wraiths, yet Amphimedon soon recovers sufficiently to deliver a noble and even-handed account of his
death. So it is in Book 11, where the dead show themselves to have much more substance than “listless,
drifting spirits” (line 33). Admittedly most need the sacrificial blood to revive them first, but Ajax
doesn’t approach the blood, Minos appears a powerful figure delivering judgments to the clamouring
dead and Heracles’ ghost needs no refueling.
Aristophanes’ dead are brimming with vitality. There are wronged landladies, enticing dancing girls and
plenty of defunct politicians like Cleon who are keen to argue a case in court. Most impressive of all are
the two very eloquent poets who recall and defend their own work and criticize the other’s work
expertly. The slave introduced at the beginning of Act Two makes it clear that the class distinctions in
Athens continue unchanged in the underworld. It is a monarchy but in other respects it seems very like
Athens.
What assistance can the dead provide to the living?
Tiresias gives Odysseus very accurate advice about what lies before him. He does indeed have
knowledge that is valuable. He warns Odysseus to leave untouched the cattle of the sun and tells him
explicitly what he must do when he eventually prevails over all his tribulations. Odysseus learns from
his mother Anticleia that Penelope is faithful, though he also heeds the skepticism of Agamemnon’s
ghost, which is understandably misogynistic. And most importantly he learns from Achilles that death
holds no joys, that it is preferable to slave for a poor farmer than rule “over all the breathless dead” (line
558). Odysseus sees death as it really is. Some commentators claim that he vanquishes death or is reborn in Hades. That is debatable, but most agree that Odysseus returns from Hades with a clear purpose,
a better understanding of human life and knowledge of his own mortality.
The Frogs does not tell us what practical assistance Aeschylus is going to provide and the lack of
specificity makes Aristophanes’ solution to Athens’ problems seem fragile. Aeschylus appears to win
the battle of the poets although he does suffer plenty of mockery in the contest. He advises that
Alcibiades’ ‘little ways’ should be tolerated, but that doesn’t decide the choice. He appears naïve when
he presumes that the city’s leaders are ‘honest, capable, patriotic’, but he is preferred over Euripides
because the latter speaks in riddles (p.209). In the end, Aristophanes is arguing for certain values
associated with the works of Aeschylus. He is advising the Athenians to become like their ancestors who
built the empire long ago.
What is the attitude of the living towards the dead?
Odysseus weeps and thinks of suicide when Circe tells him that he must visit the House of Death in
Book 10. Under the circumstances he has been pushed to the limit, he has lost most of his followers and
disaster has succeeded disaster. He would expect another long journey across unknown seas to result in
more losses. Nevertheless, when he has made landfall and conducted the necessary rites he is efficient in
his handling of the dead and allows his curiosity to keep him longer than is necessary – until his
methods of controlling the ghosts appear to be failing. He is deferential towards Tiresias, aching with
love for his mother, and diplomatic towards his dead peers. This is probably as he would have treated
them alive.
Dionysus isn’t afraid of the dead. But he is terrified of monsters, though the one he meets proves to be
harmless, and of hellish punishments which Aeacus cheerfully describes (p174). When he meets actual
spirits he greets them as he would a living soul and socializes confidently. Fear of the dead doesn’t
figure prominently in the play.
What values are promoted by the two works?
Odysseus follows the directions of Circe dutifully. She is a demi-god and he obeys her. He does not
doubt the advice he receives. Careful observance of divine instruction is the first thing. Hades is a bleak
and forbidding place from which there is no escape, but Odysseus will not risk the curse of Elpenor by
failing to cremate his body with the proper rites. The dead must be disposed of correctly. Odysseus
remembers the words of Tiresias precisely and there is no doubt that he will follow the advice to the best
of his ability. The dead may not be touched or embraced, as Anticleia explains. Women may be faithful,
as Anticleia claims Penelope is, but Odysseus meets more than a few famous women who were
unfaithful, seduced by gods, and one, Eriphyle who lured “her lawful husband to his death”. Then comes
the testimony of Agamemnon which must unnerve Odysseus a little. In relation to women, Agamemnon
urges Odysseus “Never reveal the whole truth” and “The time for trusting women’s gone forever”. This
adds up to deep suspicion of women. Agamemnon’s desperate desire for news of his son reminds
Odysseus, no doubt, of his own son, and the only true immortality available to humans, through the
survival of their children. From Achilles and Ajax come sobering thoughts. The underworld is without
any consolations and resentment can endure after death when all else appears to be gone. The dead
appear to carry for eternity the emotions they were feeling when they died. Odysseus mentions the
eternal tortures of some famous wrongdoers without comment. It is clear that punishments are reserved
for those who offend the gods, but for the rest, death is punishment enough.
Aristophanes devotes most of The Frogs to humour, political jibes and in-jokes, and the parodies
Aeschylus and Euripides create of each other’s works. He prefers the values that he attributes to
Aeschylus, “a man with a sense of proportion” but these values are not explored in any detail. Aeschylus
expects leaders to be “honest, capable, patriotic” which gives us a rough idea. Presumably Aristophanes
thought his values would be generally understood from the couplet “Treat enemy soil as yours, your
own let go / Your ships are wealth, all other wealth is woe”. This is a reference to the oracle’s advice to
Themistocles in 480 BC “Trust to your wooden walls”, and it suggests that the legendary virtues of the
“men of Marathon” and the rowers of Salamis would stand Athens in good stead in 405BC. Quite
possibly. But would that be enough? At this point we should remember that, however serious the
situation Athens was in, Aristophanes was not expected to save the city, only to make it think while it
laughed.
Did the Greeks really believe in the underworld?
Homer’s underworld is significantly more than the oblivion that modern agnostics anticipate but it is
much less than the Christian afterlife. He makes it clear that existence in Hades is really no existence at
all. The dead have no prospect of re-birth, no physical pleasures. There are no rewards though there are
punishments for the most extreme offenders against the gods. Odysseus flees when things get too much
to endure and the possibility of a Gorgon appearing occurs to him. He learns one thing: that he must win
happiness in the world of the living because it isn’t to be found anywhere else. In effect Homer’s
underworld supports the non-believer’s view that we only have one life and should make the best of it.
Aristophanes gives no clear indication of his beliefs. The underworld is a story he uses to make his point
and his lighthearted treatment suggests that he probably didn’t take it very seriously. An important
difference with the Homeric depiction of the underworld is that Aristophanes includes both punishment
and reward in his Hades.
Similarities and Differences between the texts
The chief similarity is obvious: both works deal with a journey to the underworld to obtain help in a
time of need. Both works use this epic theme to develop ideas about how people should act and the
values they should hold. And they both fascinate the reader (or listener) with the possibilities of
communication between the living and the dead.
Odysseus learns that death holds no joy, that the challenges of life must be endured if we are to triumph
and find our way to contentment. Gods must be appeased or their perverse punishments must be
suffered. The world is not on the hero’s side and everything important is uncertain, including love.
Odysseus is a survivor who learns from his experiences and adapts to circumstances.
Dionysus is also a survivor, always ready to change his disguise. In the choice of Aeschylus, he reaffirms the values which built the Athenian empire – simple steadfastness, honesty and patriotism –
though these are not his own values. Ingenuity and glibness, facile speech and riddling talk are
resoundingly rejected after being indulged entertainingly in the play. It is Aristophanes’ cleverness that
amuses us and that is what makes him so different from Aeschylus. He is actually much closer to
Euripides.
Apart from their gift for survival, the characters in the two works are very different. Odysseus is a hero,
a brave man who overcomes his fear and loss of heart to battle on and achieve his goal. Dionysus is an
anti-hero, a coward and a buffoon, though he is quite positive about the task he undertakes. In his world
the cunning application of self-interest appears to prevail. Once again, it is curious that Dionysus prefers
the man who is simply “good”.
The tone of the works is also entirely different. There is gravity in the Odyssey, no gravity at all in The
Frogs. This is despite the fact that the situation in The Frogs is utterly urgent. The Odyssey has a sense
of timelessness while The Frogs is bound to the desperate moment in which it was created.
While Odyssey 11 makes no claim to educate, Aristophanes explicitly claims the right to instruct or
advise his audience (p181). Odyssey 11 presents a tragic view of the world that is enduring in its appeal
and belongs to no particular place or set of circumstances, but The Frogs was written for a very specific
time and place, and for a particular audience. Odysseus is presented with the big challenges that anyone
might face when far from home – hostile gods and some genuine bad luck. Dionysus is concerned with
the leadership of his state in a time of great danger; the problem is not so much how the private
individual should compose himself but how the public person should lead.
Reflections and Conclusion
Despite their differences these two works belong to the same tradition. Homer was largely credited with
creating the Greek idea of how his people should live, the values of the warrior and the heroic code.
Aristophanes has Aeschylus refer to Homer, noting his “valuable military instruction” and saying:
“Organization, training, equipment, it’s all there”. Odysseus represents particular virtues that people
should aspire to, both in the archaic period when Greeks were exploring the world around them and in
the time of the Peloponnesian War when Athens was facing defeat. It is the virtues of Odysseus that
Aristophanes needs. The steadiness and persistence of the hero has been notably absent from the
reckless behaviour of real world leaders in Athens. Odysseus is never ironical, he moves towards his
goal with direct purpose and his choice is simple – between continuing in the struggle and surrender. He
does not fight the gods, but accepts their assistance and endures their enmity. He heeds warnings,
follows instructions and plans carefully. He is curious to know more and to understand. No doubt
Achilles was the most popular model of heroism for the Greeks; even Socrates compared himself to
Achilles. But Odysseus was a better model for the circumstances that Athens faced in 405 BCE.
Steadiness, endurance and a clear mind were required and Odysseus had these.
Questions for students to ponder
How can you tell that the Odyssey and The Frogs belong to the same cultural tradition?
What is it about them that identifies them as Greek?
Can epic and comedy deal with the same subjects?
What are the essential teachings of Odyssey 11 and The Frogs?
Can you imagine a conversation between Homer and Aristophanes?
In what ways are Odysseus and Dionysus two sides of the same coin?
What comparisons can be made between the underworlds of Homer and Aristophanes?