Face of a God, Mouth of a Donkey
I chose a passage from Book VIII, lines 181 ~ 204.
In a few lines prior, Euryalus has just taunted Odysseus saying that he does not look like a sportsman and he looks more like the captain of a merchant ship rather than an athlete. Odysseus’s response is to look at the man dead on and state: Not all the gifts that people have are given to them from the gods. One man may not be handsome but the gods bless his speech so that “he stands out in any crowd” and that “he speaks with unfaltering grace and sweet modesty.” Another man may be handsome and look like an “immortal” but his words are foul.
Odysseus draws the parallel with the latter of the two men and says to Eurylaus that even though he is immensely good-looking, his mind is “crippled.” Eurylaus’s taunting jabs at Odysseus’s pride and “cuts deep”. Odysseus goes on saying that he is not a novice and that he is one of the best athletes around. Despite being “slowed down by my aches and pains”, Odysseus is fired up and ready to play.
In this passage, Odysseus essentially insults Eurylaus and boasts about himself. For Eurylaus, Odysseus calls him handsome but “dumb” in a sense. For himself, Odysseus says that he was one of the best athletes and that despite being riddled with aches and pains of age and the suffering from war and sea, he will still rise up to the challenge.
Odysseus is known by many terms: cunning, sly, smart, and he is even called godlike on occasions. Despite all this, Odysseus is still just a human and as a human, he has faults. Odysseus has had moments where he was either rash, emotional, or both, which blindsides him and results in creating bad decisions or choosing poor courses of action. Although the passage I chose does not include Odysseus making a bad choice, it shows how Odysseus is human as he is affected by Eurylaus’s taunting.
It is understandable that Odysseus is riled up with Eurylaus’s taunts. These taunts really cut deep into Odysseus and it’s not surprising. If I were Odysseus and I had just experienced the worst years of my life I too would react in a similar fashion. If someone, especially if this person is from a younger generation, puts me down, I would be enraged and would want to prove myself. Eurylaus has no idea how hard of a life Odysseus has lived and the way Odysseus reacts is oddly calm as he does not show anger.
Additonally, Odysseus has lost many of his crew members. Instead of getting to understand Odysseus, Eurylaus paints Odysseus as a greedy merchant with no skill other than for profits. To the Greeks, having strength is important and it directly links to their pride and honor. Eurylaus says that Odysseus has neither physical strength nor the skill to maneuver the sea; essentially saying that Odysseus lived an easy life because of money. Odysseus has money but definitely has not lived an easy life.
Hi Kenny,
This is a fascinating passage–I am glad you wrote on it, since we may not have time to get to it in class, and it definitely bears analysis and discussion.
I think you make a crucial point when you note that Odysseus’ manner here is “oddly calm.” Relatedly, as you point out, he does not reveal all the suffering he has undergone–suffering that perhaps makes an athletic contest like that proposed by Euryalas seem sort of meaningless! (It’s hard to get excited about discus throwing when you’ve had to outwit a Cyclops). I think you could go even further in your analysis of the way the speech pulls between two impulses: Odysseus’ very human desire to rebuke this disrespectful young man, and his steadfast refusal to reveal anything about himself. WHY does he continue to hide who he is, in this moment? (Thinking about this question would, I think, help you link the passage to the poem as a whole, which is deeply invested in this question of self-naming, and self-concealment).
A place where you could do a bit more detailed, close-up analysis would be the part of the passage in which Odysseus speaks in general terms: “One man might not have good looks/ But the gods crown his words with beauty… another man might look like an immortal,/ But his words are not crowned with beauty.” While you point to these lines, they feel under-explored in this analysis. You might start by thinking about their style, their tone. Odysseus seems to be speaking about the world in general, rather than the specific conflict between himself and the young Phaeacian. Why does he do this? What larger point might he be making?
Very solid work overall.
-Prof Kolb
I feel that your analysis of Odysseus having a human aspect to him is very important and you managed to explain it very nicely. The sole thing that we know Odysseus has in common with other humans is his immortality. In the passage you chose, we finally see his human side and very human emotions. Another thing that I feel is interesting is why Odysseus reacts so harshly when his honor is offended. Is it because he’s reminded that he is not the hero he used to be? Or is he trying to convince himself that he is this incredible human? I feel that we finally see Odysseus’ confidence decline quite a bit, which is also another very human characteristic.