A few months ago, after trying to decide what book to read next, I settled on an ancient classic— a book that people have loved for thousands of years (and one of the oldest stories of Western civilization). I was hoping that I, too, would enjoy it.
What I checked out isn’t exactly the epic poem written by Homer, however; it’s not even a book I could actually read. Rather, it’s a radio play that I listened to on audiobook— but it follows the story described in the ancient poem. Odysseus is a Greek king who fought valiantly in the Trojan War, but is prevented from sailing home to his beloved wife due to the anger of Poseidon, god of the sea. Instead, he and his men are forced to wander the seas for ten years, enduring terrors such as being captured by the hideous monster Cyclops. Odysseus also faces temptation in the form of the beautiful, but deadly, song of the Sirens (mythological creatures that are half-woman, half-bird) and the enticement of another female, Calypso, who imprisons him and offers to make him her immortal husband. Meanwhile, back at home in Greece, Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, faces her own temptation as she endures the harassment of a rowdy, lawless group of men who vie for her affections. They’re also gradually eating her out of house and home. Finally released by Calypso, Odysseus arrives home in the end, wreaks bloody vengeance on the suitors and reunites with his faithful wife.
More interesting than the story itself to this history lover were the discussions of classical scholars at the end of each disc in which they explained the culture of Homeric times. The society described in the play reminded me a little of the Old Testament— there was a lot of emphasis on hospitality to strangers and again and again you hear people and gods referred to not only by their given name, but also their father’s name (e.g. “Odysseus, son of Laertes”; “Athena, daughter of Zeus”). Genealogy was apparently as important to the Homeric Greeks (called “Achaeans” in the story) as it was to the ancient Jews. Since I’m somewhat familiar with the Old Testament, these characteristics made the book seem interesting and somewhat familiar to me. A huge difference between the Old Testament (and modern Western culture) and Homeric culture, however, is polytheism: the Greeks’ worship of many gods. It isn’t just that they worshipped more than one God, it’s that their gods are so different than our modern conception of the Deity. Their gods don’t seem to be exemplars of any kind of morality (on the contrary, they’re sometimes petty and mean), but essentially fallible humans who happen to have supernatural abilities. The main gods in the story are Poseidon, who is Odysseus’ vindictive enemy, and Athena, Odysseus’ staunch ally. Poseidon makes Odysseus and his men’s lives pretty miserable, while Athena uses her power to help Odysseus finally get home and take vengeance on the suitors.
I like a lot of action in what I read (or listen to, in this case) but there wasn’t much of it in most of the story. The audiobook is divided into eight episodes, one per disc, but the only action-packed ones are discs 4, 5 and 8; the rest of the story is rather slow. Still, it kept my attention enough that a few times I forgot to make turns I needed to make as I listened to it while driving, so rapt was my attention on the story.
I was hoping I would enjoy this story, since it’s a classic, and I did to some extent. I initially didn’t like it very much, but the story grew on me. I also find Odysseus’ virtues of good leadership, perseverance and resourcefulness admirable. But I wish there had been more action and found the world of the Homeric Greeks (especially their conception of deity) hard to relate to and therefore to appreciate. In sum, I’d say The Odyssey is a fairly good story, but not one of my absolute favorites.
- John W.
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