THE ODYSSEY III-V The Magical Mystery Tour Continues

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DISCUSS TODAY? The Who and the Where of the Odyssey 3-5 The Mini-Epic of Telemakhos The Continual Rebirth of Odysseus

Major Players in the Odyssey 3-5 Odysseus – king of Ithaka and our hero Telemakhos – son of Odysseus Penelope – wife of Odysseus Nestor – king of Pylos, elder sage of the Greek army at Troy Kalypso – sea nymph trying to detain Odysseus permanently

Major Players in the Odyssey 3-5 King of Sparta Husband of Helen, and younger brother of Agamemnon Had major issues getting home Oath to uphold his marriage led Odysseus to go to war MENELAOS

Major Players in the Odyssey 3-5 Husband of Klytemnestra (oops) Commander of the Greek fleet at Troy Killed his daughter to get to Troy Murdered by ______? AGAMEMNON

Major Players in the Odyssey 3-5 Wife of Menelaos, and daughter of Zeus Supposedly the most beautiful woman in the world Might not have gone to Troy Claims it wasn’t her fault HELEN

Map of Ancient Greece

The Where of the Odyssey ITHAKA -Odysseus’ kingdom, the place he just wants to get back to -located on the western side of Greece

The Where of the Odyssey PYLOS -Home of Nestor -Telemakhos’ first stop on his way to find out his father’s fate

The Where of the Odyssey SPARTA Home of Menelaos and Helen

TELEMACHUS’ JOURNEY

TELEMAKHOS’ JOURNEY WHY? – to find his father and himself WHERE? – Pylos, Sparta, back to Ithaka WHO? – Mentor, Nestor, Menelaos, Helen, Athena What are the differences between Telemakhos’ journey and Odysseus? (besides the obvious ones)

FATHER AND SON GO WALK-ABOUT TELEMAKHOS Goes on a rented boat Has only one ship Goes to visit friends Has a goddess with him Leaves behind a terrible home situation Gets home in a couple of weeks or so ODYSSEUS Takes his own fleet Has fifty ships Goes to war Doesn’t have a goddess with him Leaves nothing amiss at home Doesn’t think it’ll take so blasted long to get home

DIFFERENT, BUT SAME Both men are going at the behest of others: - Telemakhos because of the suitors - Odysseus because of an oath to Menelaos Both men are tempted by hospitality Both men go with a single purpose: to reclaim their kingdom

QUESTIONS TO PONDER ABOUT TELEMAKHOS’ JOURNEY 1)Is Telemakhos, as Nestor, Menelaos and Helen say, a spitting image of his father in all respects? 2)Whose journey is more filled with peril, the father’s or the son’s? 3) Would you consider Telemakhos’ journey an odyssey? 4) Is Telemakhos’ journey necessary? Is Odysseus’?

Just what IS an odyssey? “The first MYTHEME in our odyssey plot involves getting there (getting started, then getting through or over any hurdles, obstacles, perils, or getting out of baited traps along the way), the second MYTHEME involves getting what you went to get once you get there;while the third MYTHEME involves getting away with it in spite of the guards; and the fourth MYTHEME involves getting back where you came from, again, as on the way out, getting past dangers, which may be harder now because the prize you're bringing back makes you more likely to get ripped off.” (John van Sickle)

Just what IS an odyssey? “In such a story, we can notice, the traveler keeps coming up against the unexpected; in other words, dangers and distractions keep overtaking one. Now "over" plus "take" add up to what in the languages derived from Latin gets called SURPRISE; while coming upon or up against gets called ADVENTURE. So the odyssey we have been defining turns out to be a classic plot of adventure and surprise.”

First Mytheme: Getting There Getting Started: –T–Telemakhos –O–Odysseus Getting Through Hurdles: –T–Telemakhos: suitors, youth, inexperience, despair –O–Odysseus: nine major perils along the way, distrust, despair, heroic nature

Second Mytheme: Getting What You Want When You Get There Telemakhos: –N–News of his father –C–Courage and encouragement –A–A plan and a friendly face Odysseus: –F–Food –J–Just a little bit closer –C–Constitutional fortification

Third Mytheme: Getting Away With It Despite The Guards Telemakhos: –D–Doesn’t really apply here Odysseus: –T–The Cyclopes –T–The Sirens –P–Poseidon –T–The witch –T–The suitors

Fourth Mytheme: Getting Back Telemakhos: –W–We’ll have to wait and see Odysseus: –W–We’ll have to wait and see

REBIRTH Odysseus is constantly left for dead, yet he always manages to get out of it The war, Calypso’s island, the shipwrecks Usually with a little (or a lot) of help from the gods (Athena) Each time he reaches a new place, he is reborn Phaiakia: Odysseus, for all intents and purposes, goes through the birth cycle again

The Rebirth of Odysseus in Phaiakia He is “sick with salt water, and all his flesh was swollen, and the sea water crusted stiffly in his mouth and nostrils, and with a terrible weariness he lay unable to breathe or speak in his weakness” (Lattimore) “ Newborn is covered in vernix, the greasy substance covering the skin … Some blood may be visible on the body of the little one…the nose and airways may need to be cleaned and oxygen provided (if necessary).”

Questions to Ponder Concerning Women in the Odyssey 1)What is the role of women in the Odyssey: to advance plot, provide paradigms, or serve men? 2) Is Kalypso right to be angry with Hermes? 3) Does Penelope’s refusal to remarry smack of stupidity? Would Odysseus even have cared? 4) Was Helen guilty of starting the Trojan War?