Great Works I: Remixing Memory

The passage I chose to analyze is lines 310- 330 in Book 10, “The Bewitching Queen of Aeaea” of The Odyssey. In this passage, Odysseus and his men have come upon the Aeaen island, which is the home of the nymph Circe. At this point, Circe has bewitched all the men and turned them into swine, except Eurylochus, who runs back to warn Odysseus. Odysseus insists upon being noble and trying to rescue his men, but the god Hermes intercepts him before he enters Circe’s lair. In this instance, I find it interesting how Hermes first urges Odysseus to avoid the perils of Circe’s feminine wiles, in saying “Where are you going now, my unlucky friend- trekking over the hills alone in unfamiliar country?” and going on to say, “Well I warn you, you won’t get home yourself, you’ll stay right there, trapped like the rest. But wait, I can save you, free you from great danger.” By Hermes saying this to Odysseus, he is clearly highlighting the weaknesses of male mortals to make bad decisions regarding females, and therefore affording greater status to gods like himself. What I question is, is why the gods do not simply interfere with things before they happen, rather than just swooping in to help out afterwards?  In this case, I think it just sounds like Hermes really wants to ensure that he is given credit for Odysseus’s good fortune, as he originally is “unlucky” without guidance from the gods; he wants Odysseus to recognize his weaknesses as a mere “man.”

This seems to correlate with my previous blog post, in which I discussed how Athena led Odysseus and Nausicaa to meet in Book 5, “The Princess and the Stranger.” It also raised a huge question for me about the importance of sexuality in negotiations in this era, as it seems that the perfectly executed manipulation could make or break a situation, as I further realized as I came to line 330. In this prose, Hermes gives Odysseus a magic herb that would shield him from Circe’s charms; yet he then goes on to say, “She’ll cower in fear and coax you to her bed- but don’t refuse the goddesses bed, not then, not if she’s to release your friends and treat you well herself.” While both Hermes and Odysseus are aware that Circe is malicious, she still must be “bedded” in order for Odysseus to get what he needs. This is exactly like the situation he had in the past with Calypso- which further raises the question, as to why it is okay for Odysseus to be unfaithful to Penelope in his “quest” to return back to her and his home, but Penelope is painted as having to remain virtuous and true, despite Odysseus having been gone for so many years. It paints women as using their sexual charms for manipulative means, and I can only deduce that gender roles were viewed very differently, with female sexuality being viewed as cunning and devious, while male sexuality was more “natural.”

As I read through Book 6: “The Princess and the Stranger,” of The Odyssey, it struck me how much the tale of Nausicaa meeting Odysseus correlated with our discussion in class of the Greek concept, “xenia.” In this case, when Odysseus stumbles upon Nausicaa and her handmaidens, she initially offers the clearly ill-fated Odysseus food, drink, clothing, and the opportunity to bathe out of her clear sense of responsibility being a princess. Beyond generosity, they seem to bestow their offerings in such a way as to look out for possible alliances and good standing amongst other kingdoms, while ensuring that both the recipients and the Gods are aware of their good deeds.

However, the first question I wondered, was why Athena led Odysseus to Nausicaa just as he got away from a situation where he was “trapped” by another powerful woman/goddess, Calypso. But after Nausicaa feels attracted to Odysseus, she offers even more to him, setting him up to meet her mother and father, the queen and king. As in line 270, when she says “Ah, if only a man like that were called my husband, lived right here, pleased to stay forever…” it is clear that she also wants to charm him into falling in love with her, and not just as a means of getting back home. The next passage also raised some questions for me, because it seemed a little sexual with the choice of language; after she offers him food, it says “the great Odysseus, long deprived, so ravenous now–it seemed like years since he has tasted food,” similar to the way that he is cast upon throughout the books, as having little choice in matters with women, being only a “great” man with “needs” that can only be satisfied with women.

When Nausicaa says “Phaecians, you see, care nothing for bow or quiver” but rather for “masts and oars” of their ships, I think she is saying that Odysseus is safe from being harmed by other men, but might not be respected for not sailing in to Phaeacia grandly; by plotting ahead on how he would enter the city, she also did not want to look bad bringing a man unescorted with her.  Basically, it appear that she is trying to set it up where it would look like Odysseus and her “magically” met through an honorable way, so as to make him look better in the eyes of society as a potential husband for her, rather than a shipwrecked beggar. What I also think points to her young and naive age is that she thought of this all based only upon her desire for a husband, and Odysseus’s attractiveness after he bathes; while it is true that he mentions commanding an army prior to meeting his ill-fortune, she really knows nothing about him. Secretly, the Gods arranged for them to meet for a reason, and he is of noble pedigree so he is indeed a good catch, but without her actually knowing this, she is already trying to follow along with her daydreams of the fairy-tale handsome stranger who comes to sweep her off her feet. Additionally, it all connects back with the Greek idea of the Gods and fate having a hand in everything.