Seoul Hero

Books 23 and 24 touchingly tell, respectively, the stories of the reuniting of Odysseus with his wife and father.

Odysseus meets Penelope, who does not recognize him, the loyal woman having first been brought to him after she disbelieved the report by an old loyal nurse. He brings up the subject of Odysseus, and Penelope, still rambling about “Destroy,” (i.e. Troy) asserts that Odysseus must be dead. Telemachus reproaches his mother for not embracing Odysseus and believing him instantly, but she deflects him, saying she must test him first: “we two have secret signs, known to us both but hidden from the world.” Odysseus then sends his son out of the room, and it is Penelope who tests Odysseus in a way every bit as wily as the man himself. She tells her maid to bring the bed out of the bridal chamber and get it ready for their guest. Odysseus immediately becomes indignant, reproaching Penelope for moving his bed that he had build secretly and alone, in his absence. And so the couple is reunited with tears of joy.
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There is an interesting mention of Helen in Book 23. It is noteworthy because Penelope ascribes Helen’s trip to Troy to madness sent by the gods. The traditions about Helen are not homogenous on this point, and many blame her for her infidelity. On the other hand, the Odyssey sees her in a more benign light, referring, as it does repeatedly, to the unfaithful evil woman par excellence, Clytemnestra. In presenting the long-suffering Penelope with greater attention, the epic provides a valuable female counter-example of virtue, thus changing the course of what could otherwise have become a mysogynistic work.
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One episode I found rather unusual was the prophecy of Odysseus’ travels to a land far from the sea, where he will plant an oar and offer sacrifices to finally appease Poseidon. It was almost as if a whole new traveling cycle could have been begun. I wonder if that were an aetiology to explain the presence of some temple of Poseidon’s, far from the sea. As it is now, the plot is dominated from start to finish almost solely by Athena.
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The counterpart to the reuniting of Odysseus and his wife is the scene in Book 24 where he is reunited with his father, the old man Laertes. Like other meetings we have seen in the stories, Odysseus does not reveal himself to his father immediately. Laertes had really gone to the dogs, so to speak, since Odysseus appeared never to return. Odysseus decides to “test the old man first, reproach him with words that cut him to the core.” Bernard Knox has an excellent point about this when he notes in the introduction that this is Odysseus way of restoring his father to himself, and preparing him for the real news. When Laertes recognizes his son, thanks to the “strong clear signs” (compare with the incident above) Odysseus shows, he weeps tears of joy in a very touching scene that makes me miss my own father, still back in Canada. I also can’t help being reminded a little of Thomas’s recognition of Jesus after touching the latter’s scars in the Gospel of John. Both rely on scars to persuade.
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The scene that actually begins the last book is of Hermes leading the ghosts of the suitors away to the netherworld. Once they get there, they come upon Achilles and Agamemnon, comparing notes on their respective deaths. In death the two are without animosity. Their presence here serves to remind the readers of just how dishonorable, low, and insignificant the suitors are compared to the heroes of the past. The scene also recalls the death of Achilles at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra and her lover, again, providing a foil for the excellent example of Penelope. Indeed, Agamemnon sings the praises of Penelope, saying that “the fame of her great virtue will never die.”

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The presence of Achilles and Agamemnon in the final book of the Odyssey, together with the scene at the end of the final book, where the relatives of the suitors begin battle with Odysseus, forms a complete inclusio with the beginning of the Iliad, that book having begun with the bickering of the Greeks, especially Achilles and Agamemnon. And so in the very final lines of this work, the cycle of intra-Hellenic violence threatens to begin anew, just like the cycle of traveling mentioned in book 23 was to start again after all that had transpired. Meanwhile, Athena, who has been ever-present throughout both works, appears suddenly in a movement that will anticipate the deus ex machina type-scene that ends so many ancient Greek plays. Athena commands the families of the suitors to refrain from attacking Odysseus, upbraids Odysseus for getting in that final blow after she began speaking, and commits the parties to terms of peace. The curious thing about this is that she does all still keeping the likeness of Mentor.

Final thoughts will follow in the next posting.