CLA204 Week 5 – The Nostoi (Odyssey)
Odyssey:
• Attributed to Homer
• describes the homeward voyage of the hero Odysseus from Troy after the war.
• The Odyssey is not chronologically linear
o in the middle & jumps around in its narrative and includes flashbacks
o Starts with close of the end of close of his wandering
• Odysseus is trapped on the island of the sea nymph Calypso, and the gods force
Calypso to release this hero so that he can escape her island.
o makes a raft and sails to the land of the Phaeacians, his final stop
o When he arrive: he is entertained by King Alcinous of the Phaeacians to tell
the story of his wanderings
o Odysseus -> son of Laertes & basileus of Ithaca
§ Odysseus' voyage home is filled with misfortune, and after a 10-year
war, it takes him another 10 years to arrive home.
§ All heroes of Troy experience a di:icult journey home after all of
them upset the gods during the Illiupersis.
§ Odysseus upsets Poseidon in the course of his journey, and Poseidon
will ensure that he has a very slow and troublesome homecoming.
§ While Odysseus was at Troy, young aristocrats (wealthy upper class
people) from Ithaca moved into his home, and are trying to court his
loyal wife Penelope. They are devouring all of his livelihood and ruining
his household.
§ Odysseus' son Telemachus, now entering manhood and decides to
go look for his father (Odysseus) to save his mother and his home
from these suitors
• Odysseus
, o biased narrator
o He is telling his story in a way to try and convince the Phaeacians to help
him get home: first person view of Odysseus
§ Odysseus' greatest traits: very clever speaker and manipulative in his
speech
§ biased lens: presenting them in a way to make himself seem greater
and to try and convince them to support him and help him get home.
o THEME – XENIA:
§ describes episodes where he encounters monsters who do not
uphold xenia and are thus punished by the gods.
§ convince the Phaeacians that you need to be good hosts (xenia), and
that you need to help him get home. The gods will reward this, but if
you are bad hosts, the gods will punish you.
THEME of the odyssey: XENIA
o Xenia: sacred guest-friendship relationship and the obligation of hosts to
entertain suppliants
o Religious dimension & power of religion attached to it
§ Zeus guarded of guest-friendship relationships, if transgressed, you
would incur the wrath of the gods
§ ensure social behaviours and values are upheld
• Sense that hosts are obligated to entertain suppliants
o HISTORY: This demonstrates the concept of a suppliant, and it was
considered an obligation of the wealthy aristocratic elite to support them.
§ Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar and asks for hospitality from
his own household to try and sneak in.
• Odysseus meets people and monsters who pervert or disregard the ideals of
xenia
, o HISTORY CONCERN & Mythological representation: reflects the worldview
and anxieties of the Greeks as they met new conflicting cultures when they
began to colonize the Mediterranean Basin in the 8th and 7th centuries BC.
§ didn't have the same social behaviors, religious beliefs, or political
ideals. Negotiating or coming into conflict w dif cultures
§ idea of 'who is civilized vs who is not civilized'
§ Major Question: experiencing new cultures and developing
their own Greek identity
§ He has to either bend and change his own behaviors or come
into conflict with these new people.
§ The Odyssey reflects the development of Greek identity as the
Greeks spread throughout the Mediterranean.
o increased mobility leads to anxieties about the dangers of life at sea.
§ Iron age -> bronze age (more Aristotle relation, more ships, etc)
§ About shipwrecks, accessing supplies, good harbors, and
places to bring in their ship, about bad weather
§ THEME: piracy: Ubiquitous in ancient world: existing
everywhere at the same time
§ Ambiguous in proper conduct at sea
§ Sailors and merchants could turn pirate
whenever they needed resources, and we see
this with Odysseus, who sometimes behaves as
a pirate and raids and steals supplies.
• Access to the sea and to have this seaborne mobility -> important for civilized
culture
o traveling around and creating network between elites would bring up
aristocrat's power, bring wealth, and bring influence.
Odyssey:
• Attributed to Homer
• describes the homeward voyage of the hero Odysseus from Troy after the war.
• The Odyssey is not chronologically linear
o in the middle & jumps around in its narrative and includes flashbacks
o Starts with close of the end of close of his wandering
• Odysseus is trapped on the island of the sea nymph Calypso, and the gods force
Calypso to release this hero so that he can escape her island.
o makes a raft and sails to the land of the Phaeacians, his final stop
o When he arrive: he is entertained by King Alcinous of the Phaeacians to tell
the story of his wanderings
o Odysseus -> son of Laertes & basileus of Ithaca
§ Odysseus' voyage home is filled with misfortune, and after a 10-year
war, it takes him another 10 years to arrive home.
§ All heroes of Troy experience a di:icult journey home after all of
them upset the gods during the Illiupersis.
§ Odysseus upsets Poseidon in the course of his journey, and Poseidon
will ensure that he has a very slow and troublesome homecoming.
§ While Odysseus was at Troy, young aristocrats (wealthy upper class
people) from Ithaca moved into his home, and are trying to court his
loyal wife Penelope. They are devouring all of his livelihood and ruining
his household.
§ Odysseus' son Telemachus, now entering manhood and decides to
go look for his father (Odysseus) to save his mother and his home
from these suitors
• Odysseus
, o biased narrator
o He is telling his story in a way to try and convince the Phaeacians to help
him get home: first person view of Odysseus
§ Odysseus' greatest traits: very clever speaker and manipulative in his
speech
§ biased lens: presenting them in a way to make himself seem greater
and to try and convince them to support him and help him get home.
o THEME – XENIA:
§ describes episodes where he encounters monsters who do not
uphold xenia and are thus punished by the gods.
§ convince the Phaeacians that you need to be good hosts (xenia), and
that you need to help him get home. The gods will reward this, but if
you are bad hosts, the gods will punish you.
THEME of the odyssey: XENIA
o Xenia: sacred guest-friendship relationship and the obligation of hosts to
entertain suppliants
o Religious dimension & power of religion attached to it
§ Zeus guarded of guest-friendship relationships, if transgressed, you
would incur the wrath of the gods
§ ensure social behaviours and values are upheld
• Sense that hosts are obligated to entertain suppliants
o HISTORY: This demonstrates the concept of a suppliant, and it was
considered an obligation of the wealthy aristocratic elite to support them.
§ Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar and asks for hospitality from
his own household to try and sneak in.
• Odysseus meets people and monsters who pervert or disregard the ideals of
xenia
, o HISTORY CONCERN & Mythological representation: reflects the worldview
and anxieties of the Greeks as they met new conflicting cultures when they
began to colonize the Mediterranean Basin in the 8th and 7th centuries BC.
§ didn't have the same social behaviors, religious beliefs, or political
ideals. Negotiating or coming into conflict w dif cultures
§ idea of 'who is civilized vs who is not civilized'
§ Major Question: experiencing new cultures and developing
their own Greek identity
§ He has to either bend and change his own behaviors or come
into conflict with these new people.
§ The Odyssey reflects the development of Greek identity as the
Greeks spread throughout the Mediterranean.
o increased mobility leads to anxieties about the dangers of life at sea.
§ Iron age -> bronze age (more Aristotle relation, more ships, etc)
§ About shipwrecks, accessing supplies, good harbors, and
places to bring in their ship, about bad weather
§ THEME: piracy: Ubiquitous in ancient world: existing
everywhere at the same time
§ Ambiguous in proper conduct at sea
§ Sailors and merchants could turn pirate
whenever they needed resources, and we see
this with Odysseus, who sometimes behaves as
a pirate and raids and steals supplies.
• Access to the sea and to have this seaborne mobility -> important for civilized
culture
o traveling around and creating network between elites would bring up
aristocrat's power, bring wealth, and bring influence.
