CL 28 - Classical Mythology

Lecture 30-35 - The Odyssey

Odysseus (latin = Ulysses)
Laertes, his father
Anticleia, his mother
Autolycus, his maternal grandfather and son of Hermes
Penelope, Odysseus's wife
Telemachus, their son
Telegonus, Polypoetes, Poliporthes - sons not in Homer
Phemios
Athena/Mentes
Nestor and his son Peisitratos (Pylos)
Menelaus and Helen (Sparta)
Proteus
Ciconians
Lotus-Eaters
Polyphemus, the Cyclops, son of Poseidon
Aeolus, king of the winds
Laestrygonians
Circe, a sorceress; daughter of Helios
Elpenor, Eurylochus
Tiresias, the blind seer in Hades
Theoklymenos
Sirens
Scylla and Charybdis
Leucothea, white sea goddess
Calypso, a nymph
Nausicaa, princess of Phaeacia
King Alcinous and Queen Arete
Eumaeus, Odysseus's swineherd
Argus, his dog
Eurycleia, Odysseus's nurse
Demodocus, blind poet in Phaeacian court
Antinous and Eurymachos, suitors
Phemios and Medon
Helios

Ithaka (Ithaca) Visit
Ismarus, of the Cicones (Thrace)
Aeaea
Thrinacia
Isle of Ogygia
Phaeacia on the island of Scheria

xenia
hubris
kleos
bie
metis

"The story of the Odyssey is not long; a man is away from home for many years; Poseidon constantly is on the watch to destroy him, and he is alone; at home his property is being wasted by suitors, and his son is the intended victim of a plot. He reaches home, tempest-tossed; he makes himself known, attacks his enemies and destroys them, and is himself saved. This is the heart of the matter; the rest is episodes." (Aristotle, Poetics 17).

"But I imagine that the story of Odysseus is greater than what he actually did, through the sweetness of Homer's verse; for his winged song he gives to lies a certain dignity, and his poetic craft deceives us, leading us astray by myths." (Pindar, Nemean 7.20-23)

IMAGES

• Trojan Horse. Roman wall-painting from Pompeii: the Trojan Horse is dragged into Troy. Naples, Museo Nazionale. Amedeo Maiuri, Roman Painting. Skira 1953. pg.75
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• Detail of white Odysseus blinding the Cyclops Polyphemus, who holds a two-handled cup, a skyphos or kotyle, with the handles shown vertically. Figure of Odysseus may show preliminary sketch under white which has worn away. Protoattic amphora by the Polyphemos Painter, formerly "Menelas" Painter, 670 - 660 BC, from Eleusis. Used as a 10-year-old boy's burial. H. 142 cm, D. 59 cm. Simon, Erika. Die Griechischen Vasen. Hirmer Verlag, Munich: 1981. Color Plate IV
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• Circe and the companions of Odysseus. Attic Black-figure kylix, 560 - 550 BC, by the Painter of the Boston Polyphemus. H 0.132 m, Diam 0.217 m. MFA: 99.518. MFA slide set 45.1
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• Odysseus meets Tireisias in the Underworld. Vase Painting.
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• Odysseus' ship passing the Sirens. The hero has been tied to the mast so that he can hear their beautiful song. The sail has been brailed up to the yard and the vessel proceeds under oars alone. Color Plate 6 (facing p. 48). Painting on an Athenian jar in the British Museum; late 6th/early 5th century BC. Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times. Casson, Lionel. British Museum Press. London. 1994.
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• Shipwreck of Odysseus.
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• Penelope and Telemachus await Odysseus' return to Ithaca. Detail of an Attic Red-figure skyphos, 440 BC, from Chiusi, by the Penelope Painter. Lessing, Eric et al. The Voyages of Ulysses. Macmillan, London: 1965. Plate 9. H 8 in, Diam 10 in.
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• Odysseus kills the suitors at the feast. Attic red-figure skyphos, ca. 440 BC, from Tarquinia, by the Penelope Painter. H 7.7 in, Diam 9 in. Staatliche Museum postcards. Antikensammlung: Griechische Vasen und Terrakotten. 4K

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