July 1, 2021: Difference between revisions
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down into pieces, kneaded them in my two strong hands {{ln|45 (190)}} | down into pieces, kneaded them in my two strong hands {{ln|45 (190)}} | ||
and the wax soon grew soft, worked by my strength | and the wax soon grew soft, worked by my strength | ||
and | and Helios’ burning rays, the sun at high noon, | ||
and I stopped the ears of my comrades one by one. | and I stopped the ears of my comrades one by one. | ||
They bound me hand and foot in the tight ship— | They bound me hand and foot in the tight ship— | ||
erect at the mast-block, lashed by ropes to the mast {{ln|50 (195)}} | erect at the mast-block, lashed by ropes to the mast {{ln|50 (195)}} | ||
and rowed and churned the whitecaps stroke on stroke. | and rowed and churned the whitecaps stroke on stroke. | ||
We were just offshore as far as a | We were just offshore as far as a man’s shout can carry, | ||
scudding close, when the Sirens sensed at once a ship | scudding close, when the Sirens sensed at once a ship | ||
was racing past and | was racing past and burst into their high, thrilling song: | ||
“Come closer, famous Odysseus-Achaea’s pride and glory- {{ln|55 (200)}} | “Come closer, famous Odysseus-Achaea’s pride and glory- {{ln|55 (200)}} | ||
moor your ship on our coast so you can hear our song!{{refn|The Sirens’ know Odysseus, just as they seem to know about the Trojan war below. Their song here is a temptation sung for him specifically, to make him betray his essential destiny ({{harvnb|Germain|1962|p=93}}).}} | moor your ship on our coast so you can hear our song!{{refn|The Sirens’ know Odysseus, just as they seem to know about the Trojan war below. Their song here is a temptation sung for him specifically, to make him betray his essential destiny ({{harvnb|Germain|1962|p=93}}).}} | ||
Never has any sailor passed our shores in his black craft | Never has any sailor passed our shores in his black craft | ||
until he has heard the honeyed voices pouring from our lips, | until he has heard the honeyed voices pouring from our lips, | ||
and once he hears to his | and once he hears to his heart’s content sails on, a wiser man.{{refn|Greater knowledge or wisdom seems to be the Sirens’ temptation—at least for Odysseus. This desire is consistent with Odysseus’ character presented throughout the ''Odyssey'' ({{harvnb|Hexter|1993|p=160}}).}} | ||
We know all the pains that the Greeks and Trojans once endured {{ln|60 (205)}} | We know all the pains that the Greeks and Trojans once endured {{ln|60 (205)}} | ||
on the spreading plain of Troy when the gods willed it so— | on the spreading plain of Troy when the gods willed it so— | ||
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Perimedes and Eurylochus springing up at once | Perimedes and Eurylochus springing up at once | ||
to bind me faster with rope on chafing rope. | to bind me faster with rope on chafing rope. | ||
But once | But once we’d left the Sirens fading in our wake, | ||
once we could hear their song no more, their urgent call— {{ln|70 (215)}} | once we could hear their song no more, their urgent call— {{ln|70 (215)}} | ||
my steadfast crew was quick to remove the wax I’d used | my steadfast crew was quick to remove the wax I’d used | ||
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====Works Cited==== | ====Works Cited==== | ||
{{Refbegin}} | {{Refbegin|indent=yes|20em}} | ||
* {{cite book |last=Hexter |first=Ralph |date=1993 |title=A Guide to the ''Odyssey'' |url=https://archive.org/details/guidetoodysseyco00hext |location=New York |publisher=Vintage |isbn= |author-link= |ref=harv }} | |||
* {{cite book |author=Homer |date={{date|1996}} |title=The Odyssey |url=https://archive.org/details/odysseyhomerich |translator-last=Fagles |translator-first=Robert |location=New York |publisher=Penguin |ref=harv }} | * {{cite book |author=Homer |date={{date|1996}} |title=The Odyssey |url=https://archive.org/details/odysseyhomerich |translator-last=Fagles |translator-first=Robert |location=New York |publisher=Penguin |ref=harv }} | ||
* {{cite book |last=Germain |first=Gabriel |date={{date|1962}} |chapter=The Sirens and the Temptation of Knowledge |title=Homer: A Collection of Critical Essays |editor1-last=Steiner |editor1-first=George |editor2-last=Fagles |editor2-first=Robert |url= |location=Englewood Cliffs, NJ |publisher=Prentice Hall, Inc. |pages= |isbn= |author-link= |ref=harv }} | * {{cite book |last=Germain |first=Gabriel |date={{date|1962}} |chapter=The Sirens and the Temptation of Knowledge |title=Homer: A Collection of Critical Essays |editor1-last=Steiner |editor1-first=George |editor2-last=Fagles |editor2-first=Robert |url= |location=Englewood Cliffs, NJ |publisher=Prentice Hall, Inc. |pages= |isbn= |author-link= |ref=harv }} | ||
Revision as of 08:26, 20 September 2021
Odysseus and his crew return to Circe’s island after their trip to the Underworld. Odysseus tells Circe of his experiences, and she warns him of what lies ahead on his journey. “Your descent to the dead is over, true, [ . . . ] |
Circe tells Odysseus about more trials, specifically Scylla and Charybdis and the cattle on the Island of the Sun which he must leave unharmed or their ship will be destroyed and all his crew will be lost. Odysseus and his men set sail the next day. At last, and sore at heart, I told my shipmates, |
Notes & Comentary
- ↑ From the Odyssey, Book 12 (Homer 1996, pp. 272–277).
- ↑ Despite the many depictions of the Sirens as mermaids or other mythological, sometimes winged, creatures, they are never described by Homer. There are two of them, and they, like Circe, live on an island. Also unlike popular depictions, they do not physically engage would-be victims, but attempt to lure them to their death. They might be best though of as “anonymous and shapeless Demons of High Noon” with “no exact mythology shape or nature” (Germain 1962, p. 92).
- ↑ Notice the qualifiers here, too close and off guard seem to suggest a limit to the Sirens’ song. Indeed, in order to be tempted, one’s guard must be down to some extent.
- ↑ As is clear repeatedly throughout the Odyssey and established by Odysseus himself in his recounting of “The Lotos Eaters,” their goal is to reach home, and anything that delays them from that task—especially those things that tempt their desires—would be evil. The Sirens represent a temptation, but of what?
These images of the wife and children should be particularly resonant for Odysseus, especially coming from Circe, the woman who kept Odysseus in thrall for a year in his flawless bed of love. - ↑ Just how the transfixed men die is unknown: starvation, poison, drowning, sunstroke are all options, as none are specifically supported by the text (Germain 1962, p. 92). Regardless, the horror here is dying on an alien shore and never seeing home again. I like how this description ends with an ellipsis, suggesting that Circe trails off, emphasizing the true horror of the situation and leaving both Odysseus and the audience to speculate about the weight of her words. This is almost cinematic: image a camera panning over an island wasteland of bones shrouded in mist, the music threatening and lulling as something moves beyond the camera range.
- ↑ Here, Circe seems to be subtly encouraging Odysseus to listen, whether as revenge for leaving her or to give him some implied benefit. Indeed, one of Odysseus’ dominant characteristics is his curiosity, so she may know him so well, she anticipates his desire—heart’s content below.
- ↑ Actually, this is not what she said, but she does give him the idea to listen on line 15 above.
- ↑ The wind might be Poseidon’s doing, to push Odysseus into danger, as well as its falling—by some mysterious power—in an instant as soon as they are within ear’s shot of the Sirens’ island. Or, it could be an effect of the Sirens’ magic.
- ↑ Again, an ominous ellipsis that leaves the details to our imagination. The wind failing also presages the ship’s landing on Helios’ island later in the book. Yet, these men are not off guard and are ready for this encounter because of Circe’s and Odysseus’ warnings.
- ↑ The Sirens’ know Odysseus, just as they seem to know about the Trojan war below. Their song here is a temptation sung for him specifically, to make him betray his essential destiny (Germain 1962, p. 93).
- ↑ Greater knowledge or wisdom seems to be the Sirens’ temptation—at least for Odysseus. This desire is consistent with Odysseus’ character presented throughout the Odyssey (Hexter 1993, p. 160).
- ↑ There is it: they know it all—just what Odysseus seems to want. In another way, this could also be a promise of how to cope after war, or the way to bring a reconciliation to the devastation it wrought. This could also be an archetypal knowledge of the workings of the universe, something that was promised to Adam and Even in Eden by the Serpent (Germain 1962, p. 92).
Works Cited
- Hexter, Ralph (1993). A Guide to the Odyssey. New York: Vintage.
- Homer (1996). The Odyssey. Translated by Fagles, Robert. New York: Penguin.
- Germain, Gabriel (1962). "The Sirens and the Temptation of Knowledge". In Steiner, George; Fagles, Robert. Homer: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.
