- Cheats repeatedly
- Excessively proud
- Overly reckless
So for years I’ve been hearing about how great The Odyssey is, and what a Cool Guy™ Odysseus is -- and now that I’ve read (half) of the epic, and I can mostly agree. But as I was reading Odysseus’s exploits I was growing more and more uncomfortable with “the man of twists and turns.” I understand that heroes often have a fatal flaw (or two or three), but usually someone points them out along the course of the story, and helps to outline/bring attention to what they are. That doesn’t happen to any great extent in the Odyssey, except for Poseidon being angered by Odysseus’s pride, demonstrated in blinding and then taunting Polyphemus.
Heroes in general tend to be reckless, that’s what gives them some of the courage to take their risks. But Odysseus crosses the line between bravery and stupidity way to often, and it takes the lives of his (now non-existent) crew. He invited himself into Polyphemus’s cave to steal cool guest gifts, and only gets out after several of his men are eaten (although Odysseus is the one to get them out). Although I understand he was stuck between a cliff and a hard place, he goes by Scylla’s cave without letting his men know what’s going to happen. And when he reaches Circe’s island, he sends his men ahead to go party without asking them to scout first, to report if the owners are friendly or hostile. After his experience with Polyphemus, I feel that he should have known better.
But then again, if Odysseus wasn’t such a wild guy, we’d have no story. The qualities that lead to these blunders, the pride and the recklessness, can in different circumstances be courage and a self-confidence which inspires obedience/help from others. But no matter what I think of Odysseus’s flaws, it seems that the gods -- or at least Athena -- like them. As mentioned in class, their interaction seemed to be that of equals conspiring. So Odysseus, flaws included, is almost like a god.
Which brings me to the actual gods…. I could do a whole other “callout post” for them. The flaws that in Odysseus that irked me and contributed to his crew members’ deaths, actually bring him *closer* to the gods. Yet by now we know the gos are not necessarily (not even usually) benevolent -- they like to interact with the mortals for their entertainment. The lives of regular people are like a reality show to the gods, and they love stirring up trouble -- as well as defending the power of their name. Sure Odysseus was “overly proud” when he gave Polyphemus his home address after blinding him, but it really doesn’t compare to Poseidon, who gets so (pardon my French) butthurt after the Phaeacians “disrespect” him that he destroys their harbor……. Their entire livelihood.
So I’ll end with a kind of “out there” theory. Clearly the Greeks are not a fan of the gods’ attributes that lead to “mountains around your harbor” and eternal psychological abuse, but they never really criticize the gods outright. There’s always a search for a reason why Zeus or Poseidon or Hades is mad, and never just anger at the gods or “the system” for kinda being generally “rigged” and cruel. But there is definitely criticism of Odysseus, even at that time -- the way Homer seems to shore the character up, and spend effort justifying some of Odysseus’s mistakes, seems to be evidence. Maybe Odysseus, with his god-like qualities but problematic episodes, acts as a stand-in for the actual gods, but one within criticism.
I like that you identified a difference between Odysseus' attitude towards his flaws as compared to other heroes' attitudes towards the same. It's true that most heroes have one or more flaws, and as you pointed out, it's also usually the case that heroes have an internal struggle with this principal flaw, as you said. Now, Odysseus' crew does point out that he should really stop taunting Polyphemus, and people pointed out that it was all his fault that they got into trouble with Polyphemus in the first place, Odysseus hasn't yet made an attempt to remedy all the problems his flaw of pride has gotten his crew into. This is where heroism really comes through, sometimes - in correcting one's mistakes after having made them, not necessarily being perfect from the get-go.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting idea that Odysseus is a stand in for Homer to critique the gods. Throughout the Odyssey, we can see plenty of qualities from the gods that are really similar to the mortals, yet they never really do anything at is quite as stupid as some stuff that Odysseus does. One thing I'm not sure about, is that if Homer is constantly justifying Odysseus's mistakes, is he really criticizing Odysseus? He might also be justifying the gods actions.
ReplyDeleteYou're definitely right that the Greeks never criticize the gods outright, but I do think it's for a good reason. The Greeks are plain mortals (like you and me) while the gods are immortals who possess great power. If the Greeks were to express their anger, they would only provoke these powerful gods even more and essentially, be cursing themselves. So, their anger would do no good, but then again, your argument that Odysseus may be a stand in for the gods would make sense.
ReplyDeleteOk first of all I LOVE YOUR FRICKING BLOG POST TITLE I MEAN OMG GYROS ARE SOOOO GOOD I never really had the time to make gyro meat though so :/ oh well maybe I'll do it over break? Lmao also falafels man.
ReplyDeleteI also really agree with your comment! Like 15 minutes ago I wrote my blogpost on how the Gods have tempers and just mess around with humans like its a game of chess (very unfair game of chess at that - go check out my blogpost! *totally not self-promoting myself*). I feel like Odysseus did what he had to though when he didn't tell his men about Scylla - if he did, what will ever happen to the journey home? Passing by Scylla guarantees the death of a couple of comrades, but the others are either all or nothing - if you were in that position, what would you do? Would you take the gamble, or would you go for a "middle ground" route? If his whole crew knew about it, everything would be in chaos. That isn't to excuse his selective choice of giving out knowledge, but it's something that I get, and for the love of God I won't have to make that decision.
I totally agree with your take on Odysseus's faults. Building off of that, I think one of the reasons he takes all these risks is that he wants to be honored and remembered as a hero. In Book 11, while talking to Achilles he says that he wants to be admired like Achilles as a hero, not just a clever tactician. That's why despite knowing the consequences of his actions, he actively seeks these dangerous encounters.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you are trying to say with Odysseus and his faults. It seems to me, even though he is considered a "hero", he really puts his values and his life above everybody else. Even with his loyal crew members, he couldn't even take the time to tell them that 6 of them were going to die when they passed Scylla’s cave. Even now in book 21, he is plotting on carrying out his vengeance on the suitors who may or may not deserve it.
ReplyDeleteI was THIS close to writing about Poseidon's weird obsession about Odysseus so I'm glad you are talking about this. Yeah, the gods role in this epic really annoys me for some reason. I think it has to do with the fact that they're supposed to be these great beings but ultimately spend their time just messing around with people's lives. Yet, it's Poseidon that is really unique. I always imagine him as that cranky old guy who waits by the front window just kind of muttering and obsessing over kids stepping on his lawn. Bu, in this case, the kids = Odysseus and the lawn = the ocean. His dumb grudge just isn't intimidating at all, it's ridiculous really. This guy could be doing better things with his time! Anyway, I realize your post was more about Odysseus but you mentioned Poseidon and I really wanted to just rant against him.
ReplyDeleteCompletely in agreement; if you look at it from a completely objective point of view where Odysseus is already established as the Cool guy(tm) (I love that by the way), he has a lot of *pretty significant* flaws, and the flaws seem to be have a godlike quality to them, or at least are approved of by the gods and goddesses themselves. I like the idea that this could be Homer's lowkey commentary on the god's flaws, never thought of it before but it's a really cool thought.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. The entire story is built upon this recklessness of Odysseus as well as entertainment for gods. Even coming to the end of the Odyssey, I still don't really understand Odysseus' fatal flaw. Like it is his pride? I think you make a good point of reminding us of Polyphemus, which is a difficult scene for Odysseus lovers to defend. Great post, I especially liked how you said Odysseus was a cool guy (TM).
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I really like the idea of this theory and I think you're right that there's something significant about Odysseus's similarity in character to the gods. But I think we're all still trying to fit Ancient Greece into our modern Judeo-Christian paradigm of religion. The gods weren't *supposed* to be benevolent. People complained about the gods all the time because that was their way of complaining about the shitty things that happened to them that otherwise couldn't be explained. The gods represent nature and other forces; they didn't create the world or save our souls and they're not bound to being logical or even nice. So I don't think Homer's audience needed a way to low key complain about the gods; they high key did it plenty.
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