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Now (again, reviewing his own story, reviewing who he is) he goes over his past. Books 9, 10 and 12 will each recount three adventures, two small ones and one long one. They, roughly speaking, will presents threats to the soul (to make the men forget their identity and thus homecoming) and threats to their lives. Odysseus will have to deal with this unruly crew, and this will show that Odysseus is not fully responsible for the fact that all his men died. He will lose more and more ships and men, and these adventures will gradually strip him down of the elements of his identity, until he washes up on Kalypso's isle.
His first adventure is a pretty straightforward Iliadic-style one. He sacks the city of the Kikones. Odysseus tries to get the men to get back to the ship and get away, but they want to party, and thus are surprised by a larger force of allies and six people are lost from each ship. As Zeus sends a storm upon them (probably as part of his vengeance against the atrocities committed at Troy) they are driven out of the known world into fairyland. The first stop there is the land of the Lotus eaters. They are not at all hostile, but the lotus makes men forget their homeland, and they have to be forced back to the ship.
From there they go to an island near that of the Cyclopes. In the description of this region Homer mixes two different accounts of a primative utopia. On the one hand, this is an idyllic place, where hard work and trade is not needed, for the earth gives its fruits easily. On the other hand we can see that this is also a land of pre-civilized savages who do not know the customs of men, where each is a law unto himself. Notice how Odysseus notes what a good land for a colony this might be -- this may recall Homer's own period, when Greeks were colonizing places from the Black sea coast to North Africa to Italy and France. Yet even the act of shipbuilding with references to people wearing themselves out at work, suggests the old notion that the world of work is associated with a kind of fall of mankind.
Here the comrades have learned their lesson and want to leave, but it
is the curious Odysseus who wants to find out about the Cyclopes and see
if he will get gifts from them. In this scene Odysseus is more the adventuring
trickster figure, getting himself into trouble and others as well, one
who arrogantly makes demands and steals. He takes one ship to the mainland
of the Cyclops, and a few picked men to visit the cave of Polyphemus himself.
When they arrive, they find nobody home, and then help themselves to the
cheeses they find. Next, although the crew pleads with him, Odysseus decides
to wait for the Cyclops, although in retrospect Odysseus realizes this
was a very bad idea. One of the important themes of this section (and of
the whole poem) is the treatment of guests. The Cyclops is as savage as
the Phaecians are generous. But notice too how Odysseus the trickster violates
hospitality, by helping himself to the goods in the cave without the owner's
permission, and then demands help and gifts! Of course, the hospitality
the Cyclops shows is to have his guests for dinner. Odysseus cannot kill
him immediately, because he would be trapped in the cave, so he cleverly
makes use of the magic wine he, luckily, has brought with him, and gets
the Cyclops drunk. Notice how the Cyclops' idea of a proper gift for Odysseus
is to eat him last. Odysseus also plays another trick on him by declaring
his name to be Nobody. In the original version of this story the evil giant
probably roasted the victims on a spit, which was used later on to poke
out his eye. Here, since the Cyclops is a more primative cannibal who eats
his victims raw, Odysseus must use an olive wood stake (and notice how
many times olive wood objects or trees figure in the Odyssey), which,
when heated, glows just like hot metal. When Odysseus puts out the Cyclops'
eye, the monster shouts that he is being killed. The other Cyclopes ask
"By whom?" to which he replies "By Nobody" and so they tell him to be quiet,
and pray to Poseidon and then they go home. The next morning Odysseus
again tricks the blind Polyphemus by tying his men under the rams (who
are constantly called fat) who must be taken out to pasture.The monster
never thinks to feel underneath them. So Odysseus and his men get back
to the ship and then, when they seem at a proper distance away from the
shore, to the horror of his men Odysseus tells the Cyclops who blinded
him. Why does he do that? Well, as we have seen from the Iliad,
glory is based solely on fame, and to get fame, you need to have those
you have beaten know who you are. This is why, before major duels in the
Iliad, the fighters often give an account of their homeland and
parents. But Odysseus must learn to outgrow this -- especially if he is
to make his plots in Ithaka work. So here Odysseus gets a lesson about
when not to disclose his identity. Not only is his ship nearly sunk
by rocks thrown by the Cyclops, but knowing Odysseus' name allows the Cyclops
to pray to his father Poseidon, the sea god, to either kill Odysseus or
make sure he wanders a long time, and comes home to find his house under
siege. All these prayers are granted, except for killing Odysseus.
The Aiolos scene is full of solar and meteorological imagery. Notice twelve sons and twelve daughters married to each other -- like the twelve months of the year. Aiolos is the complete opposite of the Cyclops as a host. The bag with the winds is an example of folk magic -- you would take a bag, perhaps breathe into it and say (with the appropriate magic action) 'may evil winds be pent up, like my breath in this bag.' After the men let loose the winds, Odysseus becomes further depressed, and, unlike a proper Homeric Hero, actually contemplates suicide. Again, the threat to Odysseus here is primarily psychological. Odysseus is losing a bit of himself. But he endures. Again, the behavior of Odysseus' men shows how they deserve destruction. Remember how the prologue suggests the men are mostly responsible for losing their own homecoming. Aiolos grim pronouncement makes the effect of Poseidon's curse apparent. There is a god out to get Odysseus.
. The Laistrygones are another marvelous people and their threat is physical. In the text's mention of how unsleeping herdsmen could earn a double wage we can probably see reports of the extremely long summers of the far North which would have been strange to the Greeks. The episode with the Cyclops has made Odysseus a bit paranoid, which explains his not wanting to moor his ship close by to the rest of the ships. But here Odysseus seems, in an unheroic way, to think mostly about himself, a bad sign. But he is still a bit curious and sends other men (but not himself!) to see what is going on. Is Odysseus more timid now? Like Odysseus meeting Nausicaa, the men meet the daughter of King Antiphantes, who also sends them to the palace and her mother for hospitality -- having the guests (literally) for dinner. Again, bad hospitality a sign of noncivilization. The Laistrygones are a lot like the Cyclops. When disaster strikes, note how Odysseus in reaction to the trouble shows how far he has fallen from the standard of his former heroic greatness -- he cuts the cable to his ship and lets the rest of his men be destroyed instead of devising some salvation. He now has lost all his ships but one.
But with this disaster Odysseus becomes even more depressed. Note how he and his men on arriving at KirkeÕs isle just mope for three days, doing noththing. But Odysseus finally shows some pluck and goes out hunting for his men. Nevertheless, Odysseus does not seem have the courage to go himself to investigate the island, but again sends his own men. Remember how eager he was to visit the Cyclops personally. The men, of course, run into Kirke. Kirke is a typical mother goddess, who wants to take Odysseus for her mate -- at least for a while. Another feature that especially makes her like a mother goddess are the beasts that are cavorting around -- symbols of fertility and wilderness. Kirke, like the goddess Artemis, is a goddess of beasts. Such mother-goddesses are also often associated with death (for the earth is both a source of fertility and where you put corpses), and this is especially the case with Kirke. Notice that Hermes must give Odysseus a charm against her. Remember that Hermes is the escort of souls to the underworld. Hermes too here functions as the magic helper that the hero meets on the Quest. And later Kirke sends Odysseus to the land of the dead. As we shall see, Kirke is a more dangerous version of Calypso. She is a Classic Greek type of witch, very unlike the horrid hag of later myth and legend. Notice, just as was the case with the Lotus eaters, that Kirke also makes Odysseus' men forget their homecoming, but not by turning them into passive vegetables, but into swine. Notice it is Kirke's good hospitality, like that of the Lotus eaters, that traps the men. It is only after Eurylochos returns that Odysseus finally pulls himself together and begins to again act decisively, heroically The hero cannot avoid confrontation. But, as noted above, Odysseus meets a magic helper, Hermes. The plant moly is rather like a symbol of Kirke -- both black (death) and white (life). Note how Odysseus refuses to sleep with her until she swears an oath not to unman him. Remember what happened to the lovers of a mother-goddess like Ishtar in the Gilgamesh epic. Now Odysseus is the proper hero, and will not take pleasure until his men have been restored. Notice, as a goddess of life and death, when the men are returned to human form they are taller and more handsome than before. Yet see how Kirke nearly traps Odysseus - for he lingers a year, until his men have to force him to go. This prefigures what will happen with Calypso. Notice how they say that he must 'shake off his trance.'
At this point Kirke tells Odysseus that he cannot just go home, but
must first make the most terrible quest, rather like that of Gilgamesh,
to visit the deadlands and come back. She gives advice on what to do --
She now is somewhat like OdysseusÕ magic helper, like Siduri who
helped Gilgamesh. And, as Menelaus had to consult Proteus, so must Odysseus
consult Teiresias And, like the last book of the Gilgamesh epic, Book Eleven
contains a vision of the underworld. Finally Elpenor dies. He is like the
initial sacrifice, the one who must really go down to the land of the dead
ahead of the crew. One man must die for the rest -- a common mythic motif.
In one sense Kirke is the gatekeeper to the land of the Dead -- notice
how Odysseus leaves her for the Land of the Dead and then returns to her.
Then Odysseus speaks to his mother, representing a period deeper in his past, showing the power of Odysseus, the man who causes and suffers pain, in the pain he indirectly causes to his family. His mother has died from grief. Notice how vainly he tries to embrace her spirit, showing him what the dead are really like -- and why this life is so important. Then comes a long catalogue of women. This was a genre of epic poetry, shown by a few fragments we have of the Hesiodic Eoiai, which is a long catalogue of famous women and brief stories.
After this catalogue the scene shifts back to the Palace of Alcinoos where Odysseus is now telling the tale. There is a pause in the story, for it is getting late. Notice it is Queen Arete that speaks up, encouraging Odysseus to go on. . Apparently the catalogue of women (which show that even women can get fame) has put her firmly in Odysseus' camp.
Notice what Alcinoos says to Odysseus at this point. (around line 360). He says that you (Odysseus) are not like other liars. You know it like a poet that knows the world. Some commentators have taken this passage as ironic, that Alcinoos really doesn't believe the wild stories Odysseus is telling him. Rather he is acknowledging their entertainment value. This is an interesting point, for we have noted that the marvels of this section are extreme even for Homer, and thus the question always remains -- is this story another one of wily Odysseus' lies?
Odysseus resumes his story, and then tells about another figure of his past whom he met in the underworld, Agamemnon. Notice here that Agamemnon gives Odysseus a powerful lesson -- don't come home openly; check the situation out first. Women are deceitful. Agamemnon (and Achilles and Ajax) represent Odysseus past as a leading warrior among the Greeks at Troy.
Then Odysseus meets Achilles. We have talked before of the notion of who is the 'best of the Achaeans". I think we get our answer here. Notice how around line 480 Odysseus tries to comfort Achilles by recalling the immortal fame he had when alive, but look what Achilles says -- I would rather be a hired man of a poor man than king of the dead. This is what fame comes to.
Note too, however (recalling a constant theme of the work) how Achilles is made happy by the news of his son's valor. Again, this puts us in mind of Telemachus. Then Achilles goes striding off happily on the fields of aspondel. This seems to be a different version of the afterlife, more like the islands of the blessed. Then Odysseus meets another figure from the past, Aias (Ajax) with whom he quarreled. But Ajax is unforgiving even now. Notice that Odysseus deeply regrets cheating Ajax of the arms of Achilles; but Ajax will not forgive, and this points out the fact that, in this life, there are evils that cannot be compensated for, that cannot be cured.
Then (and remember, one of the delights of this book is the look it gives on Greek religion) Odysseus gets to see famous sinners. This is another catalogue poem. Finally he gets to see the greatest of all Greek heroes, Heracles. This presentation is interesting, for clearly Heracles has two forms -- a divine and a human one, which answers the interesting question about what happens to Heracles, who has two natures, when he dies.
As I have noted, here Odysseus is the man who not only explores the
various strange areas of our world, but visits the underworld as well.
This, of course, gives him secret knowledge of the meaning of life, of
the real value of human existence compared to the dreary non-being of the
Land of the Dead. But also Odysseus gets to plumb the meaning of events
in this world, for in visiting Agamemnon, Achilles and Ajax he can get
the final perspective on their lives. Solon was reputed to have said that
you cannot tell whether a man is lucky until he is dead. Finally, then,
Odysseus manages to get the whole story. This visit to the land of the
dead is also a visit where Odysseus comes to better understand his own
identity, the series of relationships that defined him -- with Agamemnon
his commander, with Achilles his comrade and rival, and with Ajax, his
worst foe. He understands how their stories have turned out, and what they
mean for his own life. Perhaps the most sorrowful is the story of Ajax,
for Odysseus realizes that, in the foolish competition, he made an enemy
that could never be reconciled.
After Odysseus leaves Kirke come two more short trials and a longer one. The various sea terrors in part reflect the real dangers faced early Greeks sailing for the first time on uncharted waters, with odd currents and dangerous reefs. Naturally legends would grow up filling these areas with monsters. Notice something else; When Odysseus asks for advice on how to deal with Skylla and Kharybdis (page 212-13) Kirke asks him whether will he always have battle in his heart? What she points out is that Odysseus cannot always fight. This may be significant for what happens in Book 24, where finally Zeus by his thunderbolt signals that Odysseus must now live a life of peace. Odysseus, the old hero, is coming into a new age, and he must learn that the ways of the old Homeric hero, while useful, should not be automatic.
When he finally leaves Kirke he first encounters the Sirens. They, who know all things, are an obvious temptation to a curious man, especially when they flatter him by calling him the glory of Greece. Obviously it would be wonderful to know all things. But merely listening is inert, like one who wastes life watching too much TV. Life is action, and Odysseus escapes this threat by using the trickster's trick of the wax in the ears, for he knows that, naturally, this would be too strong a temptation for him. Then comes the threats of Skylla and Kharybdis, where, despite the warning of Kirke, Odysseus puts on heavy armor and tries to fight the six headed monster Skylla. Of course it is useless. Note the new compassion Odysseus shows as he says that the pleading cries of his men were the worst thing he suffered. Then they come to the island of the Sun, and, although Odysseus tries to steer them away from it, the crew insist upon stopping. Odysseus makes them swear an oath that they will not eat the cattle, but when they have been becalmed for a while and rations are running short, they kill and eat the cattle behind Odysseus' back. Again, Homer is showing that Odysseus is not fully to blame for the loss of his men -- they had it coming. At the island of the Sun, of course, there is also various bits of solar imagery. Their are 350 cattle, (probably the number of days in the regular Greek calendar (which had an intermediate period, a kind of "leap week" between years). This is why they do not give birth or die -- that would shorten or lengthen the year. The omens of the mooing and crawling skins are very bad. The men are clearly doomed. Helios, like any farmer who has suffered a cattle raid, complained to his chief, that is Zeus, who blasts the ship at sea with his thunderbolt, leaving only Odysseus alive. The fact that Odysseus has lost his crew may have this additional significance. If we imagine the poem about the transition to a new era, a move from the violent Iliadic past to a new age of peace, then in a sense Odysseus must be stripped of the links with his old, Iliadic past, just as the suitors must be destroyed. In any event, note too how desperately Odysseus clings to life and to the fig tree as he floats after the disaster. He has seen the afterlife, and will do anything to live. He escapes, and finally comes to Kalypso's isle, where we first met him. There he will also be tempted to a life of obscure, invisible ease with a goddess. But, after a few years, Odysseus will throw off that temptation, and want to struggle again in the world of humanity.