Wednesday, April 16, 2014
"Great Teller of Tales"
At the beginning of Book 9, just before he tells the Phaeacians about his ill-fated journey, Odysseus is described as "the great teller of tales." In a sense, then, Odysseus is a bard. What are his motives in telling his tale? Does he have the same motives as other bards in the story (such as Demodocus in Book 8)? Does his tale serve the same purpose or a different one? Finally, we know that Odysseus is a master of deceit and guile who concocted the scheme for the Trojan Horse. Should we take his story of one-eyed monsters and visits to the underworld at face value? Is there reason to believe his story is a fabrication?
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At the beginning of book 9, when he starts the story of his journey for the Phaeacians, Odysseus is described as “the great teller of tales.” Unlike some of the other bards in the Odyssey, Odysseus has somewhat selfish motives for telling his story. The bards in other books and in other kingdoms in the Odyssey showed loyalty to their masters as well as skill and knowledge by telling people the stories of wars and legends. The job of a bard is to learn about things and sing of the tales and history of their land. Odysseus is telling his story for fame and popularity. He talks about his great exploits and fights with monsters and creatures of myth as a way to impress the audience of his tale. For example, while he was sailing away from the Cyclops, the most important thing to Odysseus was that the giant knew who was to get the credit for attacking and defeating him.
ReplyDelete“Cyclops—
If any man on the face of the earth should as you
Who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus,
Raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,
Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!”
He got the giants attention and even though his men begged him not to, and he risked getting hit by a giant boulder and losing his ship and his life, he still yelled insults at the Cyclops. Odysseus is also a master of deceit and lying, so the readers don’t even know if he is telling the truth or not. But taking into account his motives in telling the story and his need for fame and glory, a boring return that just took 10 years would not please a crowd to the point of glorifying him as a hero. It is in fact very likely that Odysseus made most of the story by hyperbole.
At the start of book nine, Odysseus acts as bard and is referred to as "the great teller of tales." In telling stories about himself, Odysseus exaggerates and creates some aspects of the story that did not actually occur as an attempt to gain more fame. Demodocus, in book 8, introduces the role of the bard in Greek society. A bard was used to propagate fame. The stories told by bards were the only form of existent media and similar to internet and television in the modern world. By telling his tales and spreading the word, a bard teaches lessons and gives moral examples through the lives of others. The bard only knows information about people who have accomplished many feats and acquired a great deal of fame. As a result, people in Bronze Age Greece considered fame an important aspect of live and coveted it. Odysseus is an example of someone who wishes for fame, believing that it is the most important thing in life. All of Odysseus's actions are a result of him hoping to gain more fame. This can be observed when Odysseus leaves the island of the Cyclops and calls out:
ReplyDeleteCyclops—
If any man on the face of the earth should ask you
Who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus,
Raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,
Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca! (9.558-62)
Odysseus yelling back to the Cyclops to tell him his name, at the risk of angering the gods, proves that Odysseus cares greatly about increasing his fame. Therefore, when Odysseus tells his life story to the Phaeacians, he embellishes his tales in order to make himself appear accomplished and famous. It is important to Odysseus that people think of him as a skilled and powerful celebrity from Ithaca. One of the many things Odysseus is famous for includes deceit and deception. Odysseus is capable of concocting successful plans, such as the Trojan Horse. If Odysseus is able to create these strategies quickly and efficiently, he is also able to generate fictitious stories about his life, hoping that people will think of him as famous.
It is the job of the bard to entertain, persuade, and perform, so when the great hero Odysseus take on the role, it is extremely interesting. The question can be asked, is Odysseus really informing his audience with the facts, or entertaining them with propaganda? I believe that Odysseus is undoubtedly exaggerating his hardships. The interesting thing about Odysseus in book 9 is that he is completely at the mercy of the Phaecians. He has no money, food, or virtually anything. All he has is the power of his name. He is the great hero Odysseus who fought at Troy, so he weaves truth and tale together to bolster the fame in his name. He has to present himself in the best light possible so that they have a reason to help him. Otherwise, there is no need for the Phaecians to do anything but send him away. They need to feel as if they will go down in history for assisting him on his journey. Athena assists Odysseus to create this image in book 8,
ReplyDelete‘Come this way, you lords and captains of Phaecia,
come to the meeting grounds and learn about the stranger!
A new arrival! Here at our wise king’s palace now,
he’s here from roaming the ocean, driven far of course—
he looks like a deathless god!’ (8:12-16)
Athena clearly gives Odysseus the base he needs for his own story in which he can portray himself in a flattering light that makes him seem god-like. Throughout the beginning of the Odyssey, Odysseus’ main goal is to reach home, so embroidering the truth to earn the trust of these strangers seems like nothing in comparison to what he has been through. His ordeals are most likely his tales to a lesser degree. Odysseus’ main goal in his story is to persuade these strangers to help him. He uses fame, an attribute valued in Ancient Greek society as a tool to earn that trust. It is clear that he succeeds when Alcinous says, “’His send-off rests with every noble here/ but with me most of all:/ I hold the reins of power in the realm.’” (11: 400:03) Odysseus does fib in order to gain the trust of the Phaecians, but regardless, his tale is a magnificent one.
I think that Zeus is upset that humans keep blaming them things that the humans did to themselves. He knows that while they do control a lot of things, they don’t always control what is going to happen. He knows that sometimes that they stay out of human affairs and that the human’s decisions affect what happens. So when they blame the gods for things that they did, he gets upset. I think that he is justified in his anger towards humans because it’s the humans fault not there. Also it is in human nature to blame someone or something else for their problem, instead of taking responsibility for what they did. In this
ReplyDelete