The Odyssey, Book 10

Next up, the island of Aiolos (both island and man).  Treated well, Aiolos sends them off with a gift for Odyssesus: a sack containing all the winds they might need for the journey home.  They sail within sight of Ithaca, at which point Odysseus finally takes a rest.  His companions, thinking the gift was gold, jealously open the sack, releasing the winds, and blowing them back to Aiolos.  He refuses them further aid, saying Odysseus must be cursed by the gods and he won't mess with that.

Next, the island of Lamos, home to the Laistrygones.  They land and explore the island, eventually coming to the queen and king, Antiphates, giants.  They kill some, and alert the other Laistrygones to strike.  Most perish; Odysseus escapes with one ship remaining.

Next, the island of Aiaia, home of Circes.  Odysseus goes first and find's location of Circe's palace.  A team of half the remaining men set out to explore, in great fear for their lives after previous excursions.  Surrounded by docile and enchanted lions and wolves, they come to Circe's palace, where they are welcomed, pampered, and fed.  They're also changed into pigs, with only Eurylochos escaping back to tell Odysseus.

He returns alone.  Along the way, he is met by Hermes, who gives him a potion-- "moly"-- to resist Circe's poison and told how to win her over.  At the palace, the poison doesn't affect Odysseus; he lunges at Circe with his sword; she begs to be spared.  Says he must be Odysseus, as Hermes foretold to her would eventually arrive on the island.  Swears to hurt him no longer.  She seduces him; he asks first that his companions be restored.  They turn back to men, looking better than ever.

They return to the rest of the companions at the ship.  Odysseus convinces them all to go to the palace, where it's safe now.  Eurylochos resists, not trusting any of Odysseus's plans anymore.  Odysseus considers killing him, but is talked down, still seething in resentment.  They are pampered at the palace, and stay for a year.  Finally the men ask to return home, and Odysseus approaches Circe.  He is told he must first confront Hades and Persephone (Hades' wife), and consult with the dead prophet Teiresias for his next move.  Given specific instructions as to how to find Hades, and what sacrifices to make in order to summon Teiresias.  He wakes his men; Elpenor falls off the roof and dies.  Once they're all back in the ship, Odysseus tells them they're not going home, they're off to Hades first.  The men are miserable.

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Holy moly, perhaps?

Eurylochos certainly has a point.  At the moment, Odysseus sucks.

Update: (10 minutes later) Aha!  I was right!

"Direct me gods, whose changes are all holy / To where it flickers deep in grass, the moly:"
 -- Thom Gunn, 20th century American poet, Moly

The Odyssey, Book 9

Odysseus announces his name, and begins to tell his adventures since the fall of Ilion.  First, that he greatly misses his home, better even than the island where Kalypso seduced him, better than the other island where Circe did the same.

First the island of Ismaros, home of the Kikonians.  Odysseus and his men sack and plunder.  Then feast, rather than leaving early.  The Kikonians call in reinforcements and raid the camp; many of Odysseus's men are killed, while the rest flee.

Next the island of the Lotus-Eaters.  A scout team was sent to the city, but they were taken in by the promise of eating endless Lotus and wouldn't return.  Odysseus forced them back bound and left quickly.

Next the land of the Cyclopes, a wild race living on uncivilized islands-- uncivilized because there was no need to be.  The crops cultivated themselves.  Odysseus lands on uninhabited island, teeming with wild sheep and goats.  They feast on 108.  One ship sent to the next island over to learn about the Cyclopian people.  From there, a small team led by Odysseus go to explore the cave of the giant man living on this island.

They find flocks of sheep and goats in pens within the cave.  Alone, they eat the cheese that is being prepared.  Odysseus's companions want to leave quickly with a bounty of animals; Odysseus thinks it better to wait for the giant and try to win presents as visitors.

The giant returns, rolls a giant stone in the mouth of the cave, and milks the goats.  Noticing the men, Odysseus announces who they are and asks for hospitality, in the name of Zeus.  Giant doesn't respect Zeus, but asks where their ship is.  Sensing danger, Odysseus says it was crushed and the remaining men are dead.  Giant eats kills and eats two men for dinner.  Next morning, he eats two for breakfast, then leaves the cave with the remaining men inside.

Odysseus hatches a plan, prepares a giant spear for later.  Giant returns, eats two more men.  Odysseus offers some of the potent wine he brought from the ship.  Giant enjoys it and asks for more, offering a gift if Odysseus obliges and tells his name.  He does, but says his name is "Nobody"; giant: "Your gift is that I'll eat you last."  After more wine, he falls asleep drunk (and belches up human parts, apparently).  Odysseus and his men drive the red-hot spear through his eye.

Giant runs out of the cave, while other Cyclopes run to his aid.  "Polyphemos (his name), what happened?"  Polyphemos: "Nobody is trying to kill me."  Other Cyclopes: "In that case, you're being harmed by Zeus.  Pray to your father Poseidon for relief."

Polyphemos sits at cave entrance and feels ground for men trying to escape.  Odysseus ties his men underneath sheep, and they escape detection as they leave the cave.  Drive the sheep back to the boat and push off, but Odysseus taunts Polyphemos, who tosses a boulder in the sea that pulls the ship back to shore.  The boat quickly shoves off again.  Farther away, against the wishes of the men, Odysseus taunts Polyphemos again and announces his true name.

Polyphemos: "That explains it.  There was a prophecy that I would be harmed at the hands of Odysseus.  Let me ask my father Poseidon to heal me and help me get back."  Odysseus: "Even your father can never heal the wound I inflicted."  Polyphemos: "In that case, let me ask Poseidon to make the rest of your journey difficult and miserable, and if you ever return to Ithaka, find your household in disarray."  Throws another stone that roils the sea.

Odysseus returns to uninhabited island.  They feast, and Odysseus makes sacrifice to Zeus for passage home, to no avail.  They set sail again.

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Saved, at least in part, by a pun?  I'm awfully glad that literary cleverness has come a long way since then.  Not bad for a first stab at it though, Homer.

Odysseus acts like an idiot in this book.  Most of his decisions turn out very, very badly, except for the escape.  By having Polyphemos announce the prophecy, though, it makes it ambiguous whether this failure is really Odysseus's own fault.  Could the prophecy have been avoided?  Now that the gods are involved, are Odysseus's coming travails in any way avoidable?  What use will his cleverness actually be if it does not allow him to escape fate?  The ultimate question...

The Odyssey, Book 8

Alkinoos calls an assembly (gathered ultimately by Athene) to send off Odysseus.  Feasting, followed by singing by the blind poet Demodokos, who tells the story of the sack of Ilion.  Odysseus weeps uncontrollably, but hides it (except from Alkinoos).  Call for contests, so that Odysseus may return home with stories of the strength and skill of the Phaiakians.  Footrace, wrestling, long jump, discus, boxing.  Alkinoos's son Laodamas invites Odysseus to try his hand, but he declines.  Euryalos mocks him for it, claiming he likely has no skill at contests.  Angered, Odysseus explains to the young man that talents are all distributed unequally.  Then takes the heaviest discus, and wins.  Athene brags on him.  Odysseus brags on himself for his abilities in all contests-- wrestling to archery. 

More entertainment, as Demodokos tells a story of the gods.  "Hephaistos, married to Aphrodite, learns of her affair with Ares.  Hephaistos sets a trap whereby the two are ensnared when they next go to bed together.  The gods gather and laugh mercilessly at their predicament.  But Apollo: 'Nudge, nudge.  Ain't so bad, being tied down in bed with Aphrodite, eh?'  Hermes: 'You got that right.'  Hephaistos seeks and gets repayment for Aphrodite's betrayal."  Odysseus impressed with the story.

Looking for some other skill Odysseus might tell of upon his return, Alkinoos's two sons Laodamas and Halios dance.  It involves throwing a ball back and forth as well.  Odysseus impressed.

More feasting.  Euryalos apologizes.  Gift giving from all the lords and from Arete.  Farewell from Nausikaa.  More storytelling from Demodokos.  Odysseus requests story of the Trojan Horse, and Demodokos obliges.  Once again Odysseus is driven to tears, and once again Alkinoos takes note.  Finally, Alkinoos says Odysseus may go with the good wishes of all the Phaiakians.  But first asks him his name, and his adventures at sea before arriving on their island.  And how come he is so affected by stories from Ilion?

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Quite a bit of self-flattery by Homer in this book, I think.  Demodokos is clearly modelled on himself, down to the blindness.  And of course he regales the audience with the story of the Iliad.  Whether this points to a unitary author between these works, I have no idea.

I was surprised to see that Odysseus hasn't actually revealed who he is to the Phaiakians as of yet.  But thinking back, I guess the royal family has so far been impressed just with his stature and god-like visage.  And they have merely shown the hospitality that one must show for a stranger lost at sea, at least one who has displayed the manners and good sense that Odysseus has so far.

Once again, this sets up a far more interesting structure for the overall narrative.  Odysseus now has the chance to explain his adventures prior to landing on Kalypso's island.  The back-and-forth jumps through time have been really well done.  (Duh, it's Homer.)

The Odyssey, Book 7

Odysseus waits, then follows Nausikaa to the palace.  Athene appears and escorts him there, shrouding him in fog from the people.  Upon arrival, she withdraws to Athens.  Description of the palace.  Odysseus throws himself at the feet of Arete the queen.  Alkinoos the king feeds him, gives him his son's seat.  They plan to set him off on his voyage in the morning (much as Menelaos did for Telemachus).  But first, Arete notices his clothing (from Nausikaa) and asks frome where he comes.  Odysseus explains his loss of his companions at sea, his capture by Kalypso on the island of Ogygia for eight years, and finally his release and the details of his voyage from there to the island of the Phaiakians, all the action of Book 5.  Alkinoos wishes that Odysseus could be a husband to Nausikaa, but instead he must finish his voyage home.  They send him to bed.

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Another really short book.  Where's all the action?

The vivid description of the palace reminded me of the description of the shield that Hephaistos forged for Achilleus in The Iliad.  Once again, it has been turned into artwork.  A sample:

Heretics (G.K. Chesterton)

My first entry from the Religion category.  I wish I had started this when I read the Pope's books at Eucharistic Adoration, but perhaps I'll re-read those later.  Right now it seems that my religion books can be read in a non-sequential manner, but I think it makes sense to read Chesterton in order (Orthodoxy will follow), and probably C.S. Lewis right after that.

For the sake of economy, I got Ignatius Press's Collected Works version of Heretics.  This was a Christmas present from Mom and Dad the same year I got Lewis, I think-- they were both on my list.  The introduction gave me some biographical information about Chesterton that I did not now.  I suppose it's important to note while reading that he had not yet converted to Catholicism when this was written, though mentally he may already have made that leap.

I've read the first chapter of Heretics twice already.  There was so much in there that I want to remember, that it made me decide to branch out the blog to my entire library.  Too tired tonight to read it a third time, though.

Branching out

I've got shelves and shelves of books that I wanted to own, but never got around to reading, and it's not all literature.  There's no reason not to read more than one thing at a time-- if I could do it in fourth grade, I can do it now.  But I think it's best to read only one selection from a genre at a time.  My shelves are pretty well divided between Literature, Religion, Politics, and Philosophy, though there's a good deal of overlap between the categories for some books.

Note-taking isn't necessary for every book, either.  At the moment, I'm reading Mark Steyn's Lights Out.  I ordered that one pretty soon after it came out, I think (along with Dream Theater and Van Morrison CDs, apparently).  Since it's simply a collection of his essays, and it's mostly entertainment, that's all that needs to be said.

The Odyssey, Book 6

While Odysseus sleeps, Athene goes ahead to Scheria, the city of the Phaiakians.  Enters the room of the king Alkinoos's daughter Nausikaa.  Appearing as her friend, tells her to do her wedding laundry the next day.  She goes to the river with her attendants.  While there, Athene wakens Odysseus and he sees them.  Debates throwing himself at her feet (knees), or calling out from afar.  Since he's naked, that's what he does.  Asks for clothing and food, and Nausikaa obliges.

He bathes, and Athene makes his appearance like that of the gods.  Nusikaa is impressed.  She plans to bring him to her parents for rest, but is afraid of the scandal of being seen in public by the dockworkers with a man not her husband.  Instead, Odysseus will wait outside her home, enter later, and throw himself at the queen's feet.  She will gladly offer lodging and passage to Odysseus's home.

While waiting, Odysseus prays to Athene for protection.  She keeps herself hidden.

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A very short book, far shorter than anything in The Iliad.  Odysseus's decision-making is once again at the fore-- and both his choices come to pass, albeit at different times.  It's like a Choose Your Own Adventure.

Very clever of the Coen brothers to combine the Sirens with the laundry scene.  I wonder if I'll be seeing more of that kind of thing.

The Odyssey, Book 5

Gods gather again.  Athene complains again of Odysseus's exile, asks Zeus to allow his return home.  Zeus: "This was all your idea.  But fine."  Tells of Odysseus's route home, including stop on the Phaiakians' island.  Sends Hermes to tell Kalypso to let Odysseus go.

On island, Odysseus is endlessly weeping by himself.  Hermes tells Kalypso of Zeus's decision.  Kalypso: "The gods are always doing this-- interrupting when immortals and humans are getting it on."  Relents.  Tells Odysseus he's free to go, but he doesn't trust her until she swears to Zeus.  They dine.  Then she tries to get him to stay, predicts hardships on his voyage home, and because she's hotter than Penelope.  Odysseus: "That's true.  I'm going anyway."  They do it again.

Next day, Odysseus builds his raft.  Three days later, he sails.  Day 17, Poseidon sees him and sends a storm to crush him.  Mast is smashed.  The goddess Ino arrives, gives him a veil, tells him to swim for land.  Odysseus deliberates, decides to stay on raft until it is closer to land or is smashed for good.  It is immediately smashed by a wave.

In the water, Odysseus swims three days for land.  Upon reaching the island, he fears getting killed on the rocks.  Athene intervenes to save him, and he drifts around the island until he sees a calm river.  Prays to the river for an easy landing, and finally reaches shore, on the island of the Phaiakians, as Zeus said he would.  Deliberates staying put, but then enters woods and falls asleep.

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While building the raft, v.245: "...and planed them expertly, and trued them straight to a chalkline."  Cool.

Twice in this book we hear of Odysseus's deliberations and decision-making.  This has already been set up as one of his defining characteristics, but it's nice to see it actually appear in the action.