Analysis of Calypso

In the Odyssey, Calypso's main goal and purpose is wanting Odysseus. She keeps him on an island away from the rest of the world, and he suffers greatly, as he misses his family. She shows how great a man he is, because such a beautiful goddess would want a mortal. Also, she shows his virtuousness as he is not happy with a beautiful goddess, but instead wants to return to his wife and son. He misses them and is not thrown off by Calypso, so is seen as faithful, even though he shares her bed, as "she compelled him too". He is easily forgiven of this to show his sadness over his loss of family.

Analysis of Circe

In the Odyssey, Circe mainly represents giving into temptation. For a hole year, Odysseus and his men stay on the island of Aeaea, and live in luxury. Odysseus easily permits their respite, even though his wife is waiting for him. The crew is less happy, as they have went through the humiliation of being turned into pigs, and they get no benefits comparable to Odysseus's (the love of Circe). Odysseus has a lapse of will and strength in this section that is evident as he does not wish to even leave Aeaea until his crew cajoles him into leaving. As he has been steadfast in his valor and hard work, this shows a time to relax without duties. Homer is probably then trying to differentiate between Odysseus and a god, as Odysseus is so often compared with gods and immortals, but is still a mortal. This section clearly shows his fallibility.

Analysis of The Cyclops

As a minor part in the Odyssey, the cyclops is mainly a foil to Odysseus's cunning and trickery. When he traps them in his cave, Odysseus quickly thinks up a plan and executes it brilliantly. From first getting the Cyclops drunk on wine, then telling him his name is Nobody, then blinding him. He is then able to escape and avoid being attacked by other Cyclopes, but also carries away sheep with him. Polyphemus is portrayed as simple and easily tricked, because of Odysseus's cunning. This also sets up a foil, but weighs the two for their merit: being deceitful, intelligent, and dishonest, or being ignorant, kind and somewhat tenderhearted. It it first appears that the Cyclops is far from "tenderhearted", but once he is blinded, we see his relationship with his sheep, and how much he loves them, his dejected prayer to his father, and all this casts him in a sympathetic light. Odysseus has however been criticized for his trickery as it is lying and deceitful oftentimes.

Analysis of the Suitors

At the beginning of the epic, we see the suitors as one faceted characters all exhibiting a single trait: rudeness. They steal, drink and fight, all at the expense of Telemachus. They have no compassion, and no intelligence either, as they do not wish to reason or even listen to Telemachus when he tells them to leave. As Telemachus is gone, they turn worse and plan to kill him by ambush. They remain as one group and have the same traits. But when Odysseus returns, they change their whole image. Amphinomus exemplifies this, as he is kind to Odysseus, even dressed as a beggar. Homer is showing a compassionate side to the suitors, making it all the more difficult for Odysseus to kill them all later. This is really talking about the human condition, as it is easy for the reader to be frustrated by the suitors early on, and even maybe support their deaths, but as we see flaws and good character, that becomes harder and harder to support, and shows that the more human someone is, the more people sympathize with them.

Analysis of the Gods

The gods of the Odyssey are no doubt powerful, but as individuals they differ in their uses of their power. Athena is most proactive about helping mortals, namely Odysseus and Telemachus, but she can only do it with the will of her father, Zeus. This shows the hierarchy the gods have as a society. And not only does Athena help them, she does it simply because she wants too. She takes the task upon herself and leads them to success. It is also important to note that the mortals hardly ever succeed without the help of the gods. Odysseus needs Athena and Hermes's help to escape Calypso's island, and also needs the help of Hermes again to outsmart the goddess Circe. When Odysseus almost drowns at sea, Ino gives him a veil that protects him from the wrath of Poseidon. This suggests an extremely intertwined relationship between mortals and gods. It is almost taken as common knowledge that humans cannot do things without the help and bidding of the gods, as seen when Odysseus defeats the suitors of Penelope at the end of the epic, because Athena gives him the strength and helps him to do it. It is as if he could not do it on his own.

Segue Into Analysis

After collecting much raw data, I feel my time would be wasted not analyzing it. TO truly understand the cultures, I will make an analysis of my findings. Off I go!

Calypso's Genealogy

Calypso's father was Atlas, the titan who was punished into holding up either Uranus or Earth, depending on the story, for siding with the Titans in the Titanomachy, or the great war between the Olympians and the Titans. Her mother is Tethys, the Titaness of the water. She was also the mother of the main rivers known to the Greeks, like the Nile, the Maender, and the Alpheus.

Interview With Calypso

Calypso obviously had a thing for Odysseus. She kept him on her desert island for seven years, after all. So when Athena asked Zeus to let him go, I doubt she sent sent him off with no regrets. So I chatted with her about that, and how she's doing now.

Emma: What were your initial thoughts when Hermes told you you had to let Odysseus go?

Calypso: Have you not read the book? There was an entire epic poem written about me, so maybe you should check there. I bet my initial thoughts are written there.

E: Well, the entire poem of the Odyssey was more about Odysseus, not you exactly.

C: Whatever. I'm just so over all that. Odysseus is like a distant memory to me now. Like I care.

E: Ok, so how are you doing now?

C: I'm fine. [lower lip trembles] Really fine. [bursts into tears]

E: Aw, it's okay. There are other fish in the sea, Calypso!

C: EWW! I am not interested in fish. I want my Odysseus back!!

And here the interview had to be cut short as Calypso started throwing things at me and retreated into her bedroom then. I am sorry for that. Poor girl.

Would You Know It, I Found Another Artifact

I found this fantastic photo of Odysseus on Calypso's

island. I suspect she was terribly missing him, and often looked at his picture in this ornate frame. I assume nudity was less of a shocker back then.

Pictures of Calypso

Calypso conversing,

being her usual beautiful self!

Here we see beautiful Calypso with dashing Odysseus. A match made in heaven? Odysseus doesn't think so.

A Final Culture

I have decided that five cultures are plenty to understand the Odyssey, and the final culture I've chosen is Calypso and her island. In the Odyssey, Calypso compels Odysseus to stay on the island as her lover, and I want to explore how she is doing now after the gods have willed his departure from her beautiful paradise.

A Day in the Life of Circe

I am currently looking snoopishly into a window of Circe's Hall, waiting for her to rise from her threatening canopy bed.

8:30 Am: She wakes, grabs what looks like a perfume bottle and sprays the bugs that are helplessly flying around under the canopy of her bed, trapped there. They make tiny screams and fall out of the air, dead or paralyzed. With a move of her arms the bedclothes fly off her bed and with a whoosh she leaves the room.

9:00: After spending a ridiculously long amount of time in the bathroom, she emerges with an intricate twisty hairstyle that is as beautiful as it is terrifying. She stalks down the hall and sits at a huge loom.

12:07 PM: She has been weaving for hours! The giant tapestry it quite interesting actually. But back to Circe

12:09: She gets a lunch of honey and cheese and eats it petulantly, glaring off into the distance.

12:58: She finishes her lunch and comes to a stopping point in her weaving. She leaves the room and heads off down a small hallway. Off to the side is a room with a tiny window just large enough to peek into. Dried herbs hang from racks on the ceiling and small potted plants cover the counter tops. I swear there's a ferret in a cage across the room. She puts together many herbs into a mortar and pestle, then grinds them up.

1:45: Turns out, making evil potions takes longer than I previously thought. I have resorted to sitting on the ground outside the room and eating my reserves of cheese and crackers, and checking her progress every five minutes.

1:50: She is singing some crazy song now, and adding in some powdery stuff.

1:55: She is now boiling the same mixture, but is shaking a long branch around above it.

2:00: She--crap on a cracker! She's gone!

2:06: After hiding in a nearby bush, I figure she's not on my tail, and find her back in the hall.

2:30: She seems to hear something. There is a knock on the door.

2:51: It is a group of men, and she is treating them to an exquisite feast with plenty of wine. All of the sudden, they turn into pigs! Who would have thought. It must have been that potion she was whipping up earlier. She cackles then gets out a long stick and prods them into a pen outside the hall. They seems dejected as she padlocks the gate and flounces back into the hall.

5:24: After resuming her weaving for a few hours, she goes out and feeds the pig men some table scraps. She laughs as they root around.

6:30: She eats a dinner of a cheese pottage and wine.

9:45: After a hard day of evil, she heads to bed.

Pictures of Circe

I was able to find these pictures of Circe around her house on the same raid where I got the potions. Good stuff.

As I Was Snooping Through Circe's Medicine Cabinet...

So, you all know I am currently on Aeaea, the home of the evil temptress Circe. Well, this morning she was out doing laundry at some babbling brook, so I took the opportunity to go try to find some [hem hem] samples. You know, just stuff that shows what her lifestyle was like. No archeological excavations were needed here, cause I simply walked past those creepy lions and dogs and strolled right into her creepy hall. Let me tell you, I found some pretty sketchy stuff out there, but the good news is that some of it looked less necessary for witching than others, so I snagged that. I got these two interesting vials filled with funky smelling stuff. I took the picture right there in her palace.

Circe's Ancestry

My, my! What an interesting family Circe has! Her father was the sun god Helios (famed for stealing his father's chariot and forever having to fly across the sky in it). Her mother was the Oceanid Perse. She has two brothers, both one time kings of Colchis, Æëtes and Perses. Theres a story. Perses threw his brother out of power to claim the thrown of Colchis. Unfortunately, this was not to last, as his niece, Medea killed him for the crown soon after. Her sister Pasiphaë is also quite a character. She is reputed to have mated with a bull after Poseidon put a powerful curse on her, and subsequently gave birth to the Minotaur, which was part man and part bull. Circe herself is just one of those lovely bunch, but I reckon she has plenty of dirty secrets form the past to reveal. Lets see!

I Segue Into an Investigation of Circe

There is another presence gracing the Odyssey that I have failed to ethnograph. (Yes, of course that's a word!) You guessed right! Its the beautiful but evil witch/goddess Circe (also spelled, among many ways, Kirke). She is probably best known for turning Odysseus's men into pigs using special potions. Well, I must know more about this fascinating individual! I can feel the ethnographic (this time actually a word) vibes now!

Γειά σου!

(that means goodbye in Greek)

Pictures of Polyphemus

This is a picture of the cyclops throwing rocks at Odysseus in anger for deceiving him.

This is Polyphemus being easily fooled by the mens escape plan, which involves them tying themselves to the bottom of sheep, then sneaking out the cave.

Interview With Polyphemus

I sat down with Polyphemus to find out what he thinks about Odysseus, being a blind shepherd, and his life now.

Emma: Why were you so antagonistic to Odysseus and his men?

Polyphemus: I can't help it, I'm a monster! Its not like I meant to be this way, I just cant help eating and terrorizing men.

E: So do you think they could have been more understanding of you?

P: Well, it would have been nice, but I would have tried to kill them anyway. Like I said, I can't help it.

E: What are some of the difficulties you face being blind now? How has it affected your livelihood?

P: Well, as you can imagine, there has to be a certain amount of vision involved in tending sheep. They move places. It would be nicer for me if they stayed in one spot and just ate sometimes.

E: What about making cheese? I understand you did that quite a bit.

P: Well, cheese doesn't move around when your trying to find it, so its not very hard. Use your head.

E: Sorry. So have you been being treated any different by the other Cyclopes?

P: Yeah, they think they can get away with anything if I'm blind. But I can hear them, I think they forget that fact. And when you pick up a sheep and start running, it's pretty loud.

E: Well, thank you for your time.

P: Don't take any sheep on the way out.

Spying on the Cyclops

I am currently crouched behind a large bolder on the island of the Cyclopes, spying on a certain Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon. We all know of how when Odysseus and his men were trapped in that cave their clever plan to escape unfortunately involved stabbing Polyphemus's eye with a burning log. So he is my next culture to study, along with the other Cyclopes. I am following him around today!

6:00 AM: He has woken up and is walking to the pasture his sheep sleep in at night. He uses his long shepherds crook to tap around to find his path

6:15: After moving them to another area of his island, he heads back to his cave.

6:50: He has taken the ewes to be milked in his cave.

7:47: Having milked the ewes, he strains the milk and sets it aside for cheese making.

12:00: He heads back to the pasture to corral the sheep into yet another pasture. Who knew you could get so many pastures from one island.

2:34 PM: He is sitting under a short tree, lazing flicking flies away from his injured eye. (It is truly ghastly, by the way.) He occasionally stands up and yells and other Cyclopes that are sneakily taking advantage of his blindness by trying to sneak out sheep.

4:00: He returns to the cave to finish making the cheese. He is surprisingly adept at it, despite his handicap.

6:50: He moves the sheep to the same night pasture, and bids them all goodnight.

7:00: He is in bed quite early, ready for another day of shepherding in the morning.

Extraordianry Artifact!

As you probably know, I have been conducting archaeological excavations left and right in an intense effort to find artifacts from the cultures of the Odyssey. Well, my efforts just keep paying off, as I found another artifact today! I found it on the Island of the Cyclops, and I believe it is an eye patch. As you all know, the Cyclops had his eye stabbed out by Odysseus, and subsequently probably suffered shame at his disgusting gaping wound, so he used some wool from his flock of sheep and knitted an eye patch! You can see, there are mistakes in his handwork, probably caused by blindness. However, his natural talent and finesse are evident in most of this eye patch. I hope you appreciate it as much as I do!

Pics of the Suitors

In this picture, the suitors are seen being taken by suprise by Odysseus.

Here we see Penelope weaving while eager suitors strive for her attention.

Interview With Antinoos and Eurymakos

I sat down with the leaders of the suitors to chat, shortly before Telemakhos journeyed off to Pylos and Sparta. Here's what they had to say.


Emma Broder: Why is it that you want Penelope's hand in marriage?
Eurymakhos: It's obvious that that shrimp Telemakhos is unfit to rule.
Antinoos: Yeah, plus have you even seen Penelope? What a babe.
EB: Huh. Well, do you think Telemakhos ever will be able to govern?
A: Not a chance. He's such a wimp, he'll never man-up enough to be king.
EB: And what of Odysseus, do you think he'll ever return?
E: Nah, he's dead.
A: Why does everyone here think he will just suddenly re-appear and take over? Like, everyone died in that war, why not Odysseus, whats so great about him? He's not freaking immortal.
EB: Only one of your entire group can actually marry Penelope, who will it be?
A and E: Me.
EB: It seems there's some disagreement here between you two. How will you decide who gets Penelope in the end?
A: Well, I don't wanna get all big headed here, but I think I could take on the rest of her suitors in a battle to the death, so I'm still pretty confident it'll be me.
E: Not if I kill you first, pig face.
A: Oh its on.
EB: Um...Thank you for the interview.

I Found an Artifact!

Would you believe, it I found another ancient picece of Greece! It comes this time in the form of an arrow, probably belonging to the suitors of Penelope, who had to compete in a final challenge to win the hand and heart of the beautiful queen of Ithaka. They had to use Odysseus's bow and arrows to shoot an arrow through twelve axes, and none could. This is obviously a relic of that exciting day.

A Day in the Life of Eurymakhos

Good morning everyone! I am here in the palace on Ithaka, and I am waiting for Eurymakhos to wake up so I can secretly follow him for a day. This will surely help me see more of the lives and culture of the suitors, after all Eurymakhos is one of the leaders of the suitors. I wonder when he'll finally get up...


1:00 PM: Eurymakhos has woken up, and is looking around at the piles of men passed out in the hall of the palace from too much wine. 1:01 PM: After groggily looking around for a minute, he kicks people aside and stumbles out to the gardens.
1:03 PM: After relieving himself for an extraordinarily long amount of time, he lies down to take a nap on a flower bed.
1:46 PM: He wakes up again, and stomps off to the pastures.
2:12 PM: He kills a cow and three sheep, then sounds a horn for other suitors to come help him carry them back to the palace
3:30 PM: The huge bonfire is well underway, and Eurymakhos leaves the roasting animals to the suitors lower down in the hierarchy, who seem to always get stuck with the grunt work.
5:30 PM: Eurymakhos eats his first meal of the night sitting at a gold chair.
5:43 PM: He finishes his meal and goes chasing after a palace maid.
5:57 PM: Abandoning his pursuit of the maid, he returns to the hall and drinks three goblets of wine in a matter of seconds.
9:32 PM: After telling boastful stories for hours, a second meal is eaten.
10:45 PM: A huge fight broke out, and after watching it for a few minutes, Eurymakhos helps break it up.
10:56 PM: He has gotten a fist to the eye and so goes down to the kitchen to wash the blood off his face.
11:30 PM: He eats a third dinner
12:50 PM: He listens to the minstrel sing for a while, and falls asleep.
1:00 AM: He is asleep for good now, after a hard day of partying.

I Tackle Another Culture!

As my exploration of the Greek gods comes to a close, another culture in the Odyssey has come to my attention as an exemplary facet of the Greek culture. The suitors of Penelope, who court her while Odysseus is away, are essentially ancient frat-boys. They are lazy, gluttonous, and obnoxious. However, i shall investigate their way of life like a true ethnographer! Off I go!

A Last Note on the Gods

On a recent Archelogical dig, I found this beautiful crown, probably belonging to Athena, the daughter of Zeus. Note the intricate gold and turquoise designs. Amazing!

The 12 main Greek gods are converged here on Mt Olympus, watching vigilantly over the mortal world. What enigmatic knowledge so they conceal behind such watchful eyes? We mortals will probably never know...

Interview With Athena

As you my have noticed, I have ventured into a study of the Greek gods first. The family tree shows the complex relationships they had amongst each other, but to get a better feel for what makes the gods tick, I sat down with Athena, the daughter of Zeus to ask her a few questions.

Emma: What was the reasoning behind telling Telemachus to search for his father?

Athena: My heart ached for Odysseus's plight. His brilliance was all but wasted on that mournful island, and if Telemachus just knew to search for him, his predicament could be eased.

E: Did you always have faith that Telemachus could succeed at this task?'

A: Telemachus was but a young boy when the great Odysseus ventured across the wide and perilous sea to fight, and so the kind words of a father were absent to nurture the boy as he grew. But I did not fear for his abilities, and in the great earth that hid his father, Telemachus of any could find him. While he asked for the help of powerful hands in the region, if he was no master of elaborate speeches, reason and heart would give him the words he sought. The gods were never indifferent to his life.

E: Do you consider it reasonable for the gods to help mortals with their problems?

A: Even the loftiest gods cannot ignore what goes on in the mortal world. As my great father Zeus said, "Could I forget that kingly man, Odysseus? There is no mortal half so wise". As all approved of Odysseus's rescue (save Poseidon), is it not appropriate?

Hurrah for the Greek Gods!

After finding extensive genealogical ties between the gods, monsters, and titans, I made [cough cough] this family tree of them all. Enjoy!

As I Set Out On My Gallant Peregrination Through the Odyssey

Hello esteemed peers and revered experts! My name is Emma Broder and as an enthusiastic [cough cough] reader of The Odyssey, I have traveled to ancient Greece to experience firsthand the wonders and intricacies of this truly splendid civilization!

I will be delving deeper into the daily lives of the sub cultures of Greece by conducting interviews, creating family trees, collecting artifacts, sketching and photographing, and simply observing daily interactions.

Having just gotten here, I am filled with enthusiasm and can't wait to begin dissecting this fascinating culture.

Cheers,

Emma Broder