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Notes on Odyssey Book I

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Notes on Odyssey Book I Notes on Odyssey, Book I 1. Prologue—invocation of the Muse 2. Council of the Gods a. Zeus seemingly wishes to note that Aegisthus, having been killed by Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, the leader of the expedition to Troy, in vengeance for his father’s having been slain on his return, has met a fate chosen by himself when he sinned, thus illustrating that it is not the gods that bring evils to men, but men themselves. b. Athena raises the question of why Odysseus’ return has been delayed, since he remains a prisoner of the nymph Calypso. Zeus points out that Poseidon has not been permitted to kill him, but only to delay his return, in vengeance for his blinding of Polyphemus the Cyclops, Poseidon’s son. But Poseidon, who is now in Ethiopia enjoying a sacrifice, will not be able to withstand the decision of all the other gods that Odysseus be allowed to come home. c. (Note: an analogy and a disanalogy between Odysseus and Aegisthus: they are both being punished by a god, but on the other hand, Aegisthus has ended up having been doomed by the gods for his crime, while Odysseus will end up the instrument of the gods’ punishment of others for their crimes against him.) d. Athena announces a plan: (1) Hermes shall be dispatched to Ogygia to instruct Calypso to let Odysseus go, and (2) Athena herself shall prompt Odysseus’ son Telemachus to prepare for his return. e. (Note: In these actions Athena embodies the role Hesiod’s Theogony gives her as the chief minister of Zeus as king of the immortals.) 3. Summoning of Telemachus a. Situation in Ithaca i. Telemachus is in a bind, not knowing whether his father is dead or alive—he is not the master of the house, and thus cannot expel the suitors, who are wasting his wealth by their continuous feasting. Yet if they stay, his entire future will be ruined. He, who had been a mere infant at his father’s departure, longs for his return, and yet has no grounds to hope that he is even alive. b. Athena’s visit i. She comes disguised as Mentes, an old friend of Odysseus and the king of the Taphians. ii. Although she claims no source of authority for her claims, she assures Telemachus that his father is still alive, and urges him, now that he is coming of age, to take charge of the situation by (1) ordering the suitors out of his house, and (2) going to Pylos and Sparta (Lacedaemon) to seek news of his father from his companions Nestor and Menelaus, Menelaus having been the last of the Greek heroes to have returned. If Odysseus is dead, then Telemachus can claim his heritage and marry off his mother, and if alive, then he can prepare his return. Athena departs suddenly, revealing her divine nature to Telemachus by taking the form of a sea-hawk. (Seemingly, in the sequel Telemachus not only knows that he has been visited by a god, but knows that it is Athena.) iii. Telemachus is transformed by the encounter into a mature and masterful adult. He reveals to the suitors that he is going to expel them from the hall by distinguishing the questions of (1) who shall be king in Ithaca and (2) who shall be master of Odysseus’ house, and he asserts mastery over his mother by scolding her for attempting to ban a song about the Greeks’ sad return from Troy, even though he knows the song sharpens her perpetual sorrow. .
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