Next morning, Telemachos and Menelaos tell each other their stories. Telemachos briefly explains the situation in Ithaka and inquires after his father. Menelaos replies to the first part of Telemachos' news with an extended simile concerning a deer with her fawns vs. a lion, the rightful owner of the den (= suitors vs. Odysseus, although who the suitors' 'mother' is supposed to be remains unclear - Antinoös maybe?). I think this is a rather strange simile as the deer and fawns don't do what the suitors do (eating the lion's food supplies), and the simile actually emphasises this fact (the fawns are "newborn and still suckling" l. 336, and the deer "wanders out into the foothills and grassy corners, / grazing there" ll. 337-38). Is this image here to show the massacre of the suitors in a different light? I'm not sure, it may just state how the suitors are no match to Odysseus - mere babies compared to the Trojan hero. All the same, these lines seem to inject some brutality into the story which feels disproportionate and unnecessary (and this might be an accurate description of what is going to happen). A few chapters before I mentioned enjoying the great reckoning at the end of the Odyssey, but somehow I don't feel the same way now. Killing your enemies is one thing - it can be necessary - but also humiliating them (e.g. torturing them or mutilating their [dead] body) is quite another (one of the themes of the Iliad). To be specific, I refer to Book 22, ll. 473-76 in the Odyssey. To answer Telemachos' question about Odysseus' fate, Menelaos tells us the second part of his own nostos story. It is like a traditional folk tale with the elusive Old Man of the Sea (a primeval nature-god, personifying the untameable forces of nature, this time, the sea). Menelaos is stuck on the island of Pharos (a day away from Egypt, where he had forgotten to sacrifice a hecatomb to Zeus before sailing off), there is no wind and he is running out of food. Luckily, he has a divine helper in the person of Eidothea, a sea goddess, who happens to be the daughter of Proteus, an Egyptian sea god, also known as the Old Man of the Sea. This was a really good story I think with the god of the sea having a nap surrounded by his "flock" of seals, and the heroes catching him and squeezing the information out of him. Apart from his tricks, Proteus seems to be quite an approachable guy. So different from Poseidon. Detail from a water jug c. 520-510 BC I like seals, they are clumsy creatures but swift in the water. The Mediterranean monk seal was once common in the whole Mediterranean. Males are black with a white patch on their bellies, while females tend to be grey(ish). They are "believed" to weigh 250-300 kg. Their favourite places are secluded caves along the coastline, preferably with an underwater entrance. They enjoy basking in the sun. They have a trustful nature, which unfortunately seems to have contributed to their becoming critically endangered. Now they are apparently confined to the Aegean, and one website I've seen claims there are only 500 left. (The heroes hiding under seal skins sounds like an old hunting trick, especially in a cave, where the unsuspecting seals go to rest.) Under pressure, Proteus tells Menelaos everything; (1) that he has to go back to Egypt to offer Zeus a hecatomb, and (2) somewhat reluctantly, the fate of Aias and Agamemnon (those who didn't make it) and the situation with Odysseus, "whom [he] saw on an island" with no ships or companions (ll. 555-60), and also about (3) Menelaos' own fate, which is to go to the Elysian Field as Zeus' son-in-law. There are advantages to being married to Helen after all. I wonder when being descended from an Olympian "wears off" - will Hermione go to the Elysian Field or is she too far removed? The xenia motif (abuse of it) crops up again in Proteus' narrative of the killing of Agamemnon. Aigisthos seemingly welcomed him and then... (this is the umpteenth time we've heard of this from various people/gods, but we are being given a crucial detail now) "feasted him and killed him feasting" (ll. 534-35). All in all, I think the Old Man of the Sea story creates a diversion. Light-hearted old-fashioned adventure in the doom and gloom, at the same time it fits smoothly into the narrative.
1 Comment
10/14/2010 11:55:24 am
I like the Old Man of the Sea too! I thought his bit was a good comic interlude.
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AuthorHave studied A219 Exploring the Classical World and A275 Reading Classical Greek at the Open University. Currently studying for a Psychology degree. ImagesPlease click on any image to be taken to its source.
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