Unit 5

English 201:    Masterpieces of Western Literature

Explication:
Reading: W&H: 332—375.

This is lesson 2/5 on The Iliad.  Our theme in this section is respect.

Perhaps you noticed that the early books of the ODY end with characters asleep. At the end of book 1, Eurykleia puts TEL to bed. At the end of book 2, TEL is putting out to sea when the suitors:
2.416    straggled off to find their beds in town,
            eyes heavy-lidded, laden down with sleep.

In book 4 MEN drowses away his life before sleeping in Elysion:
4.589    where all existence is a dream of ease.

PEN is also asleep, dreaming of a better world:
4.844    slumbering sweetly in the gates of dream

We finally meet OD in book 5. He is not literally asleep. We find him:
5.88      groaning, with eyes wet
            scanning the bare horizon of the sea. 

Kalypso's isle is called Ogygia, which means oblivion. Even though Kalypso keeps OD eternally young & gives him divine sex, he:
5.14 . .  grieves upon that island
            in thralldom to the nymph
feeling that in the 7 years OD spent on Ogygia:
5.159    The sweet days of his life time
            were running out in anguish over his exile

Isn't this strange? OD has far more than MEN. He has everything humans could ask for: eternal youth & divine pleasure. What more could he want? Kalypso asks:
5.221    Can mortals
            compare with goddesses in grace & form? 

Of course not, but OD is not Paris. Paradoxically, OD wants trouble rather than pleasure. Pleasure makes you drowsy & passive. Your life passes as an easy dream. It is as though you really didn't exist. Trouble & danger stimulate adrenaline. Mothers (Eurykleia & Kalypso) may warn that:
5.216    all the adversity you face at sea
is a stupid choice that you will regret. But they are wrong. For only by facing a sea of troubles can we become adult. Thus OD boasts:
5.230    If any god has marked me out again
            for shipwreck, my tough heart can undergo it.
            Let the trial come.

If this isn't hubris, it is close enough to draw Poseidon's attention so that:
5.307    OD's knees grew slack, his heart
            sickened, & he said within himself:
            Rag of man that I am, is this the end of me?

Who can save OD, who so rashly boasted that he could endure whatever trail Poseidon brought him? Ironically, it is a little girl who is sea foam:
5.344    Ino . . .
            slim-legged, lovely, once an earthling girl,
            now in the seas a nereid, Leukothea.
She tells OD:
5.354    You seem clear-headed still; do what I tell you.
5.359    make my veil you sash; it is not mortal;
            you cannot, now, be drowned or suffer harm.

The sacker of Troy is not yet ready to trust his life to little girls whose advice seems as substantial as sea foam:
5.373    Better to do the wise thing, as I see it.

When his raft falls apart, OD:
5.388    slung round his chest the veil of Ino
            & plunged headfirst into the sea. 

Neriads

OD crawls ashore to burrow, naked, into the dead leaves under an olive tree. As he does so often in important scenes, Homer suspends the action of the plot to offer a sustained metaphor:
5.510    A man in a distant field, no hearthfires near,
            will hide a fresh brand in his bed or embers
            to keep a spark alive for the next day;
......... . so in the leaves OD hid himself,
...... .... while over him Athena showered sleep

We do not know it yet, but the old OD, the raider of cities, dies. The flame that is fanned to life the next day is a new man. Of course he is still OD, but he is now committed to new values: civil, feminine values. What have his old marshal values gotten him? He crawls out of the water naked, without a single possession:
6.1 ....  Far gone in weariness, in oblivion,
            the noble & enduring man slept on

Where is OD? On Phaiakia, which is a fantasy island on nonviolence where no one ever suffers The Phaiakians had lived in:
6.7 ......a country of wide dancing grounds, but near them
.......... were overbearing Kyklopes, whose power
.......... could not be turned from pillage. So the Phaiakians
......... .migrated.

When OD awakes, he wonders what the natives of this new country might be:
6.127 ..Savages, are they, strangers to courtesy?
...... ....Or gentle folk, who know & fear the gods?

OD emerges from the leaves, stark naked:
6.138 .like a mountain lion,
... ......rain-drenched, wind-buffeted, but in his might at ease,
..........with burning eyes--who prowls among the herds
..........or flocks . . . .
..........Od had this look, in his rough skin
......... advancing on the girls with pretty braids . . .
..........he terrified them

The look of a predator, a mountain lion. Seeing that he was faced with girls, OD:
6.151 . debating inwardly what he should do
........ ..embrace this beauty's knees in supplication?

This is the usual gesture to beg for mercy & help, but should a big naked man grab a little girl's knees! Not surpassingly, OD:
6.155   thought it best
........ ..to trust in words to please her--& keep away;
......  ...he might anger the girl, touching her knees [!!]

You may discount OD's behavior here, saying that it is only tactical & does not illustrated a change of heart. Courtesy & civility may work with little girls in a fairy land. How well did HK fare when he begged AK not to desecrate his corpse? Perhaps OD's flattery is simply an appropriate weapon to dominate the girl?
6.159 . Mistress: please: are you divine, or mortal?
...... ....If one of those who dwell in the wide heaven,
.......... you are most near to Artemis, I should say
..........
OD suggests that the girl is as beautiful as a goddess & that -- since she resembles Artemis/innocence -- he is respectful & not a sexual predator. Remember he is naked & initially looked predatory. OD politely asks the girl to:
6.190. Direct me to the town,
...... .. give me a rag that I can throw around me

Nausikaa, the princess of Phaiakia, responds, saying:
6.199.Stranger, there is no quirk or evil in you
..... ...that I can see. You know Zeus metes out fortune
.........to good & bad men as it pleases him.
.........Hardship he sent to you, & you must bear it. ..........

Why is this so funny? (This is question you will answer in your Chat session.) Even though her friends fled, the princess declares that there is no violence in Phaiakia:
6.213 there's no fool so brash, & never will be,
.........as to bring war or pillage to this coast
.........for we are . . .
.........distant from other lands & other men.

However distant, the princess knows the law of hospitality:
6.219.Strangers & beggars
... .....come from Zeus: a small gift, then, is friendly.
.........Give our new guest some food & drink, & take him
.........into the river . . . to bathe.

OD demurs, saying:
6.233 .I take no bath . . . where you can see me--
..........naked before young girls with pretty braids 

Is OD shy? Here is a second question for your Chat session: Explain OD's motive here. The Greeks were hardly shy. Think of all the naked statues of perfection. They reflect a life at the gymnasium. Consider this funny episode from Plato's Republic, which offers something of a blueprint for utopia. The discussion is concerned with universal education, when someone asks if girls will be allow to wrestle. You can't believe what a big deal wrestling is in the Greek/Turkish part of the world. The problem is that wrestles compete naked. If Phaiakia is a fairy land of nonviolence, how absurd is this? Plato says not to worry. Initially guys will snicker & be amused at naked girls wrestling, but in time they will get use to it & ignore it! In any case, something besides modesty is going on when OD (does he have clothes by now?) declines to bathe in front of the girls.

The next scene might remind you of Jesus' baptism when a voice from heaven said "This is my son, my beloved, on whom my favor rests" (Math. 3:17; Mk 1:11; Lk 3:22). Athena "lent a hand" in invigorating OD:
6.247  she lavished
..... ....beauty over OD's head & shoulders.
... . ....Then he went down to sit on the sea beach with
...... ....in his new splendor.
6.255 ..Uncouth he seemed . . . .
...... ....but now he looks like one of heaven's people.

The question is why does Athena bless OD at this time? The answer is given in OD's behavior. He rises up from the olive leaves like the same old lion & warrior he was at Troy. But instead of intimidating the girls & seizing what he wanted (clothes) by brute force, OD respects the princess, who has no overt power, & empathizes with her. He imagines what her concerns & fears might be & then tries to dispel them. This is the attitude that is necessary to nurture Athena's city.

OD continues to go to school in Phaiakia. Like the prepubescent girl she is (who can twist dad around her finger), Nausikaa instructs OD:
6.322 To find my mother.
She tells OD to ignore her dad, king Alkinoos, who will be sitting by the fire [TV?] drinking his wine:
6.327..Go past him; cast yourself before my mother 

The girl knows from her experience that:
6.330..On Mother's feeling much depends ..........

Book 6 ends with OD praying, not for military might to dominate these people, but for their goodwill:
6.344 ..May I find love & mercy among these people.

We may still be skeptical of OD's conversion. Perhaps his politeness & civility is tactical? Book 7 will tempt the champion to at least dominate in athletic games.

OD is looking for Alkinoos' palace, walking through "the pleasant city" when::
7.21    .the grey-eyed goddess came to him, in figure 
.... .  ...a small girl child, hugging a water jug
7.44 .  .the awesome one in pigtails

Again OD respects those without the power to command respect. Nothing gets our attention like danger & the adrenaline it produces. Imagine AG or AK walking this same street. Wouldn't they simply brush by a little girl going to a well to get a jug of water? What could she possibly say to such great men? OD is humble enough to ask:
7.25    Little one, could you take me to the house 
..........of that Alkinoos

The child confirms Nausikaa's perception that women are the powers in Phaiakia where no needs to be vigilant for the eruption of violence. The queen's name is Arete, which means art, skill, doing things the right way:
7.71 .  No lady in the world,
..... ....no other mistress of a man's household,
..........is honored as our mistress is, & loved,
..........by her own children, by Alkinoos,
..........& by the people. When she walks the town
..........they murmur & gaze, as though she were a goddess.
7.78    just men in quarrels come to her for equity.

OD is always the foil to AG, who could destroy Troy but not control his wife, nor father a city. Aeschylus will illustrate AG's disastrous homecoming. OD will enter his own house with the humility he learns here in Phaiakia.
7.151   He threw his great hands round Arete's knees
7.155   OD made his plea:
7.160...May life
...... ....be kind to all! Let each one leave his children
....... ...every good thing this [pacific]realm confers upon him!
7.165  .He moved, then, toward the fire, & sat him down
....... ...amid the ashes. 

Why does Alkinoos so quickly offer to send OD home? Yes, this is another Chat question.
7.205. In due course we
..........shall . . .
..........take him safely, comfortably, well
..........& happily, with speed, to his own country

OD is famished from floating in the Med. As he eats, Arete examines him:
7.250 ..she knew his cloak & tunic
T      o be her own fine work, done with her maids--
......... .& arrowy came her words . . .
.......... who has given you this clothing?

Why is Arete's question like an arrow? In the Chat session, explain her unexpressed thinking in this scene & explain exactly how OD's response illustrates what Homer claims:
7.256   The great tactician carefully replied:
What is so tactical & careful in OD's reply? He infers that Arete is concerned about what? How does he seek to alleviate her fears? Why does he seem to ignore her question & tell her about Ogygia? Explain this speech?
7.272   The enchantress in her beauty
........ ..fed & caressed me, promised me I should be
..... .....immortal, youthful, all the days to come
....  .....but in my heart I never gave consent,
.... ......though 7 years detained. Immortal clothing
..... .....I had from her, & kept it wet with tears.

OD flatters mom, saying that when he saw the girls on the beach, the princess was the most beautiful & mature:
7.311    most beautiful. I prayed her to assist me,
...    .....& her good sense was perfect; one could hope 
...... .. ..for no behavior like it from the young,
... ...... .thoughtless as they most often are. But she
.... . .....gave me . . .
...... ... .this clothing. 

Maybe Alkinoos has had too many cups. He says that Nausikaa should have brought OD home with her. A 12 year old girl bringing a big naked man home! OD wryly suggests that dad probably would not have been pleased. He says it is my fault:
7.325   She did tell me to follow with her maids,
.... . ....but I would not. I felt abashed, & feared
... . .....the sight would somehow ruffle or offend you. 

Alkinoos blusters & seems to have no body (drinking all that wine?) or to have forgotten the affect of adolescent hormones. (Perhaps he can be the girls wrestling coach in Plato's Republic?)
7.330   I am not a man [yes! he seems no more than an idealization] for trivial anger:
....  .....better a sense of measure in everything.
...... ....No anger here. ......... 

Book 8 offers OD 2 temptations to prove Alkinoos wrong. A bard sings:
8.79  of heroes whose great fame rang under heaven 
at Troy, including, most prominently, OD. What would you do, if you were promenading with a king -- perhaps going in to the Academy Awards when you discovered that a movie you starred in was playing? Most of us would be very pleased at the discovery & blurt out, "hey, that's all about me!" Instead of identifying with the victors at Troy, OD commiserates with the victims, crying every time the bard summons up the visions of Troy.
..... The second temptation is physical: to demonstrate his superiority by winning most or all the games. Notice that the Phaiakian games are bloodless & entertaining. There is none of the grim violence so evident when AK challenges HK:
(Iliad) 22.316 Summon up what skills you have.By god,
........         . you’d better be a spearman & a fighter!
..        .  ..... Now there is no way out.

Here the:
8.113  Phaiakian
..........peers [are] gay amateurs of the great games

OD declines the invitation to compete in the games, knowing that if he surpasses his hosts by too great a margin -- as he does in throwing the discus -- he risks their goodwill & his ride home. When Seareach suggests that OD is a peasant nonentity, a nobody, OD is provoked to respond. Unlike the opening of The Iliad, where insult was met by violence, OD construes the insult into philosophy or theology that emphasizes fate above personal accomplishment:
8.175   The gods deal out no gift . . .
....  .....birth, brains, or speech--to every man alike 

When OD appears to be on the brink of violence: 
821.5    you angered me.
......    ... . . I bar nothing
Alkinoos demonstrates that he is not the passive nonentity that his daughter thinks. First he explicitly honors OD & then invites him to respect skills that he doesn't possess. You see adept this is; or that it is one-upmanship? OD has just expressed the general idea that everyone has different talents. Now Alkinoos deflates OD's anger by inviting him to respect fairy land arts & skills!
8.246   You'd have us note
......   ..the prowess that is in you, & so clearly [you demonstrated it with the discus] . . . .
.....   ...Come, turn your mind, now . . .
.....   ...on our prowess . . .
..... .....for we, too, have our skills, given by Zeus . . .
......... .not in the boxing ring nor the palestra . . .
...... ....we set great store by feasting,
......... .harpers, & the grace of dancing choirs,
...... ....changes of dress, warm baths, & downy beds.
......... .we excel the world
....... ...in dance & song, as in our ships & running. 

Part of the illustration of these arts involves the myth of Ares, Aphrodite, & Hephaistos that illustrates something of the relationships among power, beauty, & craft. You read the myth about how Hephaistos is so enamored of "laughter's darling" precisely because he so conspicuously lacks grace & beauty. Ironically, it is his loving dedication to art & engineering that produces, if not beauty, then the mirror for beauty. Beauty is nothing if not shallow & vain & fickle. Beauty is in love with power; & power is in love with nothing but itself.

8.346  Hephaistos catches Ares.
What does this mean? It means that engineering (& doing your homework) masters anger & rage: 
8.347   The lame god's craft has pinned him. 

Deflections abound in this triangle. Hephaistos does not snare beauty, but does pin rage. Beauty lusts for power, but consents to go home with engineer. We would like to ostracize Areas from the polis, but how can we when beauty, "so lovely, & so wanton," trips after the beast:
8.377  the lovers leapt away--he [Ares] into Thrace,
..........while Aphrodite, laugher's darling, fled
......... .to Kypros 

A large part of the problem is that our audience (our neighbors in the polis) either seem to have learned nothing or, like the lovers, like Paris, laughingly embrace ruinous lust. Hermes jokes about throwing away morality:
8.356   Wrap me in chains 3 times the weight of these,
........ ..come goddesses & gods to see the fun;
......... .& only let me lie beside the pale-golden one!

How to catch laugher's darling without paying Ares?  Hermes can laugh because the gods never pay with blood for embracing follly.

OD enjoys the performance:
8.400  your promise was to show me peerless dancers;
..........here is the promise kept. I am all wonder.

As this book ends, with OD strolling toward the wine hall after a bath & massage, the little princess lounges in the shadows, "waiting beside a pillar" to ask the guest -- the man she found that dad has now taken away -- to remember her. Here we see another step in OD's conversion. He could dispense with the girl or be perfunctory in his gratitude. In fact he must shock the girl by the depth of his respect:
8.484   all my days until I die
....... ...may I invoke you as I would a goddess,
......... .princess, to whom I owe my life.

How far we have come from the opening of The Iliad when AG so grimly traded a girl like this for Helen & not even for Helen, laughter's darling, but for her partner, power.

Go to the top & click on the next section: Questions.