Yannotta
Odysseus Imagined Not as a Response to Achilles, but to a Polar Narrative
nominated for Best Essay in Great Books/Classic Literature courses, 2019.
From their first direct interaction in The Iliad in which Odysseus, with glittering words attempts to sway Achilles from his petulant refusal to go into battle (The Iliad 9.308-429); to the shade of Achilles expressing regret to a clever, lively Odysseus who had journeyed to Hades in The Odyssey (The Odyssey 8.488-491), the two classical Greek heroes have been frequently stacked against each other to determine whether or not Odysseus’s circumspect protagonism was a correction or expansion upon Achilles’s rather rash characterization. However, the discrepancy between the two characters can be more accredited to a distinction and specificity of setting and situation; their respective prophecies’ impacts on their decision-making; and the idea that the complete polarity of genres represented between The Iliad and The Odyssey warrant two very different heroes -- the fiery temperament of Achilles would not be compatible with the whimsical nature of The Odyssey, and The Iliad as a war drama would not appreciate the subtle nuances of Odysseus’s intelligence.
The differentiation in both subject and opacity between Odysseus’s prophecy and Achilles’s prophecy could account for core differences in the dispositions of the two heroes. Achilles has two choices and two consequences. If he continues to fight, Achilles’s “return home is gone” (IL 9.13), and he is fated to die in a foreign land, a fate that one as young as he would in typical circumstances long to avoid (IL 9.14-16). If he chooses to leave, “...the excellence of [his] glory is gone, but there will be a long life left for [him]” (IL 9.14-16). Achilles will survive to old age without a legacy, another fate that, especially for one of godly descent, is difficult to comprehend. Achilles has a very clear fate with little room for interpretation, and one that forces him to essentially choose between a morbid rock and a hard place. The weight of this decision as his life is in the balance, and the narrowness of his fate, psychologically take a toll on him and certainly impact his temperament in an entirely dramatic way. Achilles is a man without many choices, and he has subconsciously resigned himself to this, saying, “I must die soon, then: since I was not to stand by my companion when he was killed” (IL 18.98-99), emphasized by the use of the verbiage “must.” One might even be able to accredit pettiness and threats to “return to the beloved land of [his] fathers” (IL 9.414), to a fear of dying and losing a life with the ones he loves -- after all, he refers to his country not as Pythia or his kingdom, but as associated with love and family. Achilles’s melodrama is often placed in contrast to Odysseus’s circumspect realism, but after the death of a beloved companion, and a fate so unavoidable as he was given, an emotionalist perspective of life, death, and decision-making, as shown above, is understandable.
Odysseus, on the other hand, has a far longer prophecy assigned to him, underlining the flexibility his life has in comparison to Achilles. The prophet Teiresias details that Odysseus’s death “...will come to [him] from the sea… and it will end [him] in… a sleek old age” (TO 9:134-136). It possesses the specificity of Achilles’s prophecy, but essentially guarantees to Odysseus that he will survive the trials and tribulations of his mission. It’s evident, then, that the level-headedness that Odysseus is often praised for, and Achilles is said to lack, is made easy by the foreknowledge that death is not a concern for Odysseus as it is for Achilles. Therefore, when Odysseus faces a situation like that of Scylla and Charybdis, he “kept [his] eyes on Charybdis” knowing that it would have been more tempting to focus on the combative Scylla, as he did not have to worry about death (TO 12.244-246). Odysseus’s derived fate is far less unjust and dramatic than Achilles’, and their respective temperaments reflect that.
Differentiation in prophecy only accounts for so much, though. They are only an outline of fate, and there is no way of being certain that Odysseus would have reacted irrationally in Achilles’s situation, or safety would have granted Achilles practicality. Genre could account for much in the dichotomy of Achilles and Odysseus. The separate categories warrant the construction of separate heroes. As a war drama, The Iliad requires an intensity in its protagonist. Achilles, in a rage, answers the begs of Hector, “...There are no trustworthy oaths between men and lions” (IL 22.262), comparing himself to a lion, an animal violent and unmerciful. He continues, “...nor wolves and lambs have spirit that can be brought to agreement” (IL 22.283), the possession of comparative animalistic ruthlessness, combined with the overwhelming embrace of discord (“wolves” vs. “lambs”), and a situation lacking “agreement,” are qualities that are further highlighted in the war epic drama. They would feel disjointed, out of place, and irrational in the context of The Odyssey’s eccentricity. The latter of Homer’s epics possesses passages that include “... a sight of smoke from the halls of Circe” (TO 10.149), the lack of clear sight emphasizing a tone of mystery and suspense, diction bereft of the melodrama that the drama discussed prior necessitates. The Odyssey is an adventure story, so mentions of “...a great stag with towering antlers” and “...the fierce strength of the sun” (TO 10:158-160), fit in with the frequency of its first-person narration. Odysseus, as a detail-oriented individual and talented storyteller, will note the particularities of the deer and the descriptors of the sun, so the epic adventure with moments of light-hearted energy are more compatible with his characterization than with Achilles. A genre as heavy as possesses The Iliad could not appreciate the subtlety and nuances of Odysseus’s characterization, and a genre as brisk and fantastic as possesses The Odyssey would render Achilles’s hot-temper and vigor discomfiting.
With these distinct subgenres and their tonal discrepancies come another contextual developer of character -- motivation coinciding with setting. Achilles’ decision-making is impacted by the background of carnage, a war in where “too many fall day by day, one upon another” (IL 19.227). It’s fitting for Achilles to have a “pitiless heart” (IL 9.497), as when withdrawn from the battle front, it’s assumed that he is aware of the gore as his companion Patroclus, who also does not fight during Achilles’ strike, spends time “applying medicines that would mitigate… pains to [a] sore wound” (IL 15.394). It’s understandable that at least he sees the aftereffects of Ilium’s conflicts. War, especially one in which mortality is emphasized through scenes where they are “beaten down in rapid succession” (IL 12.194), is bound to take a psychological toll upon Achilles, degrading the rationality of his emotions and the level-headedness of his decision-making. Dramatic declarations such as, “I will not bury [Patroclus] till I bring to place the armor and the head of Hector” (IL 18.336), are justified in the name of trauma. While many critics regard Odysseus as a prudent archetype to Achilles’s spectacles, when placed within a situation that resembles a battlefield, the rationality that he is praised for decays. When Odysseus perceives his way of life under attack by the suitors, “the floor [smokes] with blood” (TO 22.308), as he massacres all but the singer and herald. “The best of all mortal men for counsel” (TO 13.297), somehow conducts a mass execution without a second thought, and the brevity of the action displayed by the comparison to smoke.
The reader never sees Odysseus in a spotlight of battle beyond the massacre of the suitors, so it’s difficult to come to a conclusion as to whether or not Odysseus and Achilles are products of their environments or Odysseus being constructed as a correction to Achilles. However, Achilles is seen in the context of The Odyssey, and he is radically changed. Achilles is freed from the constraints of his prophecy and placed into a more mystical genre with a setting that doesn’t focus so much on basic survival: Hades. Achilles is similar to Odysseus within this context, sensibly regretting his choice to die and stating, “I would rather follow the plow as thrall to another man” than to be dead (IL 11.490-491), a change from the Achilles who looked upon his death with near-excitement, replying to Hera, “I myself know well it is destined for me to die here… but for all that I will not stop till the Trojans have had enough of my fighting.” (IL 19.421-423) Moreover, Achilles does not ask to the eternal glory he was promised (which is used in comparison to Odysseus’s lack of attention to his identity). Instead, he queries as to “my proud son” and “stately Peleus” (IL 11.492-494), reflecting the recurring paternalistic themes of connection between generations of men throughout The Odyssey.
The personality traits at the core of Achilles’ identity fade in importance when placed within the context of The Odyssey, and during the massacre there is a direct moment that parallels an event within The Iliad that displays Odysseus inhibiting greater amounts of volatility than Achilles did. One “blameless” suitor begs for mercy “in supplication” (TO 22.310), as he did not “say or do anything wrong to any one of the women” (TO 22.312). Odysseus “cut through the neck at the middle” (TO 22.328). One could even interpret that Odysseus in an Achilles-esque situation is more unethical than Achilles, because when Achilles was faced with supplication from a blameless, scared Priam, Achilles does what Priam asks in returning Hector’s body to Troy, and tells Priam “...we… must remember to eat” (IL 24.618-619), the breaking of bread incurring mercy and communion, a show of humanity. Bloodshed incurs an emotional centerpoint, and when there is a genuine feeling of being under attack, Odysseus has the groundlessness to resemble the son of Thetis. When The Odyssey, in the last books of the poem, sheds its eccentric genre in favor of one that veers close to tragedy, and changes setting from a homecoming quest at sea to slaughter (i.e. possesses traits similar to The Iliad), Odysseus loses the attributes that separate him from Achilles, and therefore it is plausible to credit their differences to their contexts and their mediums.