I read Homer‘s Odyssey much later in life than pretty much everyone else. For a bit of fun, here are some of my reactions from when I was an early 30s, first-time reader.
5 Reactions to Homer’s Odyssey
1. It’s full of Greek hospitality.
Much of what’s happening in The Odyssey is that Odysseus rides his boat up to some island, and Kings shovel food and wine at him for hours before even asking his name.
As it happens, these are all examples of Xenia, or Greek hospitality. The host carries a certain obligation to tend to the needs of the guest first, and ask questions only later. In turn, the guest has an obligation to be courteous and reasonable toward the host.
This goes well enough for much of the journey.
2. Homer takes the kidnapping and sexual assault of men seriously.
During Odysseus’s journey, Calypso kidnaps and imprisons him. Ostensibly with the goal of making him her husband.
Odysseus is much distressed by this, and what stood out to me about the text is how seriously and sympathetically Homer portrays the emotions of men. In a way that you don’t really see much in a lot of, say, contemporary American literature and culture.
3. The suitors are epic losers.
I mean, if your only exposure to The Odyssey is the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, you probably carry a skewed perspective on the suitors. Maybe you think they’re overall pretty well put together, but might also be secretly running a racist gubernatorial campaign?
In Homer’s text, though, these guys really are epic losers. Basically, a bunch of boorish men show up at the home of Odysseus and Penelope and live off the household. How these guys thought this behavior would help them gain a spouse is anyone’s guess.
4. There’s a bumfight.
Odysseus returns home in Book 18, at which point people engage in…bumfighting. People generally consider this to be poor taste for literature these days, but we’re talking about ~3,000 years ago here.
5. Penelope is the most sympathetic character.
Poor Penelope. Her husband is missing in action and presumed dead. There’s a horde of epic losers ruining her house. And her teenage son has gone emo. She has it rough here.
And as a bonus, a friend once recommended Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad for a take on the story from Penelope’s perspective.
Last, but not least, please check out other posts with the ‘culture‘ tag!
N.B.
Image Source: British Library
