Chapter 15. Back to the Loom Before turning to the question of larger context, it is necessary to consider one more muthos Penelope tells in Book 19: the tale of her weaving and unweaving of Laertes’ shroud. I have left Penelope’s most famous tale aside until now because it occupies a unique position in the […]
Chapter 14. The Decision In response to the dream tale, Odysseus implicitly asserts that he will do just what Penelope expects, and Penelope is by no means blind to this assurance. She does act accordingly, even though her verbal response is skeptical. The scenario she described is a dream, and dreams, she reminds […]
Chapter 13. The Dream Action by Odysseus is just what Penelope envisages next, immediately after the Aedon comparison, in her dream about the eagle and the geese – or rather her message in the form of the dream. [1] The transition is abrupt, and Anhalt comments that Penelope seems to “deflect interest away from the […]
Chapter 12. Aedon Penelope begins in a striking way, with an extended comparison between herself and the nightingale – Aedon, the daughter of Pandareos. Although technically a simile, the comparison is so extensive as to amount to a mythological exemplum, and this is a noteworthy fact since Penelope’s previous narratives were all about herself and her present and her […]
Chapter 11. The Conversation I focus initially on the second part of the dialogue, after Odysseus’ footbath. At this point, the conversation between Penelope and Odysseus changes in tone and substance: Penelope now takes the center stage, the beggar primarily expresses his agreement, and the fictional Odysseus in Thesprotia drops out of view. […]
Chapter 10. Odysseus and the Boar The dialogue between Penelope and Odysseus is broken into two parts by Odysseus’ footbath and the recollection of his boar hunt on Mount Parnassus. The change of scene is dramatic: here we see Odysseus just reaching maturity (hebe), unmarried, and performing a hunting feat in the company of his […]
Chapter 9. Eurybates The final token Odysseus-Aithon gives to Penelope is the description of his herald Eurybates: καὶ μέν οἱ κῆρυξ ὀλίγον προγενέστερος αὐτοῦεἵπετο· καὶ τόν τοι μυθήσομαι, οἷος ἔην περ·γυρὸς ἐν ὤμοισιν, μελανόχροος, οὐλοκάρηνος,Εὐρυβάτης δ’ ὄνομ’ ἔσκε· τίεν δέ μιν ἔξοχον ἄλλωνὧν ἑτάρων Ὀδυσεύς, ὅτι οἱ φρεσὶν ἄρτια ᾔδη. (Odyssey 19.244–248) […]
Chapter 8. The Pin As remarkable as the cloak itself is the golden pin Odysseus uses to fasten it, another object Penelope herself gave to Odysseus on departure: χλαῖναν πορφυρέην οὔλην ἔχε δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,διπλῆν· ἐν δ’ ἄρα οἱ περόνη χρυσοῖο τέτυκτο αὐλοῖσιν διδύμοισι· πάροιθε δὲ δαίδαλον ἦεν· ἐν προτέροισι πόδεσσι κύων ἔχε ποικίλον […]
Chapter 7. The Cloak After the conclusion of Odysseus’ Cretan tale, once her tears stop flowing, Penelope returns to the task at hand, the testing of her interlocutor. This transition from emotion to practicality, from premonitions of the poem’s denouement to Penelope’s suspicions about her guest’s veracity is a good illustration of the narrative tension peculiar to this part […]
Chapter 6. Crete and the Poetics of Renewal The semantics of oaristes are not the only hint at the notion of new beginnings that is present in the Third Cretan Lie. The theme of (re)birth, so prominent in the Odyssey, is brought to mind by the presence of Eileithyia in Odysseus’ tale. After Idomeneus leaves for Troy, […]