Having left the island, Odysseus's ship sails past the coast, where sweet-voiced sirens lure sailors to the sharp coastal rocks with their singing. Odysseus manages to escape danger by plugging his companions' ears with wax; he himself hears the singing of sirens, tightly tied to the mast (XII 166-200). Odysseus's ship passes unharmed between the floating and colliding rocks and through the narrow strait between Scylla and Charybdis (XII 201-259); The six-headed monster Scylla manages to grab six of his companions from the ship and devour him. A new test awaits Odysseus on the island of Thrinacia, where the sacred cows of the god Helios graze (XII 260-398). Warned by Tiresias, Odysseus warns his comrades in every possible way against attempting to kill sacred animals, but those, tormented by hunger, taking advantage of Odysseus’s dream, kill several cows and eat their meat, despite the gloomy omens accompanying the meal. As punishment for blasphemy, Zeus throws lightning at Odysseus's ship, which has gone out to the open sea, causing his companions to die, and he himself escapes on a collapsed mast, and after several days of wandering on the sea, he is nailed to the island of Ogygia (399-450). The nymph Calypso, who lives here, holds Odysseus for seven years, until the gods, at the insistence of Athena, Odysseus’ patron, order her to release the captive to his homeland (VI 269). On a raft skillfully put together by himself, Odysseus sets sail and after seventeen days he already sees land in front of him, when suddenly Poseidon notices the hero he hates and brings down a storm on his raft, so that Odysseus has to resort to the last resort - to use the magic blanket that had covered him supply Leucotheus. Swimming, Odysseus reaches the shore of the island of Scheria, where the serene people of the Phaeacians live. With the help of Princess Nausicaa, Odysseus finds his way to the palace of the Phaeacian king Alcinous, where he becomes a participant in the feast at which the storyteller Demodocus performs a song about the capture of Troy. Under the influx of memories, Odysseus cannot hide his tears, identifies himself and talks about everything that he had to endure over the past years. The Phaeacians collect rich gifts for Odysseus and deliver him to his homeland on a fast ship (V 270 -V II 347; IX 1-38). Here Odysseus, transformed by Athena into a house and not recognized by anyone else, witnesses the outrages of the suitors, forcing Penelope to choose a new husband. Odysseus has to enter into a fight with the beggar Ir and experience all sorts of bullying from the suitors. In a conversation with Penelope, posing as a Cretan who once met Odysseus, he tries to instill in her confidence in the return of her husband. Meanwhile, the old nanny Eurycleia, whom Penelope instructs to wash the wanderer’s feet, recognizes Odysseus by the scar on his leg, but under pain of punishment she keeps the secret. On the day when Penelope, at the suggestion of Athena, arranges a competition for the suitors in shooting with the bow that belonged to Odysseus, and none of them is even able to pull the bowstring, Odysseus takes possession of the bow and arrows and, together with Telemachus, with the help of Athena, kills all his offenders. Penelope and Laertes, who have lost all hope of returning, Odysseus allows himself to be recognized by the only signs known to them. With the consent of Zeus, Athena establishes peace between Odysseus and the relatives of the murdered suitors, and Odysseus remains to reign peacefully in Ithaca.
King of Ithaca. Odysseus is ancient greek hero, king of the state of Ithaca, athlete, warrior and navigator. He took part in the Battle of Troy on the side of the Achaeans and, as we already know from the results of the Trojan Battle, emerged victorious. Odysseus and his adventures were sung by the ancient Greek blind poet and singer Homer in his poem “The Odyssey.” According to Homer, after the Battle of Trojan, Odysseus went to his homeland, but did not get there, but found himself plunged into adventure for many years, visiting many unexplored countries.
The Misadventures of Odysseus. Odysseus and the crew of his three ships, during their wanderings, barely escape from the island of the Cyclops, defeat the cannibal giant Polyphemus, pass the island where the god of the winds Aeolus lives, and meet the evil sorceress Circe, who turns people into pigs. Odysseus and his companions live on the island of Circe for some time; the sorceress gives birth to a son from Odysseus.
But Odysseus is still drawn home, and he desperately descends into underground kingdom the god Hades, to speak with the soul of the long-dead great soothsayer. Then Odysseus, on the same boat with all his sailors who survived the misadventures, sails on. He sails past the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, by cunning he saves his sailors from the sirens, who enchant with their singing and then kill the travelers. He covers the sailors' ears and orders himself to be tied to the mast.
Odysseus and Penelope. After spending another 7 years in captivity on the island of the nymph Calypso, Odysseus is left alone, and the god of traders and travelers, Hermes, finally delivers him to Ithaca. Odysseus was not home for about 20 years, during which time his son grew up in Ithaca
Odysseus was married to Penelope, who faithfully waited for him at home during all the years of her husband’s absence, although everyone in Ithaca considered Odysseus dead and forced Penelope to marry, since in those days a woman did not have the right to live unmarried, women were obliged to live in the houses of their husbands . Penelope fought back everyone and still waited for her husband, and her name became modern language a common noun for the fidelity and devotion of a spouse. And the word “odyssey” now means a long journey.
I. Trotsky
The Odyssey is a Greek epic poem, along with the Iliad, attributed to Homer. Being completed later than the Iliad, "O." adjoins the earlier epic, but does not constitute a direct continuation of the Iliad. The theme of the “Odyssey” is the wanderings of the cunning Odysseus, king of Ithaca, returning from the Trojan campaign; in separate references there are episodes of the saga, the time of which coincided with the period between the action of the Iliad and the action of the Odyssey. Like the Iliad, O. is an epic of the era of the formation of the ancient socio-economic formation and expresses the ideology of the ancient Ionian military-landowning aristocracy, which degenerated into a trade and slave-owning plutocracy. This process of degeneration left a greater imprint on the Odyssey than on the Iliad, since by the time of the creation of O. he has already advanced further. Military-“feudal” ideology gave way to the glorification of cultural life, and “O.” The ethical deepening of Greek religion, which accompanied the class struggle of the 7th-6th centuries, had already touched upon. In accordance with this "O." creates a much less archaic cultural background for the age of heroes than the Iliad, reflecting quite closely the present: the time of the fall of royal power in Greek communities and the initial periods of the development of Ionian trade and navigation. Most researchers attribute the time of registration to “O.” to the 7th century BC and most likely - by the second half of this century. The “cunning” and “long-suffering” Odysseus is already a hero of a completely different type than the heroes of the “Iliad”; the field of poetic vision is expanded by increased interest in foreign lands, in the life of small people, in the psychology of women; attitude "O." not without even a touch of sentimentality.
While the Iliad is built on the legends of the heroic saga, in O. The material that predominates is everyday life and fairy tales, essentially unrelated to the heroic saga. The text of “O.”, like the text of the Iliad, came to us in the edition of Alexandrian philologists and was divided by them into 24 books.
Plot outline
Action "O." dated to the 10th year after the fall of Troy. Odysseus languishes on the island of Ogygia, forcibly held by the nymph Calypso; At this time, in Ithaca, numerous suitors are wooing his wife Penelope, feasting in his house and squandering his wealth. By decision of the council of gods, Athena, who patronizes Odysseus, goes to Ithaca and encourages the young Odysseus’ son Telemachus to go to Pylos and Sparta to ask about the fate of his father (Book I). With the help of Athena, Telemachus (who tried in vain to remove suitors from his house) secretly leaves Ithaca for Pylos (Book II). The elderly king of Pylos, Nestor, informs Telemachus of information about some Achaean leaders, but for further information he sends him to Sparta to Menelaus (Book III). Welcomed by Menelaus and Helen, Telemachus learns that Odysseus is being held captive by Calypso. Meanwhile, the suitors, frightened by the departure of Telemachus, set up an ambush to destroy him on his return journey (Book IV). From Book V, a new line of storytelling begins: the gods send Hermes to Calypso with the order to release Odysseus, who sets off on a raft across the sea. Having miraculously escaped from a storm raised by Poseidon, who was hostile to him, Odysseus swims to the shore of the island of Sharia, where he lives happy people - Phaeacians, seafarers with fabulously fast ships. The meeting of Odysseus on the shore with Nausicaa, the daughter of the king of the Phaeacians Alcinous, forms the content of book VI, rich in idyllic moments. Alcinous receives the wanderer in his luxurious palace (Book VII) and arranges a feast and games in his honor, where the blind singer Demodocus sings about the exploits of Odysseus (Book VIII), who finally reveals his name and tells about his adventures. Stories (“apologists”) of Odysseus: Odysseus visited the country of lotus eaters who eat lotuses, where everyone who tastes the lotus forgets about their homeland; the cannibal giant, the cyclops Polyphemus, devoured several of Odysseus’s comrades in his cave, but Odysseus drugged and blinded the cyclops and escaped with his other comrades from the cave under the wool of rams; for this, Polyphemus called upon Odysseus the wrath of his father Poseidon (Book IX). The god of the winds, Aeolus, favorably handed Odysseus a fur with the winds tied in it, but not far from his homeland, Odysseus’s companions untied the fur, and the storm again threw them into the sea. The cannibal Laestrygonians destroyed all of Odysseus's ships, except one, which landed on the island of the sorceress Kirke (Circe), who turned Odysseus's companions into pigs; Having overcome the spell with the help of Hermes, Odysseus was the husband of Kirke (Book X) for a year. He went down to the underworld to question the soothsayer Tiresias and talked with the shadows of his mother and dead friends (Prince XI); sailed past the Sirens, who lure sailors with magical singing and destroy them; drove between the cliffs where the monsters Skilla and Charybdis live. On the island of the sun god Helios, Odysseus's companions killed the god's bulls, and Zeus sent a storm that destroyed Odysseus's ship with all his companions; Odysseus sailed to the island of Calypso (Book XII). The Phaeacians, having given Odysseus a gift, take him to his homeland, and the angry Poseidon turns their ship into a cliff for this. Turned by Athena into an old beggar, Odysseus goes to the faithful swineherd Eumaeus (Book XIII). Stay with Eumaeus (Book XIV) - an idyllic genre picture. Returning from Sparta, Telemachus safely avoids the ambush of the suitors (Book XV) and meets with Odysseus at Eumaeus, who reveals himself to his son. Odysseus returns to his home in the form of a beggar, being insulted by suitors and servants (Books XVII-XVIII), and makes preparations for revenge. Only the old nanny Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus by the scar on his leg (Book XIX). Evil omens hold back the suitors who intend to destroy the stranger (book XX). Penelope promises her hand to the one who, bending Odysseus's bow, shoots an arrow through 12 rings. The beggar alien alone carries out Penelope's task (book. XXI), interrupts the suitors, revealing himself to them, and executes the servants who betrayed him (Book XXII). Penelope finally recognizes Odysseus, who tells her the alcove secret known only to the two of them (Book XXIII). The poem ends with scenes of the arrival of the souls of the suitors in the underworld, the meeting of Odysseus with his father Laertes, and the conclusion of peace between Odysseus and the relatives of the murdered (Book XXIV).
Composition
"ABOUT." built on very archaic material. The hero Odysseus (among the Etruscans Uthsta, lat. Ulixes) is an ancient, apparently still “pre-Greek” figure with a name somewhat Hellenized by folk etymology. The plot of a husband returning unrecognized to his homeland after long wanderings and ending up at his wife’s wedding is one of the widespread folklore plots, as is the plot of “a son going in search of his father.” Almost all episodes of Odysseus's wanderings have numerous fairy-tale parallels. The very form of the story in the first person, used for the stories about the wanderings of Odysseus, is traditional in this genre (folklore of seafarers) and is known from Egyptian literature of the beginning of the 2nd millennium (the story of the “shipwrecked man”). Comparison of stories "O." with related fairy tales, he discovers that in the Greek epic the fairy-tale material has already undergone significant processing in a rationalistic direction and many fairy-tale moments are preserved only in a rudimentary form; the fairy tale already has a tendency to turn into an everyday short story, and many moments that at previous stages of the plot belonged to the supernatural world receive a realistic-descriptive interpretation. In the stories put into the mouth of Odysseus (“apologists”), geographical observations of Ionian sailors could also be deposited, but numerous attempts to geographically localize Odysseus’s wanderings did not lead to any unambiguous and satisfactory results. The archaic nature of both the plots and the figure of Odysseus does not yet testify to the original connection between the hero and the plots, and much in “O.” may be “borrowing” from tales about other heroes, for example. from the Argonauts cycle, the popularity of which is indicated in the “O.” itself. In any case, in the text of the poem numerous traces of previous developments of the plot remained unsmoothed.
Narration technique in "O." in general it is close to the Iliad, but the younger epic is distinguished by greater art in combining diverse material. Individual episodes are less isolated in nature and form integral groups. The “song” theory, which explained the emergence of large poems by the mechanical “stitching together” of individual “songs,” was therefore rarely applied to “O.”; Kirchhoff’s hypothesis that “O.” is much more widespread among researchers. is a reworking of several “small epics” (“Telemachy”, “Wanderings”, “Return of Odysseus”, etc.). The disadvantage of this construction is that it tears into pieces the plot of the “return of the husband,” the integrity of which is evidenced by parallel stories in the folklore of other peoples, which have a more primitive form than “O.”; a theoretically very plausible hypothesis of one or more “proto-odysseys,” i.e., poems that contained the entire plot and formed the basis of the canonical “O.”, encounters great difficulties when trying to reconstruct the course of action of any “proto-odyssey.” The “analytical” hypothesis is opposed to the “unitary” one, which considers the poem as complete work a single author who used diverse sources; The inconsistencies and unevenness in the stylistic treatment of the “Unitarian” observed in the “Odyssey” are attributed to the “author” himself, who processed ancient material in different directions in order to create a wide canvas, and due to the difficulties of combining heterogeneous material in the early stages of the epic. The ideological unity of the “O.” testifies in favor of the unitary hypothesis. And creative nature processing of the plot, but the lack of objective criteria in the available material for identifying the individual style of the Greek epic poet within the class style of the epic makes it extremely difficult to resolve the issue. Some of the “Unitarians” also support the traditional idea of a single author of the Iliad and Odyssey (Homer), considering the Odyssey only a later work of Homer.
In the later fate of Homer's poems "O." played a much smaller role than the Iliad, around which ch. arr. and literary disputes took place about epic poem(see The Iliad). Unknown in the Middle Ages and influencing European literature only through Virgil’s “Aeneid” (the motif of the descent into the underworld), “O.” aroused noticeable interest in the XV-XVI centuries. Hans Sachs dramatized it in his Wanderings of Ulysses, and since the “miraculous” was an almost obligatory integral part into the European poem, the fairy-tale-fantastic side of “O.” It was repeatedly used by poets of this time (Boiardo, Ariosto, Spencer), until the ideology of the Catholic reaction gave preference here to the Christian miraculous element (merveilleux chrétien). But generally speaking, the morally descriptive (“ethical”, in ancient terminology, in contrast to the “pathetic” “Iliad”) character of “O.” brought it closer in the literary consciousness of modern times to the novel rather than to the epic. The comparative simplicity of Homeric morals (for example, Princess Nausicaa washing clothes), the genre-idyllic interest in the commoner (the “divine” swineherd Eumaeus), etc. - these “base” elements (bassesse) made “O.” even less acceptable than the Iliad for poetics French classicism. But the “naturalness” and “innocence” of the morals depicted in “O.” aroused the admiration of theorists of the emerging bourgeois literature XVIII century (their predecessor is Fenelon both in theoretical works and in the moralistic novel “The Adventures of Telemachus”), and the material “O.” was widely used along with the Iliad to build the theory of bourgeois epic (Goethe, Schiller, Humboldt).
References
I. Editions of the text: NauckA., HomericaCarmina, Berlin, 1874
Ludwich A., Odyssee, Lpz., 1888-1891
Monro D. and Allen T. W., Odyssee, Oxford, 1917
Van Loieuwen, 1917
Bérard V., L'Odyssée, t. I-II, P., 1924
Schwartz E., Odyssee, Munich, 1924
Wilamovitz-Möllendorff U., Die Heimkehr des Odysseus, Berlin, 1927
Odysseus (Greek Οδυσσεύς, "angry", "wrathful"), Ulysses (Latin Ulixes), in Greek mythology king of the island of Ithaca, one of the leaders of the Achaeans in the Trojan War. He is famous for his cunning, dexterity and amazing adventures. The brave Odysseus was sometimes considered the son of Sisyphus, who seduced Anticlea even before his marriage to Laertes, and according to some versions, Odysseus is the grandson of Autolycus, the “oathbreaker and thief,” the son of the god Hermes, who inherited their intelligence, practicality and enterprise.
Howard Johnson
Howard Johnson
Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, had high hopes for the ingenuity and intelligence of Odysseus. Together with the wise Nestor, Odysseus was tasked with persuading the great warrior Achilles to take part in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks, and when their fleet was stuck in Aulis, it was Odysseus who tricked Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra into releasing Iphigenia to Aulis under the pretext of her marriage to Achilles. In reality, Iphigenia was intended as a sacrifice to Artemis, who otherwise did not agree to provide the Greek ships with a fair wind.
Circe, John Waterhouse
It was Odysseus who came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse, which brought victory to the Achaeans. The Greeks pretended to lift the siege from the city and went out to sea, leaving on the shore a huge hollow horse, inside whose body a detachment of soldiers led by Odysseus hid.
The Trojans, rejoicing at the departure of the Achaeans, dragged the horse into the city. They decided to present the statue as a gift to Athena and provide the city with the patronage of the gods. At night, armed Achaeans poured out of a horse through a secret door, killed the guards and opened the gates of Troy. Hence the ancient saying: “Fear the Achaeans (Danaans), who bring gifts,” and the expression “Trojan Horse.” Troy fell, but the brutal massacre committed by the Greeks aroused the severe anger of the gods, especially Athena, because the favorite of the gods, Cassandra, was raped in her sanctuary.
Odysseus and the Sirens, 1891,
John William Waterhouse
The wanderings of Odysseus were a favorite story of the Greeks and Romans, who called him Ulysses. From Troy, Odysseus headed for Thrace, where he lost many people in the battle with the Cycones. Then the storm carried him to the land of lotophages ("lotus eaters"), whose food made the newcomers forget about their homeland. Later, Odysseus fell into the possession of the Cyclopes (Cyclopes), finding himself a prisoner of the one-eyed Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon.
However, Odysseus and his companions managed to avoid inevitable death. On the island of the lord of the winds, Aeolus, Odysseus received a gift - a fur filled with favorable winds, but curious sailors untied the fur and the winds scattered in all directions, ceasing to blow in a favorable direction.
Jacob Jordaens, 1630
Then Odysseus' ships were attacked by the Laestrygonians, a tribe of cannibal giants, but the hero managed to get to the island of Eya, the possession of the sorceress Circe (Circa). With the help of Hermes, Odysseus was able to force the sorceress to return human appearance to the members of his crew, whom she had turned into pigs.
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Further, on the advice of Kirk, he visits the underground kingdom of the dead, where the shadow of the blind soothsayer Tiresias warns the brave Odysseus of impending dangers. Having left the island, Odysseus's ship sailed past the coast, where sweet-voiced sirens lured sailors to the sharp rocks with their wondrous singing. The hero ordered his companions to cover their ears with wax and tie himself to the mast. Having happily passed the wandering rocks of Plankta, Odysseus lost six people, who were dragged away and devoured by the six-headed Scylla.
Herbert Draper, 1909
Penelope Waiting for Odysseus, 1912,
John William Waterhouse
On the island of Thrinacia, as predicted by the prophet Tiresias, hungry travelers were tempted by the fat herds of the sun god Helios. As punishment, these sailors died from a storm sent by Zeus at the request of Helios. The surviving Odysseus was almost swallowed by the monstrous whirlpool Charybdis. Exhausted from exhaustion, he washed up on the island of the sorceress Calypso, who took him out and proposed marriage. But even the prospect of immortality did not seduce Odysseus, who was eager to return to his homeland, and after seven years the gods forced the loving nymph to let the traveler go.
After another shipwreck, Odysseus, with the help of Athena, taking on the appearance of an old beggar, returned home, where for many years His wife Penelope was waiting for him. Besieged by noble suitors, she played for time, announcing that she would marry when she finished weaving a shroud for her father-in-law Laertes. However, at night Penelope unraveled the day's woven fabric. When the maids discovered her secret, she agreed to marry someone who could string the bow of Odysseus. The test was passed by an unknown beggar old man, who, having thrown off his rags, turned out to be the mighty Odysseus. After twenty years of separation, the hero hugged his faithful Penelope, whom Athena awarded with rare beauty before meeting. According to some versions of the myth, Odysseus, unrecognized, fell at the hands of Telegon, his son from Circe (Circa), according to others, he died peacefully at an old age.
Odysseus was the son of Laertes and Anticlea. Born in Boeotia. His grandfather Autolycus gave him his name. It apparently comes from an ancient Greek word meaning “to be angry” or “to be angry.” Odysseus's wife was Penelope, cousin of Helen of Troy. They had two sons - Telemachus and Polyport.
Let's take a tour into the past to figure out what Odysseus became famous for and who he was. According to "History" Ancient world» this topic is not covered, but it is included in the school course foreign literature myths included Ancient Greece. And this is exactly what we need.
Who is Odysseus
Odysseus is known as a participant in the Trojan War and as the hero of Homer's eternal Odyssey and Iliad. He came to Sparta to take part in the matchmaking of Helen the Beautiful. There he meets Penelope, takes part in a competition for her hand and, having won it, marries her. In honor of this event, three temples were erected in Sparta. Then Odysseus returns to Ithaca.
Yielding to the persuasion of the Spartan king, Odysseus decides to take part in the campaign against Troy. He was the chief strategist of the Greeks. Thanks to his tactics and cunning, Troy fell. The famous Trojan horse is his idea. Many more adventures lay ahead for Odysseus, but he returned home on his own, having lost all the warriors with whom he went on the campaign.
Returning to Ithaca, he and his son Telemachus killed all the “suitors” who were annoying Penelope. The relatives of the murdered rebelled against Odysseus, and although he won, the arbitrator banished him from the kingdom for ten years. And Telemachus becomes king.
Odysseus built the temple of Athena on Mount Boreas. He died in Epirus, where he was revered as a hero. He was buried near Mount Perga.
To be or not to be - that is the question
So who is Odysseus? His adventures and life are described in detail in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, and in the works of Euripides, Sophocles and Virgil. Therefore, it is difficult to find a person who would not know who Odysseus is. However, the question of whether such a person really existed, or whether it was just a legend, is of some interest, and it is impossible to answer it unequivocally. There is an opinion that this hero of the ancient Greek epic really lived in ancient times. This is evidenced by frescoes on ancient vessels and references in the cultures of many peoples. “The Odyssey” and “Iliad” - the immortal poems of Homer - most fully tell about the amazing wanderings of the king of Ithaca, and although they are difficult to classify as historical sources, there is still some truth in these works of the legendary poet-storyteller. Of course, there is fiction and mysticism there, but this does not make them any less interesting and instructive, rather the opposite.
Let's sum it up
If you answer the question: “Who is Odysseus?” briefly, we get the following information: this is a literary, historical, and mythical character. He is the hero of myths, fairy tales, parables and legends. His image is reflected in art, sculpture, and painting.
Odysseus became the prototype of the ideal hero from the ancient past. But his image is most fully revealed in Homer's poems. This is one of the heroes of the Iliad and main character"Odyssey. In them he is endowed with intelligence, cunning, resourcefulness and courage. In addition, Odysseus is a talented military leader and strategist. However, in fairness, we note that this image is very contradictory. There is some kind of split in him. He is either a hero, or a robber, or loving husband, then an insidious lover... He has both positive and extremely negative traits. And sometimes metamorphoses occur to him.
Who is Odysseus? This is a creative character who is in eternal wanderings and eternal search. And the ultimate goal of his journey is to find a new himself, his family, his homeland.
