The Greeks called him Odysseus; the Romans, Ulysses. For his habit of dissembling, Dante placed him in Hell. A diplomat, a strategist, a politician, a manipulator: The original Odysseus strikes us as a modern man among his archaic contemporaries. His ruse, alas, was discovered, and he had to leave his island home of Ithaca, his wife, Penelope, and their infant son, Telemachus, for a war that lasted 10 years, ending in a rather dubious victory for the Greeks and the tragic destruction of Troy.
It was also Odysseus who finally helped win that war by devising the sneaky strategy of the Trojan horse, which enabled the Greeks to breach the walls of Troy. Although no one seems to know for certain whether Odysseus -- or Agamemnon, Achilles, Helen or, indeed, the Trojan War -- is history, mythology or both, these figures and events have had an enduring influence on Western culture.
Bringing together the material about Odysseus from these various sources, Beye rounds out our picture of this complex and multifaceted man.
The Trojan War, Beye tells us, probably took place around BC -- roughly four centuries before the Homeric epic commemorating it.
Others say he wandered inland, finally settling far from the sea. Others say he had as many as 13 children. Another mostly lost epic poem, the " Telegony ," tells the story of Telegonus, the son of Odysseus and Circe the result, evidently, of Odysseus' year with Circe during his odyssey. When Telegonus goes to Ithaca in search of his father, the two men, unknown to each other, square off in a fight, and Odysseus is killed by a spear made from the spine of a sea turtle.
The widowed queen Penelope and her son, Telemachus, accompany Telegonus back to Circe's island. And this is where — again, this is a different story from the "Odyssey," written by a different author much later, though still considered part of what is known as the " epic cycle " — things get a little weird. The Latin name for Odysseus is Ulysses, and that's the name he is known by in many places throughout the world today.
In , The New York Times reviewed the Irish writer James Joyce's new novel "Ulysses," calling it " the most important contribution that has been made to fictional literature in the twentieth century. Sign up for our Newsletter!
Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. History vs. Odysseus and His Not-always Heroic Odyssey. As a result, Odysseus has bad luck from that day forward on his year journey back to Ithaca and his wife Penelope. The enchantress goddess Circe turns all the Greeks except Odysseus into pigs.
The lotus-eaters, who feast on a plant that makes them lazy and listless. When Odysseus' crew partakes of the plant, they, too, fall under its spell, and it's up to Odysseus to pull them away again. Aeolus , the god of wind, who initially helps in Odysseus' journey by bagging favorable winds. When the crew opens the bag, though, bad winds blow the ships off course.
Odysseus complies by describing the fine tunic Odysseus wore, a tunic made by Penelope herself. Thus at one stroke he validates his story and also praises the womanly excellence of Penelope by commending her handiwork.
Even after Odysseus sheds his disguise and slays the suitors, Penelope still hesitates in recognizing Odysseus as her long-lost husband. To test him one final time, she orders the maids to bring the bed out of their chamber into the hall.
She knows this is impossible, however, since the bedframe was made of a living olive tree still rooted in the ground and hence could not be moved. Thus in the climactic reunion scene, Homer reveals Odysseus identity as literally rooted in his home and family, while also displaying the high degree of cunning possessed by Penelope.
Ace your assignments with our guide to The Odyssey! SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Why does Telemachus go to Pylos and Sparta? How does Odysseus escape Polyphemus? Why does Odysseus kill the suitors? How does Penelope test Odysseus? What is happening at the beginning of The Odyssey? Why does Athena help Odysseus so much? Why does Nestor invite Telemachus to the feast before knowing his identity?
0コメント