Durham E-Theses Odyssean Perspectives on Trauma GARDNER, MELISSA,JOANNE How to cite: GARDNER, MELISSA,JOANNE (2019) Odyssean Perspectives on Trauma, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13247/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk ODYSSEAN PERSPECTIVES ON TRAUMA BY MELISSA JOANNE GARDNER USTINOV COLLEGE DISSERTATION SUBMITTED AS PART REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS AND ANCIENT HISTORY AT DURHAM UNIVERSITY IN 2019 ‘Odyssean Perspectives on Trauma’ by M. Gardner ABSTRACT: The question of whether trauma has a place in studies of the ancient world deserves fresh consideration. In the past, scholars such as Tritle (2000; 2014) have argued for a universal view of trauma based on human physiology. Others (Konstan, 2014; Monoson, 2014; James, 2014) believe a universalist position is useful for understanding ancient behaviour. On the other side of the debate, scholars such as Melchior (2011) and Crowley (2014) have highlighted some of the cultural and environmental factors that could have caused different rates of traumatisation and resilience in ancient and modern populations. However, these arguments have not adequately considered the issue of how people in ancient societies understood their own experiences of extreme suffering. My thesis addresses the issue of how early Greek hexameter poetry, and the Odyssey in particular, portrays experiences of suffering after overwhelming events, paying particular attention to the impact that suffering has on identity. In Part I of my thesis, I look at the language that this poetry uses to describe overwhelming events and the language it uses to describe emotional responses to them. My discussion establishes how suffering typically affects characters in the aftermath of overwhelming events and how the language that characters use to describe their experiences shapes their responses to them. In Part II of my thesis, I narrow my focus to the Odyssey and consider how it portrays the ways in which suffering has an impact on individual, collective and multigenerational aspects of identity. I argue that the Odyssey exhibits a strong interest in charting how suffering affects characters’ worldviews and identities. By combining modern trauma research with perspectives on suffering found in early Greek hexameter poetry, my thesis re-examines the concept of trauma and reformulates the lines of the debate on its place in studies of the ancient world. 2 Contents Statement of Copyright 6 Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 8 i. Modern trauma, ancient authority 8 ii. Trauma and trauma studies 12 What is trauma? 12 The ‘turn towards trauma’ in the late twentieth and early 16 twenty-first centuries Classics and trauma 23 Trauma models and terminology 28 iii. Homer and the Odyssey 32 The Homeric Question 32 The Iliad, the Odyssey and early Greek hexameter poetry 34 Traditional referentiality and resonance 36 iv. Odyssean perspectives on trauma 38 Aims and structure 38 Part I: The Language of Suffering in Early Greek Hexameter Poetry Introduction 44 Chapter 1: Overwhelming Events in Early Greek Hexameter Poetry 47 1.1. ἄλγος/ἀλγέω 47 Introduction 47 1.1.1. ἄλγεα as an event: a ‘usual human experience’? 48 i. ἄλγεα as a fact of human existence 49 ii. ἄλγεα associated with the Trojan War 52 iii. Attributing ἄλγεα to other gods 55 1.1.2. ἄλγος as an emotional response 59 i. Perceiving ἄλγος in others 59 ii. ἄλγος as an emotional state 62 iii. Claims to exceptional ἄλγος 66 iv. ἄλγος and oral narratives 69 Conclusion 73 3 1.2. πῆμα 74 Introduction 74 1.2.1. Conceptualising an approaching πῆμα (with κυλίνδω) 76 1.2.2. Designating a person, object or event a πῆμα 80 1.2.3. Speaking about experiences of πήματα 85 Conclusion 90 Chapter 2: Emotional Responses to Overwhelming Events 92 2.1. ἄχος and related verbs 92 Introduction 92 2.1.1. Origins of ἄχος 94 2.1.2. ἄχος as an ‘ordinary human response to danger’ 97 2.1.3. ἄχος as a persistent state 104 2.1.4. Claiming experiences of ἄχος 112 Conclusion 116 2.2. πένθος 117 Introduction 117 2.2.1. Origins of πένθος 119 2.2.2. πένθος and ἄχος 122 2.2.3. πένθος and lament 126 2.2.4. πένθος and the shattering of identity 130 Conclusion 133 2.3. τλάω/τολμάω 133 Introduction 133 2.3.1. Exhibiting endurance with τλάω/τολμάω 135 2.3.2. Exhibiting endurance ‘with enduring heart’ (τετληότι θυμῷ) 144 2.3.3. Failing to endure with τλάω 150 Conclusion 158 Part II: Suffering and Identity in the Odyssey Introduction 160 Chapter 3: Individual Suffering and Identity 162 3.1. Bardic song and eyewitness knowledge: Odysseus and male narratives 164 Introduction 164 4 3.1.1. Odysseus’ experience of overwhelming events 165 3.1.2. Odysseus’ expression of overwhelming events 174 Conclusion 185 3.2. Overwhelming experience in the οἶκος: Penelope and female voices 186 Introduction 186 3.2.1. Penelope’s experience of overwhelming events 187 3.2.2. Penelope’s expression of overwhelming events 192 Conclusion 205 Chapter 4: Collective Suffering and Identity 206 Introduction 206 4.1. Community identity in the Odyssey 208 4.2. Social disruption or cultural trauma: the first Ithacan assembly 216 4.3. Development of a cultural trauma: the second Ithacan assembly 222 Conclusion 231 Chapter 5: The Multigenerational Impact of Suffering 233 5.1. Telemachus and intergenerational trauma 235 Introduction 235 5.1.1. The effect of Odysseus’ absence on Telemachus 236 5.1.2. Constructing narratives about Odysseus 242 5.1.3. Facilitating communication on Ithaca 251 Conclusion 255 5.2. Navigating others’ suffering: Nausicaa and the Phaeacians 256 Introduction 256 5.2.1. The construction of Phaeacian identity 257 5.2.2. Odysseus and the Phaeacians: relating to others’ suffering 264 Conclusion 271 Conclusion: Findings and Directions for Future Research 273 i. Findings 273 ii. Directions for future research 281 Bibliography 287 5 Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 6 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council, whose provision of funding and training opportunities through the Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership has enabled me to undertake this research. I would also like to thank Ustinov College and the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Durham, both of which have provided me with grants to attend important conferences during my doctoral research. The opportunities these funds have provided have introduced me to new ideas and have shaped the direction of this thesis. I owe a great debt to my two initial supervisors. My particular thanks go to my first supervisor, Professor Johannes Haubold. He has supported me as my initial interest in trauma studies grew into a Master’s dissertation, a PhD proposal and, finally, a PhD thesis. Throughout this process, he has been a kind but thorough commentator on my work, challenging me to develop my arguments whilst ensuring that my readings stay true to the ancient texts. My thanks also go to Professor Barbara Graziosi, who was a sharp and resourceful second supervisor. She quickly saw to the heart of any issue and offered her insights at integral moments for the development of my thesis. I must also thank Dr Andrea Capra, who, despite assuming supervisory duties at a late stage, provided valuable perspectives that suggested new avenues of interpretation. Finally, I would like to thank my father, James Gardner, for the Sunday roasts when I was home, the cartoons when I was away and the quiet support throughout. I must also thank my mother, Hilary Gardner, for her patience, support and unwavering belief in me, without which I would never have undertaken, let alone completed, this project. 7 Introduction i. Modern trauma, ancient authority This thesis considers the place of trauma in studies of the ancient world. Much literature on trauma treats it as a timeless concept. Researchers call on evidence from a variety of ancient authors to support this position, often citing them as authorities rather than treating them as sources to be evaluated. A typical example may be found in Philippe Birmes et al.’s claim that In ancient literary sources, the vast majority of all pathological conditions pertain to traumatology, in view of the heroic nature and tragic affects in the aftermath of violence. The most famous work of Mesopotamia…already stresses the traumatic intensity experienced when facing violent death. During a grief reaction some time afterwards, this traumatic event is persistently re-experienced with recurrent and intrusive recollections of Enkidu’s death and a great many questions about Gilgamesh’s own possible death…A feeling of detachment with a sense of a foreshortened future is then observed, eventually leading to aimless roaming, leaving the hero feeling helpless. These criteria, including persistent distressing recollection of the event and numbing of general responsiveness, reflect those of the current definition of PTSD in the American Psychiatric Association classification (APA, 1994).1 In this overview of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the authors rewrite the epic narrative in the terminology of their field.