Read the story of Odysseus. Odyssey

And Lotophagi

Soon Odysseus's flotilla sailed to an island on which many goats were grazing. The Greeks ate a hearty meal of their meat. The next day, Odysseus set off with one ship to inspect the island. It soon became clear that it was inhabited by fierce giant cyclops, each of which had only one eye in the middle of the forehead. Not knowing how to cultivate the land, the Cyclopes lived as shepherds. They had no cities, no authorities, no laws. The Cyclops lived alone - each in his own cave among the rocks. Seeing the entrance to one of these caves, Odysseus and his companions entered there, not knowing that it was the abode of the Cyclops Polyphemus, the son of the sea god Poseidon, a ferocious cannibal. The Greeks lit a fire, began to fry the little goats found in the cave and eat cheese hung on the walls in baskets.

The Destruction of Troy and the Adventures of Odysseus. Cartoons

In the evening Polyphemus suddenly appeared. He drove his herd into the cave and blocked the exit with a stone that was so huge that the Greeks had no way of moving it. Looking around, the Cyclops noticed the Hellenes. Odysseus explained to Polyphemus that he and his men were sailing home from the long Trojan War and asked for hospitality. But Polyphemus growled, grabbed Odysseus’s two companions by the legs, killed them by striking their heads to the ground and devoured them, not even leaving bones.

Odysseus in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus. Artist J. Jordaens, first half of the 17th century

Having finished his bloodthirsty feast, the Cyclops snored loudly. The Greeks could not get out of the cave, since the exit was blocked by a huge stone. Rising in the morning, Polyphemus smashed the heads of two more of Odysseus’s companions, had breakfast with them and left to graze the flock, locking the Greeks in a cave with the same stone. But while he was away, Odysseus took the trunk of a wild olive tree, sharpened its end, burned it on fire and hid it under a pile of dung. In the evening the Cyclops returned and dined on two more of Odysseus's men. Pretending to be polite, Odysseus brought Polyphemus a full cup of strong wine. Cyclops, who had never tried wine before, really liked this heady drink. Having emptied another cup, Polyphemus asked Odysseus his name. “My name is Nobody,” Odysseus replied. “Well, then, Nobody, as a sign of my favor, I will eat you last,” Polyphemus laughed.

The drunken Cyclops quickly fell asleep, and Odysseus and his not yet eaten comrades heated the barrel on a fire, stuck it in the giant’s only eye and began to rotate it.

Odysseus blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus. Black-figure vase from Laconica, mid-6th century. BC

Polyphemus screamed loudly. Other Cyclopes came running to his cry, asking their neighbor what had happened to him.

- No one, my friends: due to my oversight, I am dying. No one could harm me by force! - Polyphemus shouted.

“If no one,” answered the other Cyclopes, “why are you crying so much?” If you are sick, then ask your father, the god Poseidon, for help.

The Cyclopes are gone. In the morning, Polyphemus removed the stone from the entrance to the cave, stood nearby and began to let his flock out to graze. At the same time, he groped with his hands to grab the Greeks if they tried to leave. Then Odysseus tied up three rams and attached his men under their bellies, one at a time. He himself placed himself under the belly of the leader of the sheep herd, holding the wool from below with his hands.

Polyphemus, releasing the rams, felt their backs to make sure that no one was riding the animals. Cyclops did not think of putting his hands under the belly of the rams. Odysseus and his companions rode out of the cave under the rams and boarded the ship. Sailing away, Odysseus shouted to Polyphemus that, having now become blind, he would no longer be able to devour the unfortunate wanderers. The enraged Polyphemus threw a huge rock into the sea, which fell in front of the ship and raised a wave that almost threw the ship back to shore. Pushing off the land with his pole, Odysseus shouted:

- Know, Cyclops, that you were blinded by the destroyer of cities, King Odysseus of Ithaca!

Flight of Odysseus from the island of Polyphemus. Artist A. Böcklin, 1896

Polyphemus prayed to his father, the god of the seas Poseidon, asking that Odysseus endure many misfortunes on his way home. The Cyclops threw another rock after the Greeks. This time she fell behind the stern of the ship, and the wave she raised carried Odysseus’s ship out to sea. Gathering the remaining ships around him, Odysseus left the island of the Cyclops. But the god Poseidon heard the request of his son Polyphemus and vowed to fulfill it.

Odysseus on the island of Aeolus

The heroes of the Odyssey soon arrived on the islands of Aeolus, the god-lord of the winds. Aeolus honored sailors for a whole month. Before they set sail for further path he handed Odysseus a fur tied with a silver thread. In this fur, Aeolus placed all the stormy winds under his control, except for the gentle western Zephyr, which was supposed to carry the ships of Odysseus towards his native Ithaca. Aeolus said that Odysseus should not untie the silver thread on the bag before he sails home.

The journey became calm. Odysseus was already approaching Ithaca and could even discern the lights of the fires burning on it, but at that moment he fell asleep from extreme fatigue. Odysseus's companions, believing that Aeolus' bag contained rich gifts given to their leader, secretly untied the silver thread. The winds broke out and rushed home to Aeolus, driving Odysseus's ship ahead of them. The heroes of the Odyssey soon found themselves again on the island of Aeolus and began to ask him for help, but the angry god drove them away.

Odysseus and the Laestrygonians

For more details, see a separate article.

After leaving Aeolus, Odysseus sailed to the country of the terrible giants Laestrygonians. Like the Cyclopes, they were cannibals. Not yet knowing where they had been taken, the Greeks entered a bay with a narrow entrance, surrounded by sharp rocks, and moored at the place where the road approached the water. Odysseus himself, out of caution, did not bring his ship into the bay. He sent three people to find out what this island was. Homer reports that these people met a huge maiden, who led them to the house of her father, the Laestrygonian leader Antiphatus.

Odysseus and the Laestrygonians. Wall painting from the end of the 1st century. BC

At the house, Odysseus's three companions were attacked by a crowd of giants. They ate one of them, the other two ran away. The cannibals rushing after them began throwing stones from the cliffs at the ships of Odysseus’s flotilla. All the ships standing at the edge of the land were destroyed. Having gone down to the shore, the Laestrygonians, like fish, strung the dead on stakes and carried them with them to be eaten. Odysseus barely escaped with a single ship standing outside the bay. Avoiding death, he and his comrades worked with oars as best they could.

Odysseus and the sorceress Circe

Rushing east across the sea, they soon reached the island of Ei, where the sorceress Circe, daughter of the sun god Helios, lived. On her father's side, she was the sister of the treacherous king of Colchis, Eetos, from whom the Argonauts mined the golden fleece. Like this brother of hers, like her niece Medea, Circe was skilled in witchcraft and did not like people. Odysseus's friend Eurylochus and 22 other people went to explore the island. In the center of it, in a wide clearing, they saw Circe's palace, around which wolves and lions roamed. The predators, however, did not attack Eurylochus’s people, but began to fawn over them, waving their tails. The Greeks did not know that these beasts were actually people bewitched by Circe.

Circe herself also came out to the Greeks and, smiling welcomingly, offered them a meal. Everyone agreed, except the cautious Eurylochus. He did not go to Circe’s house, but began to peek through the windows at what was happening there. The goddess set before the travelers delicious dishes with a magic potion added to them. Homer's poem reports that when the Greeks tasted it, Circe touched them with a magic wand, turned them into pigs and drove them into a pigsty with a malicious grin.

The crying Eurylochus returned to Odysseus and told about what had happened. Odysseus rushed to help his comrades. Along the way, the god Hermes appeared to him and gave him a remedy that could protect him from Circe’s witchcraft. It was odorous White flower"moly" with black root. When Odysseus reached Circe's house, she invited him to the table. However, while eating her treat, the hero, on the advice of Hermes, smelled the magic flower all the time.

Circe hands Odysseus a cup of witchcraft potion. Painting by J.W. Waterhouse

Circe touched Odysseus with her staff with the words: “Go and roll in the corner like a pig.” But the witchcraft did not work. Odysseus jumped up and raised his sword over Circe. The sorceress began to beg for mercy, promising that she would treat Odysseus well and share his marital bed.

Odysseus and Circe. Greek vessel ca. 440 BC

Having taken an oath that Circe would not cause him any harm, Homer's hero lay down with her. He did not respond to Circe’s lovemaking until she removed her spell not only from his comrades, but also from all the sailors she had previously bewitched. Odysseus lived for a long time on the island of Circe. She gave birth to three sons from him: Agria, Latinus and Telegonus.

Odysseus descends into the kingdom of Hades

Longing for Ithaca and his wife Penelope, Odysseus nevertheless decided to leave Circe. She advised him to first visit the underground kingdom of the dead of the god Hades and ask the shadow of the famous soothsayer Tiresias of Thebes living there about his future fate at home. Homer's poem describes how Odysseus and his companions, driven by a fair wind sent by Circe, sailed north, to the edge of the world, where a tribe of Cimmerians lives in thick fog and twilight. At the place where the underground rivers Cocytus and Phlegethon merge with the Acheron, Odysseus, on the advice of Circe, sacrificed a cow and a black ram to Hades and his wife Persephone. The souls of the dead people immediately flocked to drink the sacrificial blood. On the advice of Circe, Odysseus had to drive away all the shadows with his sword until the soul of Tiresias of Thebes came to drink the blood.

The first to appear at the place of sacrifice was the shadow of Elpenor, Odysseus’s companion, who a few days ago drunkenly fell from the roof of Circe’s palace and fell to his death. Odysseus was surprised that Elpenor reached the kingdom of Hades faster than his comrades, who sailed there on a fast ship. Strictly following the words of Circe, Odysseus, overcoming his pity, drove the soul of Elpenor away from the blood of the slaughtered cow and ram. He even drove away from her the shadow of his own mother, Anticlea, who also flew to where her son stood.

Odysseus in the kingdom of Hades, surrounded by the shadows of his dead comrades

Finally Tiresias of Thebes appeared. Having drunk his fill of blood, he told Odysseus that the god Poseidon would cruelly persecute him for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus. Tiresias convinced Odysseus to do his best to keep his companions from kidnapping the bulls of the sun god Helios on the island of Trinacria (Sicily). He said that great troubles awaited Odysseus in Ithaca, but he would be able to take revenge on the thieves of his property. But even after returning to his homeland, Odysseus’s wanderings will not end. He must take a ship's oar and travel until he meets people who have never seen the sea. Where Odysseus' oar is mistaken for a shovel, his wanderings will end. There he should make a sacrifice to the propitiated Poseidon, and then return to Ithaca. Having lived there to a ripe old age, Odysseus will receive death because of the sea.

After listening to Tiresias, Odysseus finally allowed his mother to drink blood. Then the shadows of the dead wives and daughters of glorious heroes clung to her. According to Homer, Odysseus noticed among them the famous Antiope, the mother of Helen the Beautiful Leda, the wives of Theseus – Phaedra and Ariadne, as well as Eriphile - the culprit of the campaigns against Thebes of the Seven and epigones.

Odysseus also spoke with the souls of his dead comrades in the Trojan War: Agamemnon, Achilles. Ajax Telamonides, who was unkind to him, did not engage in conversation and left in gloomy silence. Odysseus saw how the judge of the underworld passed sentences on the shadows of the dead Minos how to hunt Orion, Tantalus and Sisyphus suffer, and I saw the mortal soul of the great Hercules.

Before continuing to Ithaca, Odysseus returned to Circe's island. The sorceress warned the hero that he would have to swim past the island of sirens, bloodthirsty women with the body and legs of birds (some legends tell, however, that sirens had the body and tails of fish). With beautiful, enchanting singing, they lured sailors to their magical island and put them to a cruel death, tearing them into pieces. They say that the sirens were turned into birds by the goddess of love Aphrodite because these arrogant maidens did not allow anyone to take their virginity. In the meadow of their island there were piles of human bones. Circe advised Odysseus to cover the ears of his men with wax so that they would not hear the sirens singing. If Odysseus himself wants to enjoy their beautiful singing, then let him order his companions to tie themselves tightly to the mast and not untie them, despite any requests.

Odysseus and the Sirens. Attic vase, ca. 480-470 BC.

Now Odysseus had to pass between two cliffs standing close in the middle of the sea waters, on which lived two disgusting monsters - Scylla and Charybdis. The huge Charybdis (“whirlpool”), the daughter of the god Poseidon, sucked up masses of water from her cliff three times a day and then spewed it out with a terrible noise. On the opposite rock lived Scylla, the daughter of the terrible monsters Echidna and Typhon. It was a monster with six terrible dog heads and twelve legs. Revealing the entire area with a heartbreaking screech, Scylla hung from her cliff, caught sailors passing by, broke their bones and devoured them.

Odysseus's ship between Scylla and Charybdis. Italian fresco from the 16th century

To escape from Charybdis, Odysseus sent his ship a little closer to the cliff of Scylla, which grabbed six of his companions with its six mouths. The unfortunate people, dangling in the air, stretched out their hands to Odysseus with screams, but it was no longer possible to save them.

Odysseus on the island of Helios Trinacria

Soon Trinacria (Sicily), the island of the sun god Helios, who grazed there seven herds of beautiful bulls and numerous flocks of sheep, appeared before the eyes of the sailors. Remembering the prophecies of Tiresias of Thebes, Odysseus took an oath from his comrades not to kidnap either a bull or a ram. But, according to Homer’s story, the Greeks’ stay on Trinacria was prolonged. A nasty wind blew for thirty days, food supplies were running out, and hunting and fishing yielded almost nothing. Once, when Odysseus fell asleep, his friend Eurylochus, tormented by hunger, persuaded his companions to slaughter several selected bulls, saying that in gratitude they would erect a temple to Helios in Ithaca. The sailors caught several bulls, slaughtered them and ate their fill of meat.

Waking up and learning about this, Odysseus was horrified. Helios complained to Zeus about the arbitrariness of the travelers. When Odysseus's ship set out to sea from Trinacria, Zeus sent strong wind and struck the deck with lightning. The ship sank, and everyone who sailed on it, with the exception of Odysseus himself, drowned - as Tiresias of Thebes predicted in the kingdom of Hades. Odysseus somehow tied the mast and keel floating on the water with a belt and held on to them. He soon realized that the waves were carrying him to the rock of Charybdis. Clinging to the roots of a fig tree growing on a cliff, he hung on them until Charybdis first swallowed the mast and keel with water, and then released them back. Grabbing the mast again and starting to row with his hands, Odysseus sailed away from the whirlpool.

Odysseus at Calypso

Nine days later he found himself at the island of Ogygia, the home of the nymph Calypso, covered with meadows of flowers and cereals. Calypso lived there in a huge cave overgrown with poplars, cypresses and wild grapes. The beautiful nymph greeted Odysseus, fed him and put him to bed with her. Soon she gave birth to twins Nausithos and Navsinoas from the navigator.

Odysseus and Calypso. Artist Jan Styka

For seven years Odysseus lived with Calypso on Ogygia. But he never stopped yearning for his native Ithaca and often spent time on the shore, looking out to sea. Finally, Zeus ordered Calypso to free Odysseus. Having learned about this, Odysseus tied the raft, said goodbye to the hospitable nymph and sailed to his homeland.

But the hero’s light ship was accidentally seen by his hater, the god Poseidon, riding across the sea on a winged chariot. Sending a huge wave onto the raft, Poseidon washed Odysseus overboard. The sailor barely swam to the surface and somehow climbed onto the raft again. Next to him, the merciful goddess Leukotea (Ino) descended from the sky in the form of a diving bird. In her beak she held a wonderful blanket, which had the property of saving those who wrapped themselves in it from death in the depths of the sea. Poseidon shook Odysseus's raft with a second wave of terrible height. Thinking that this time the hero could no longer escape, Poseidon went to his underwater palace. However, Leucothea's blanket prevented Odysseus from drowning.

Odysseus on the island of the Phaeacians

Two days later, completely weakened from the fight against the water element, he reached the island of Drepana, where the Phaeacian tribe lived. Here, on the shore, Odysseus fell into a deep sleep.

Odysseus at the court of the Phaeacian king Alcinous. Artist Francesco Hayez, 1814-1815

The next morning, Nausicaa, the daughter of the king and queen of the Phaeacians (Alcinous and Arete), came with her maids to the stream to wash clothes. After work, the girls began to play with the ball and screamed loudly when it fell into the water. This cry woke up Odysseus. Covering his nakedness with branches, he went out to the girls and with skillful speech aroused the sympathy of Nausicaä. The royal daughter took him to the palace, to her father and mother. King Alcinous listened to the story of Odysseus's travels, gave him gifts and ordered him to take the hero by sea to Ithaca.

The departure of Odysseus from the land of the Phaeacians. Artist C. Lorrain, 1646

Being already close home island, Odysseus fell asleep again. The Phaeacians who were with him did not wake up the navigator, but carried him sleeping to the shore, placing Alcinous’s gifts next to him. When the Phaeacians were returning by ship to their pier, Poseidon, angry at their help to Odysseus, struck the ship with his palm and turned it and its crew into stone. He began to threaten Alcinous that he would destroy all the ports on the island of the Phaeacians, covering them with the rubble of a large mountain.

Odysseus and the suitors

Return of Odysseus to Ithaca

Waking up in Ithaca, Odysseus walked away from the seashore and met along the way the goddess Athena, who took the form of a shepherd. Not knowing that Athena was in front of him, Odysseus told her a fictitious story, calling himself a Cretan who fled his homeland because of a murder and accidentally ended up in Ithaca. Athena laughed and revealed her true form to Odysseus.

The goddess helped the hero hide the gifts of King Alcinous in the grotto and made him unrecognizable. Odysseus's skin became covered with wrinkles, his head went bald, and his clothes turned into miserable rags. In this form, Athena took him to the hut of the servant of the kings of Ithaca, the faithful old swineherd Eumaeus.

The son of Odysseus and Penelope, Telemachus had recently gone to see Odysseus’s comrade-in-arms in the Trojan War, the Spartan king Menelaus. On the way back from the walls of Troy, Menelaus also underwent many adventures and misfortunes, and was even in Egypt. Telemachus asked Menelaus, who had recently returned home, if he had heard news of Odysseus anywhere.

In Ithaca, everyone thought that Odysseus was dead, and 112 noble young men from this and neighboring islands began to brazenly court his wife, Penelope. By marrying her, each of these young men hoped to obtain the local royal throne. The suitors hated Telemachus and were going to kill him when he returned from Sparta.

The suitors, Homer says, asked Penelope to choose one of them as her husband. At first she flatly refused, saying that her husband Odysseus was undoubtedly still alive. But the young men’s persuasion was very persistent, and Penelope outwardly agreed to choose a new husband. However, she said that she would do this only after she had woven a shroud in case of the death of Odysseus' old father, Laertes. For three years Penelope sat over the shroud. Staying faithful to her husband and deceiving her suitors, she weaved during the day, and in the evening she secretly unraveled all the work done during the day. Over the course of these three years, the suitors feasted in the palace of Odysseus: they drank his wine, slaughtered and ate his cattle, and plundered his property.

Having met a warm welcome from Eumaeus, Odysseus did not yet begin to reveal his real name to him and called himself a foreign wanderer. At this time, Telemachus returned to Ithaca from Sparta. The idea of ​​hurrying home was inspired by the goddess Athena. She brought Telemachus to the hut of Eumaeus, where his father was. During their meeting, Athena temporarily returned Odysseus to his former appearance, and the son and father recognized each other. Odysseus decided to act against the suitors by surprise and therefore did not allow Telemachus to tell anyone about who he was. Telemachus should not have even revealed his mother, Penelope, to this secret.

Once again taking on the image of a beggar tramp, Odysseus went to his house, where the suitors were feasting. Along the way, no one recognized him, and the rude goatherd Melanphius even attacked the rightful king of Ithaca with abuse. In the palace courtyard, Odysseus saw his faithful hunting dog, Argus, once strong and agile, but now dying of old age on a heap of manure. Having recognized the owner, Argus wagged his tail, moved his muzzle - and died.

Eumaeus led Odysseus into the hall where the feast of the suitors was taking place. Telemachus, who was present here, pretended that he did not know the stranger and affectionately invited him to the table. Continuing to pretend to be a beggar, Odysseus walked along the table, asking the suitors for scraps. But these greedy and arrogant young men unceremoniously drove him away. The most shameless of the suitors, Antinous, threw the bench on which he had previously placed his feet at Odysseus. The local beggar Ir, fearing that the stranger would now compete with him for the leftover food left by the suitors, began to drive Odysseus out of the hall. Trying to present himself as a brave man, Ir challenged Odysseus to a fist fight. The impudent Antinous, hearing this, laughed and promised to treat the winner of the fight with goat stomachs.

Odysseus took off the top part of his rags and went to Ira. Seeing the powerful muscles of Odysseus, the beggar was terribly scared. Odysseus knocked him to the ground with the first blow of his fist. Watching the clash between the two old tramps, the suitors died of laughter. Then they continued to feast, and in the evening they went home. When there was no one left in the hall, Odysseus ordered Telemachus to remove and hide the suitors’ weapons hanging on the walls in the storeroom.

Meanwhile, Penelope, having heard about a stranger who had come to her house, called him to her and asked if he had heard news about her missing husband Odysseus. Odysseus has not yet begun to open up to her, saying only that her husband is alive and should return soon. Penelope ordered Odysseus's old nurse, Eurycleia, to wash the wanderer's feet. Having brought water, Eurycleia suddenly saw an old scar familiar to her on Odysseus’ thigh. She screamed with joy and surprise, but Odysseus put his finger to her lips, making it clear that the time had not yet come to reveal his presence to Penelope.

The maid Eurycleia washes Odysseus's feet

The next day, the newly gathered suitors began noisily demanding that Penelope make the final choice and call one of them her husband. Penelope announced that she would marry someone who was strong enough to pull her strong bow. ex-husband Odysseus and shoot from it so accurately that the arrow would fly through the holes in twelve axes. The bow in question was once given to Odysseus by Iphitus, the son of that hero Eurytus, who competed in shooting with Hercules himself. Several suitors tried to bend the bow, but were unable to. Telemachus could have done this, but Odysseus ordered him with a look to put the bow aside and took it up himself. Telemachus took his mother from the hall to the inner rooms, grabbed the bow, easily pulled it and shot accurately. The arrow he shot flew through the holes of twelve axes.

Odysseus stood with a bow and arrows at the entrance to the hall, and Telemachus stood next to him, holding a spear and sword. Having killed Antinous with the next shot, Odysseus told the suitors his true name. The suitors rushed to the walls for heavy weapons, but saw that they were not there. Most of them, however, had swords. Having exposed them, the suitors rushed at Odysseus, but he hit them with extraordinary accuracy with his arrows. Telemachus brought shields, spears and helmets from the storeroom for his father and his two faithful servants - Eumaeus and Philotius, who, recognizing the owner, stood next to him. One by one, Odysseus killed all the suitors except the herald Medon and the singer Phemius. Several palace maids were also killed, who were debauched with the suitors and helped them plunder the Odyssean property.

Massacre of the Suitors by Odysseus. From a painting by G. Schwab

Odysseus's litigation with the inhabitants of Ithaca

Homer goes on to tell how Odysseus went to Penelope, opened up to her and told her about his adventures. He also met his old father, Laertes. But in the morning, the rebels of Ithaca, relatives of Antinous and other dead suitors, approached the palace. Odysseus, Telemachus and Laertes engaged them in battle, which was stopped only by the intervention of the goddess Pallas Athena. The relatives of the murdered suitors began with Odysseus litigation, which was transferred to the decision of the son of the great Achilles, the Epirus king Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus decreed that Odysseus must leave Ithaca for ten years for the murders, and the heirs of the suitors must pay for this period to Telemachus for the damage caused to the royal property by the insolent men who wooed Penelope.

Odysseus's last journey and death

Later legends say that Odysseus decided to devote the years of his exile to appeasing Poseidon, who had not yet forgiven him for the murder of his son. On the advice he received, Odysseus set off to wander with an oar on his shoulder. His path lay through the years of Epirus. When the hero reached Thesprotia, far from the sea, local residents, who had never seen an oar, asked what kind of shovel he was carrying on his shoulder. Odysseus made a thanksgiving sacrifice to Poseidon and was forgiven by him. But the period of his exile from his native island has not yet expired. Not yet able to return to Ithaca, Odysseus married the queen of the Thesprots, Callidice. She bore him a son, Polypoit.

Nine years later, he inherited the Thesprotian kingdom, and Odysseus finally went to Ithaca, which was now ruled by Penelope. Telemachus left the island because Odysseus received a prediction that he would die at the hands of his own son. Death came to Odysseus, as Tiresias predicted, from across the sea - and indeed from the hand of his son, but not from Telemachus, but from Telegonus, whose son the hero betrothed with the sorceress Circe

The ODYSSEY is a Greek epic poem, along with the Iliad, attributed to Homer. Being completed later than the Iliad, "O." adjoins the earlier epic, but does not constitute a direct continuation of the Iliad. The theme of the “Odyssey” is the wanderings of the cunning Odysseus, king of Ithaca, returning from the Trojan campaign; in separate references there are episodes of the saga, the time of which coincided with the period between the action of the Iliad and the action of the Odyssey.

COMPOSITION "O". built on very archaic material. The plot of a husband returning unrecognized to his homeland after long wanderings and ending up at his wife’s wedding is one of the widespread folklore plots, as is the plot of “a son going in search of his father.” Almost all episodes of Odysseus's wanderings have numerous fairy-tale parallels. The very form of the story in the first person, used for the stories about the wanderings of Odysseus, is traditional in this genre and is known from Egyptian literature of the beginning of the 2nd millennium.

Narration technique in "O." in general it is close to the Iliad, but the younger epic is distinguished by greater art in combining diverse material. Individual episodes are less isolated in nature and form integral groups. The Odyssey is more complex in composition than the Iliad.

The plot of the Iliad is presented in a linear sequence, in the Odyssey this sequence is shifted: the narrative begins in the middle of the action, and the listener learns about the previous events only later, from Odysseus’s own story about his wanderings, i.e. one of the artistic means is retrospection .

The “song” theory, which explained the emergence of large poems by the mechanical “stitching together” of individual “songs,” was therefore rarely applied to “O.”; Kirchhoff’s hypothesis that “O.” is much more widespread among researchers. is a reworking of several “small epics” (“Telemachy”, “Wanderings”, “Return of Odysseus”, etc.).

The disadvantage of this construction is that it tears into pieces the plot of the “return of the husband,” the integrity of which is evidenced by parallel stories in the folklore of other peoples, which have a more primitive form than “O.”; a theoretically very plausible hypothesis of one or more “proto-odysseys,” i.e., poems that contained the entire plot and formed the basis of the canonical “O.”, encounters great difficulties when trying to reconstruct the course of action of any “proto-odyssey” .

The poem opens, after the usual appeal to the Muse, brief description situation: all the participants in the Trojan campaign, who escaped death, have returned home safely, only Odysseus languishes in separation from his family, forcibly held by the nymph Calypso. Further details are put into the mouths of the gods discussing the issue of Odysseus at their council: Odysseus is on the distant island of Ogygia, and the seductress Calypso wants to keep him with her, hoping that he will forget about his native Ithaca,

But, in vain, wanting to see even the smoke rising from his native shores in the distance, he prays to death alone.

The gods do not give him help because Poseidon is angry with him, whose son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, was once blinded by Odysseus. Athena, who patronizes Odysseus, offers to send the messenger of the gods Hermes to Calypso with an order to release Odysseus, and she herself goes to Ithaca, to Odysseus’ son Telemachus. In Ithaca at this time, suitors wooing Penelope feast daily in Odysseus’s house and squander his wealth. Athena encourages Telemachus to go to Nestor and Menelaus, who have returned from Troy, to find out about their father and prepare for revenge on the suitors (book 1).

The second book gives a picture of the Ithacan people's assembly. Telemachus brings a complaint against the suitors, but the people are powerless against the noble youth, who demand that Penelope choose someone. Along the way, the image of the “reasonable” Penelope appears, using tricks to delay consent to marriage. With the help of Athena, Telemachus equips a ship and secretly leaves Ithaca for Pylos to visit Nestor (book 2). Nestor informs Telemachus about the return of the Achaeans from Troy and about the death of Agamemnon. Having escaped, thanks to the miraculous intervention of the goddess Leucothea, from the storm raised by Poseidon, Odysseus swims ashore. Scheria, where happy people live - the Phaeacians, seafarers who have fabulous ships, fast, “like light wings or thoughts,” not needing a rudder and understanding the thoughts of their shipmen. The meeting of Odysseus on the shore with Nausicaa, the daughter of the Phaeacian king Alminoes, who came to the sea to wash clothes and play ball with the servants, forms the content of the 6th book, rich in idyllic moments. Alcinous, with his wife Aretha, receives the wanderer in a luxurious palace (book 7) and arranges games and a feast in his honor, where the blind singer Demodocus sings about the exploits of Odysseus and thereby brings tears to the eyes of the guest (book 8). Painting happy life The Phaeacians are very curious. There is reason to think that, according to the original meaning of the myth, the Phaeacians are the shipmen of death, carriers to the kingdom of the dead, but this mythological meaning in the Odyssey has already been forgotten, and the shipmen of death have been replaced by the fabulous “oar-loving” people of seafarers leading a peaceful and lush lifestyle in which , along with the features of the life of the trading cities of Ionia in the 8th - 7th centuries, one can also see memories of the era of the power of Crete.

Finally, Odysseus reveals his name to the Phaeacians and talks about his ill-fated adventures on the road from Troy. Odysseus's story occupies the 9th - 12th books of the poem and contains a number of folklore plots, often found in fairy tales of modern times. The form of the story in the first person is also traditional for stories about the fabulous adventures of sailors and is known to us from Egyptian monuments of the 2nd millennium BC. e. (the so-called “shipwrecked story”).

The first adventure is still quite realistic: Odysseus and his companions rob the city of the Cyconians (in Thrace), but then a storm carries his ships along the waves for many days, and he ends up in distant, wonderful countries. At first it is a country of peaceful lotophages, “lotus eaters,” a wonderful sweet flower; Having tasted it, a person forgets about his homeland and forever remains a lotus collector.

Then Odysseus finds himself in the land of the Cyclops (Cyclopes), one-eyed monsters, where the cannibal giant Polyphemus devours several of Odysseus’s companions in his cave. Odysseus saves himself by drugging and blinding Polyphemus, and then leaves the cave, along with his other comrades, hanging under the belly of long-wooled sheep. Odysseus avoids revenge from the other Cyclopes by prudently calling himself “Nobody”: the Cyclopes ask Polyphemus who offended him, but, having received the answer “nobody,” they refuse to intervene; however, the blinding of Polyphemus becomes the source of numerous misadventures of Odysseus, since from now on he is haunted by the wrath of Posidon, the father of Polyphemus (book 9).

The folklore of seafarers is characterized by the legend of the god of the winds, Aeolus, who lives on a floating island. Aeolus kindly handed Odysseus a fur with unfavorable winds tied in it, but not far from their native shores, Odysseus’s companions untied the fur, and the storm again threw them into the sea. Then they again find themselves in the country of the cannibal giants, the Laestrygonians, where “the paths of day and night converge” (the Greeks apparently heard distant rumors about short nights northern summer); The Laestrygonians destroyed all of Odysseus's ships, except one, which then landed on the island of the sorceress Kirke (Circe).

Kirka, like a typical folklore witch, lives in a dark forest, in a house from which smoke rises above the forest; she turns Odysseus’s companions into pigs, but Odysseus, with the help of a wonderful plant indicated to him by Hermes, overcomes the spell and enjoys Kirka’s love for a year (book 10). Then, at the direction of Kirka, he goes to the kingdom of the dead in order to question the soul of the famous Theban soothsayer Tiresias.

In the context of the Odyssey, the need to visit the kingdom of the dead is completely unmotivated, but this element of the legend contains, apparently in naked form, the main mythological meaning of the entire plot about the “journeys” of the husband and his return (death and resurrection; cf. p. 19). on Ithaca and the journey of Telemachus, and from the 5th book attention is concentrated almost exclusively around Odysseus: the motif of the unrecognizability of the returning husband is used, as we have seen, in the same function as the absence of the hero in the Iliad, and yet the listener does not lose Odysseus out of sight - and this also testifies to the improvement of the art of epic storytelling.

When we hear or read about ancient greek heroes, then we represent strong, physically developed athletes striving for glory and challenging fate. But was Odysseus, one of the most famous characters in Homer’s poems “The Iliad” and “Odyssey”, like this? How did he glorify and immortalize his name? What feats did you accomplish?

Myths and poems of Homer

From century to century ancient greek myths they talked about the origin and structure of the world, the deeds of heroes and Olympian gods. The wonderful world of mythology fascinated and frightened, explained and prescribed; it reflected the value system Ancient Greece and the connection of times. Hellenic myths had a huge influence on the formation of European and world culture, and the names of many heroes, gods and monsters became common nouns, symbols of some qualities and properties. For example, a chimera is a symbol of something non-existent that can give rise to dangerous illusions and misconceptions.

With the development of social, economic and other public relations mythological consciousness began to collapse, and the poems of the legendary Homer “Iliad” and “Odyssey” served as a kind of bridge between folklore and literature.

The heroic epic of Homer is the peak of the development of Hellenic mythology, but at the same time its artistic interpretation. In addition, as archaeological excavations by Heinrich Schliemann have proven, Homer's poems to some extent reflect the reality of the 11th-9th centuries BC. and can serve as a historical source. Homer is the first ancient Greek poet was, according to legend, blind and lived in the 8th century BC. However, there is no reliable information confirming the fact of its existence yet. But there are wonderful epic poems that recreate the magnificent world of ancient Greek mythology and, at the same time, had a huge impact on the development of all European culture.

The cross-cutting character of both Homer's poems is Odysseus, king of Ithaca, participant in the Trojan War.

If in the Iliad he is one of the minor (albeit key) characters the siege of Troy, then in the Odyssey - the main character.

Biography of Odysseus

The name "Odysseus" in ancient Greek means "angry" or "wrathful". The Romans called him Ulysses. The name Odysseus now has a common meaning: an odyssey is a long, dangerous journey filled with adventures.

Odysseus is the son of Argonaut Laertes and Artemis's companion Anticlea. According to legend, Odysseus's grandfather was Zeus, supreme Olympian god.

Odysseus's wife - Penelope, her name became a symbol of marital fidelity. Long She waited twenty years for her husband to return from the military campaign, deceiving numerous suitors with inventive cunning.

A major role in the poem “Odyssey” is played by the son of the main character, Telemachus.

Turning to the Homeric epic, we can identify the fateful events in the life of the legendary hero:

• participation in matchmaking with Helen the Beautiful, where Odysseus meets his future wife Penelope;
• participation, albeit reluctantly, in the Trojan War;
• protection of the body of Achilles;
• creation of the Trojan horse;
• a ten-year journey by sea and numerous adventures in which Odysseus loses all his companions;
• returning to Ithaca in the guise of an old beggar;
• the brutal extermination of Penelope's numerous suitors;
• happy family reunion.

All these events create a unique portrait of Odysseus, a characteristic of his personality.

Hero's personality

The main feature of Odysseus’ personality is its universality and cosmic nature. The genius of Homer created the image of a comprehensively developed person. Odysseus appears not only as a brave hero and winner on the battlefield, he also performs feats among monsters and wizards.

He is cunning and reasonable, cruel, but devoted to his homeland, family and friends, inquisitive and crafty. Odysseus is an excellent speaker and wise adviser, a brave sailor and a skilled carpenter and trader. He refused eternal youth and love, offered by the nymph Calypso, who was in love with him, in order to return to his homeland, to his family.

Thanks to his cunning and resourcefulness, Odysseus overcame numerous dangers:

• on the island of the Cyclops he blinded the giant Polyphemus and thereby escaped death and saved his comrades;
• defeated the sorceress Circe;
• heard the sirens singing, but did not die;
• passed on a ship between Scylla and Charybdis;
• defeated Penelope's suitors.

In essence, Odysseus's voyage is a path into the unknown, comprehension and mastery of the unknown, a road to oneself and the acquisition of one's own personality.

The legendary hero appears in Homer's poems as representative of all humanity, discovering and learning the world. The image of Odysseus embodied all the richness of human nature, its weaknesses and vastness. It is no coincidence that many famous writers and poets turned to this image: Sophocles, Ovid, Dante, Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, P. Corneille, L. Feuchtwanger, D. Joyce, T. Pratchett and others.

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Great epic ancient Greece came to us in the form of two works by Homer: “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” Both poems are devoted to events of approximately the same time: and its consequences. The war has just ended. Odysseus proved himself to be an excellent warrior and an intelligent strategist. Thanks to his cunning decisions, more than one battle was won. This is evidenced by his own story in the poem, or rather, his summary. Homer's Odyssey (and his second poem, the Iliad) not only beautifully depicts historical events, but is also distinguished by excellent artistic presentation. The facts are decorated with the rich imagination of the author. It is thanks to this that history went beyond the usual chronicle or chronicle and became the property of world literature.

Homer's poem "Odyssey". Summary

After the war, Odysseus went home to his native Ithaca, where he was ruler. There his old father Laertes, wife Penelope and son Telemachus are waiting for him. Along the way, Odysseus is captured by the nymph Calypso. He spends several years there. Meanwhile, in his kingdom there is a struggle for the throne. There are many contenders for Odysseus's place. They live in his palace and convince Penelope that her husband is dead and will not return, and she must decide who she will marry again. But Penelope is faithful to Odysseus and is ready to wait for him for many years. To cool off the contenders for the throne and her hand, she comes up with various tricks. For example, she knits a shroud for old Laertes, promising to make a decision as soon as the work is finished. And at night she unties the already tied one. Meanwhile, Telemachus matured. One day a stranger came to him and advised him to equip a ship and go in search of his father. She herself was hiding in the image of a wanderer. She patronized Odysseus. Telemachus followed her advice. He ends up in Pylos to Nestor. The elder says that Odysseus is alive and is with Calypso. Telemachus decides to return home, please his mother with good news and ward off annoying contenders for the royal place. The events of the poem are conveyed by a summary. Homer portrays the Odyssey as a fairy-tale hero who went through terrible trials. Zeus, at the request of Athena, sends Hermes to Calypso and orders him to release Odysseus. He builds himself a raft and sets sail. But Poseidon again interferes with him: in a storm, the logs of the raft break. But Athena saves him again and brings him to the kingdom of Alcinous. He is received as a guest, and at the feast Odysseus talks about his adventures. Homer creates nine fantastic stories. “The Odyssey” (the summary conveys these stories) is a fairy-tale framing of real historical events.

The Adventures of Odysseus

First, Odysseus and his companions found themselves on an island with a magical lotus that deprives them of memory. Locals, lotophages, treated the guests to lotus, and they forgot about their Ithaca. Odysseus with difficulty took them to the ship and went on. The second adventure is a meeting with the Cyclopes. With difficulty, the sailors manage to blind the main cyclops Polyphemus and, hiding under the skins of sheep, leave the cave and escape from the island. ABOUT further events You can find out by reading the summary. Homer's "Odyssey" leads the reader along with its hero and covers a large period of time - about twenty years. After the island of the Cyclops, Odysseus ended up on the island with Aeolus, who gave the guest one fair wind and hid three more winds in a bag, tied it and warned that the bag could only be untied in Ithaca. But Odysseus's friends untied the sack while he was sleeping, and the winds brought their ship back to Aeolus. Then there was a clash with cannibal giants, and Odysseus miraculously managed to escape. Then the travelers visited Queen Kirka, who turned everyone into animals, kingdom of the dead, by cunning he managed to get past the seductive Sirens and sail in the strait between the monsters on the Island of the Sun. This is the poem, its summary. Homer returns Odysseus to his homeland, and he, together with Telemachus, expels all Penelope’s “suitors.” Peace reigns in Ithaca. An ancient poem of interest to modern reader And How historical work, and as classic fiction.

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Homer
Odyssey

Homer (Homeros) – Biography

HOMER (Homeros), Greek poet, according to ancient tradition, author of the Ilias and the Odysseia, two great epics that open history European literature. We have no information about the life of Homer, and the surviving biographies and “biographical” notes are later in origin and are often intertwined with legend ( traditional stories about Homer’s blindness, about the dispute between seven cities for the right to be his homeland).

Since the 18th century in science there is a debate both regarding the authorship and regarding the history of the creation of the Iliad and Odyssey, the so-called “Homeric question”, the beginning of which is everywhere accepted (although there were earlier mentions) of the publication in 1795 of the work of F. A. Wolf under the title Introduction to Homer (Prolegomena ad Homerum). Many scholars, called pluralists, argued that the Iliad and Odyssey in their present form are not the creations of Homer (many even believed that Homer did not exist at all), but were created in the 6th century. BC e., probably in Athens, when the songs of different authors passed down from generation to generation were collected and recorded. And the so-called Unitarians defended the compositional unity of the poem, and thereby the uniqueness of its author. New information about the ancient world, comparative studies of South Slavic folk epics and detailed analysis of metrics and style provided sufficient arguments against the original pluralist version, but also complicated the Unitarian view. Historical, geographical and linguistic analysis of the Iliad and Odyssey made it possible to date them around the 8th century. BC e., although there are attempts to attribute them to the 9th or 7th century. BC e. They were apparently built on the Asia Minor coast of Greece, inhabited by Ionian tribes, or on one of the adjacent islands.

At present, there is no doubt that the Iliad and Odyssey were the result of long centuries of development of Greek epic poetry, and not at all its beginning. Different scholars have different assessments of how great the role of creative individuality was in the final design of these poems, but the prevailing opinion is that Homer is by no means just an empty (or collective) name. The question remains unresolved whether the Iliad and Odyssey were created by one poet or whether they are works of two different authors (which, according to many scientists, explains the differences in the vision of the world, poetic technique and language of both poems). This poet (or poets) was probably one of the Aeds who, at least from the Mycenaean era (XV-XII centuries BC), transmitted from generation to generation the memory of the mythical and heroic past.

There was, however, not a proto-Iliad or a proto-Odyssey, but a certain set of established plots and a technique for composing and performing songs. It was these songs that became the material for the author (or authors) of both epics. What was new in Homer's work was the free processing of many epic traditions and the formation of a single whole with a carefully thought-out composition. Many modern scientists are of the opinion that this whole could only have been created in writing. The poet’s desire to give these voluminous works a certain coherence is clearly expressed (through the organization of the plot around one main core, the similar construction of the first and last songs, thanks to the parallels connecting individual songs, the recreation of previous events and the prediction of future ones). But most of all, the unity of the epic plan is evidenced by the logical, consistent development of the action and the integral images of the main characters. It seems plausible that Homer already used alphabetic writing, which, as we now know, the Greeks became familiar with no later than the 8th century. BC e. A relic of the traditional manner of creating such songs was the use, even in this new epic, of techniques characteristic of oral poetry. There are often repetitions and the so-called formulaic epic style. This style requires the use of complex epithets (“swift-footed”, “pink-fingered”), which are determined to a lesser extent by the properties of the person or object being described, and to a much greater extent by the metric properties of the epithet itself. We find here established expressions that make up a metrical whole (once a whole verse), representing typical situations in the description of battles, feasts, meetings, etc. These formulas were universally used by the Aeds and the first creators of written poetry (the same formula-verses appear , for example in Hesiod).

The language of the epics is also the fruit of the long development of pre-Homeric epic poetry. It does not correspond to any regional dialect or any stage in the development of the Greek language. The phonetically closest language to the Ionian dialect, Homer, exhibits many archaic forms reminiscent of the Greek language of the Mycenaean era (which became known to us thanks to the Linear B tablets). We often find side by side inflected forms that have never been used simultaneously in a living language. There are also many elements characteristic of the Aeolian dialect, the origin of which has not yet been clarified. The formulaic and archaic nature of the language is combined with the traditional meter of heroic poetry, which was the hexameter.

In terms of content, Homer's poems also contain many motives, storylines, myths gleaned from early poetry. In Homer one can hear echoes of Minoan culture and even trace connections with Hittite mythology. However, the main source of epic material for him was the Mycenaean period. It is during this era that his epic takes place. Living in the fourth century after the end of this period, which he strongly idealizes, Homer cannot be a source of historical information about political, public life, material culture or the religions of the Mycenaean world. But in the political center of this society, Mycenae, objects identical to those described in the epic (mainly weapons and tools) were found, while some Mycenaean monuments present images, things and even scenes typical of the poetic reality of the epic. The events of the Trojan War, around which Homer unfolded the actions of both poems, were attributed to the Mycenaean era. He showed this war as an armed campaign of the Greeks (called Achaeans, Danaans, Argives) under the leadership of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon against Troy and its allies. For the Greeks, the Trojan War was historical fact, dating from the 14th–12th centuries. BC e. (according to the calculations of Eratosthenes, Troy fell in 1184).

The current state of knowledge allows us to assert that at least some elements of the Trojan epic are historical. As a result of the excavations begun by G. Schliemann, the ruins of a large city were discovered in the very place where, in accordance with the descriptions of Homer and local centuries-old tradition, Troy-Ilion should have lay, on a hill now called Hisarlik. It is only on the basis of Schliemann's discoveries that the ruins on the Hissarlik hill are called Troy. It is not entirely clear which of the successive layers should be identified with Homer's Troy. The poet could collect and perpetuate legends about the settlement on the coastal plain and rely on historical events, but he could also transfer heroic legends, originally belonging to another period, to the ruins, the past of which he knew little, and could also make them the arena of battles that took place on another land.

The action of the Iliad takes place at the end of the ninth year of the siege of Troy (another name for the city of Ilios, Ilion, hence the title of the poem). Events play out over several dozen days. Pictures of the previous years of the war appear more than once in the speeches of the heroes, increasing the temporal length of the plot.

Limiting the direct account of events to such a short period serves to make more vivid the events that decided both the outcome of the war and the fate of its protagonist. In accordance with the first sentence of the introduction, the Iliad is the story of the wrath of Achilles. Angered by the humiliating decision of the supreme leader Agamemnon, Achilles refuses further participation in the war. He returns to the battlefield only when his friend Patroclus is killed by Hector, the unbending defender of Troy, the eldest son of King Priam. Achilles reconciles with Agamemnon and, avenging his friend, kills Hector in a duel and dishonors his body. However, in the end he gives the body to Priam when the old king of Troy himself comes to the Greek camp, right into the tent of the killer of his sons. Priam and Achilles, enemies, look at each other without hatred, like people united by one fate that dooms all people to pain.

Along with the plot of the wrath of Achilles, Homer described the four battles of Troy, devoting his attention to the actions of individual heroes. Homer also presented an overview of the Achaean and Trojan troops (the famous list of ships and list of Trojans in the second canto is perhaps the earliest part of the epic) and ordered Helen to show Priam from the walls of Troy the most prominent Greek leaders. Both of these (as well as many other episodes) do not correspond to the tenth year of the struggle at Troy. However, like numerous reminiscences from the previous years of the war, statements and premonitions relating to future events, all this is aimed at one goal: combining the poem about the wrath of Achilles with the history of the capture of Ilion, which the author of the Iliad managed truly masterfully.

If the main character of the Iliad is an invincible warrior who puts honor and glory above life, in the Odyssey the ideal changes fundamentally. Her hero, Odysseus, is distinguished primarily by his dexterity and ability to find a way out of any situation. Here we find ourselves in another world, no longer in the world of military exploits, but in the world of merchant travel, which characterizes the era of Greek colonization.

The story begins in the tenth year of the protagonist's wanderings. Until now, Poseidon's anger did not allow the hero to return to his native Ithaca, where suitors reigned, vying for the hand of his wife Penelope. Odysseus's young son Telemachus leaves in search of news about his father. Meanwhile, Odysseus, by the will of the gods, sent on his journey by the nymph Calypso, who had until then kept him with her, reaches the semi-legendary country of the Phaeacians. There, in a long and unusually colorful narrative, he describes his adventures from the moment he sailed from Troy (among other things, a journey into the world of the dead). The Phaeacians take him to Ithaca. Disguised as a beggar, he returns to his palace, initiates Telemachus into the plan to destroy the suitors and, taking advantage of an archery competition, kills them.

Legendary elements of the narrative of sea voyages that existed for a long time in the folklore tradition, memories of ancient times and their customs, the “novelistic” motif of a husband returning home in last moment, when the house is threatened, as well as the interests and ideas of Homer's contemporary era of colonization were used to present and develop the Trojan myth.

The Iliad and Odyssey have many common features both in composition and in ideological orientation. Characterized by the organization of the plot around central image, short duration of the story, construction of the plot regardless of the chronological sequence of events, dedication of sections of text proportional in volume to important moments for the development of the action, contrast of successive scenes, development of the plot by creating complex situations that obviously slow down the development of the action, and then their brilliant resolution, the saturation of the first part of the action with episodic motives and the intensification of the main line at the end, the collision of the main opposing forces only at the end of the story (Achilles - Hector, Odysseus - suitors), the use of apostrophe, comparisons. IN epic picture Homer recorded the world the most important points human existence, all the wealth of reality in which a person lives. An important element of this reality are the gods; they are constantly present in the world of people, influencing their actions and destinies. Although they are immortal, their behavior and experiences resemble people, and this likeness elevates and, as it were, sanctifies everything that is characteristic of man.

The humanization of myths is distinctive feature Homer's epic: it emphasizes the importance of the experiences of an individual, arouses sympathy for suffering and weakness, awakens respect for work, does not accept cruelty and vindictiveness; exalts life and dramatizes death (glorifying, however, her sacrifice for the fatherland).

In ancient times, other works were also attributed to Homer, including hymns. The War of Mice and Frogs, Margita. The Greeks spoke of Homer simply:

"Poet". Many people knew the Iliad and Odyssey, at least partially, by heart. School education began with these poems. We see the inspiration inspired by them in everything ancient art and in literature. The images of Homer's heroes became models of how to act, lines from Homer's poems became aphorisms, phrases came into general use, situations gained symbolic meaning. (However, philosophers, in particular Xenophanes and Plato, accused Homer of instilling false ideas about the gods in the Greeks).

Homer's poems were also considered a treasury of all kinds of knowledge, even historical and geographical. This view was held in the Hellenistic era by Crates of Mallus; it was disputed by Eratosthenes. In Alexandria, studies of Homer's texts gave rise to philology as the science of literature (Zenodotus of Ephesus, Aristophanes of Byzantium, Aristarchus of Samothrace). From the translation of the Odyssey into Latin language Roman literature began. The Iliad and Odyssey served as models for Roman epic.

Simultaneously with the decline in knowledge of the Greek language, Homer ceased to be read in the West (c. 4th century AD), but he was constantly read and commented on in Byzantium. In Western Europe, Homer has become popular again since the time of Petrarch; its first edition was published in the city. Great works of European epic are created under the influence of Homer.

"Homeric Hymnoi"

This name is given to a collection of hexametric works of varying lengths addressed to the gods, preserved under the name of Homer. They were composed by rhapsodes as so-called proemies (introductions), with which they preceded the reading of Homer's songs at poetic agons during cult festivities in various religious centers of Greece. These were invocations to the deity being honored. Short, sometimes only a few verses, gimps listed only the nicknames of the god and asked for patronage, then they set out (often with great storytelling skill) a sacred legend or any other story about this god. However, not all hymns were of a cult nature.

They were created, apparently, in the 7th–5th centuries. BC e., their authors are unknown. The collection contains 5 long hymns that represent a complete artistic whole and are not proemies. This:

– To Apollo of Delphi (I, Eis Apollona Delphion) – a hymn in 178 verses, a legend about the birth of a god on the island of Delos;

– To Apollo of Pythia (II, Eis Apollona Pythion) in 368 verses – a narrative about the creation of the Delphic oracle. These two hymns appear in manuscripts as one work.

– Hymn to Hermes (III, Eis Hermen) in 580 verses – a story full of humor and charm about the antics of the newborn Hermes.

– Hymn to Aphrodite (IV, Eis Aphroditen) in 293 verses – a story about the union of Aphrodite with Anchises.

– The Hymn to Demeter (V, Eis Demetra), in 495 verses, is an Attic legend about the arrival of the goddess in Eleusis and the establishment of the Mysteries.

(text is given from the publication: “Ancient Writers. Dictionary.” St. Petersburg, Lan Publishing House, 1999)

SONG ONE

Muse, tell me about that experienced husband who
I have wandered for a long time since I destroyed sacred Troy,
I visited many people of the city and saw their customs,
I suffered a lot in spirit on the seas, worrying about salvation
Your life and the return of your faithful comrades to their homeland.
Still, he could not save his comrades, no matter how hard he tried.
They destroyed themselves by their own sacrilege:
The madmen ate the cows of Helios Hyperionid.
For this he deprived them of the day of returning home forever.
Muse! Tell us about this too, starting with where you want.
Everyone else at that time, having avoided death close to them,
There were already houses, and they had also escaped the war and the sea.
Only him, who had a heartache because of his wife and homeland,
Nymph-queen Calypso, goddess among goddesses, held
In a deep grotto, wanting him to become her husband.
But the years passed, and the year had already come when it was
The son of Laertes is destined by the gods to return to his home.
Also, however, there, on Ithaca, he could not avoid
A lot of work, even though I was between friends. Full of compassion
All the gods were there for him. Only one Poseidon continuously
He drove Odysseus until he reached his own land.
Poseidon was at that time in the distant country of the Ethiopians,
The extreme parts of the earth at both ends inhabited:
Where Hyperion sets and where he rises in the morning.
There he received from them hecatombs of bulls and rams,
There he enjoyed himself, sitting at a feast. Everyone else
The gods in the halls of Kronid the Father were assembled.
The parent of husbands and gods addressed all of them with a speech;
In the heart, in the memory, Vladyka had the blameless Aegisthus,
Deprived of life by Agamemnonides, by the glorious Orestes.
Remembering him, Kronid turned to the immortals with the words:
“It’s strange how people willingly blame immortals for everything!
Evil comes from us, they claim, but not themselves
Death, despite fate, is brought upon oneself by madness?
So is Aegisthus, - is it not in spite of fate that he is the husband of Atrid
Took him as his wife, killing him when returning to his homeland?
He knew the impending doom: we punished him severely,
Having sent the keen-sighted Argo-killer Hermes, so that he would not dare
Neither kill him, nor take his wife as your wife.
Revenge for Atrid will come from Orestes, when, having matured,
He will want to take possession of his country.
This is what Hermes told him, wishing him well; but he couldn't
Hearts to convince him. And Aegisthus paid for this.”


You spoke the truth - he fully deserved such a death.
So let everyone who would do such a thing perish!
But my heart breaks for King Odysseus:
He endures, unhappy, troubles, from his loved ones, far away, embraced
The waves of the island, in the place where the navel is found of the sea.
An island covered with forests; the goddess lives on it,
Daughter of the scheming Atlas, who knows the abysses
The seas of everything and which supervision of the pillars has:
They stand between earth and sky, pushing them apart.
Embraced by grief, the unfortunate daughter of Atlanta holds,
With soft and insinuating speech, seducing him all the time,
So that he forgets about his Ithaca. But, passionately wanting
To even see the smoke rising from his native land, he thinks
Only about the death of one Odysseus. Really won't touch
Dear heart to you, Olympian, is his fate evil?
Didn't he honor you with sacrifices on the Trojan plain?
Near the Argive ships? So why are you, Zeus, indignant?
Answering her, Kronion, the cloud gatherer, said:
“What words flew out of your teeth!
How could I forget about the divine self of Odysseus,
So outstanding in thought among mortals, with such a desire
Sacrifices to the gods, the lords of the wide sky?
But Poseidon the landowner has no measure for him
Burns with anger because the Cyclops Polyphemus is godlike
He is deprived of his eyes, - a Cyclops, whose strength is among other Cyclops
The greatest was; he was born from the nymph Foosa,
Daughters of Forkin, guardian of the incessantly rustling sea,
In connection with Poseidon the ruler who entered into a deep cave,
From now on, the earth shaker Poseidon Odysseus
It doesn’t kill, but it drives you away from your sweet homeland.
Well, let us all think, who are here on Olympus today,
How can he return home? Poseidon will throw away
His anger: he alone cannot argue with all the immortals
And act autocratically against the will of the universal gods.”
Then the owl-eyed maiden Athena said to Zeus:
“O our father Kronid, the highest of all rulers!
If it now pleases the all-blessed gods to return
Could Odysseus, the wise man, go to his homeland, let's order Hermes
Argo-killer, to the executor of your decisions, to the nymph
In braids, beautifully woven, to the island of Ogygia immediately
To rush and convey to her our adamant decision,
So that the steadfast Odysseus may be returned to his homeland.
I’ll go to Ithaca, so that Odysseus’ son
Instill more vigor and put courage in his heart,
So that, having called a meeting of long-haired Achaeans,
He drove out all the suitors who killed in the house without counting
A bunch of walking sheep and slow-moving horned bulls.
After that I will send him to Sparta and sandy Pylos,
To find out about my dear father and his return,
Also, so that a good reputation will be established among people about him.”
Having finished, she tied the golden soles to her feet,
Ambrosial, everywhere with the blowing wind
And those who bore above the boundless earth and above the water.
She took into her hands a battle spear, sharpened with copper, -
Heavy, strong; Athena beat them with heroes,
Those who brought upon themselves the wrath of the mighty father goddess.
The goddess rushed violently from the high peaks of the Olympics,
She stood in the Ithaca country at the courtyard of Odysseus’s house
Before the threshold of the gate, with his sharp spear in his palm,
Taking the form of a stranger, the Taphosians of the ruler Menta.
I found proud suitors there. They are in front of the door
They delighted their souls by playing dice with zeal,
Sitting on the skins of bulls that they themselves killed.
In the hall are the messengers along with the nimble servants of the house
These - wine was poured into craters, mixing with water,
Those, having washed the tables with a spongy sponge, pushed forward
They were placed in the middle and meat was placed on them in abundance.
The first of all, Telemachus, the godlike one, noticed the goddess.
With a sad heart, he sat silently with the suitors.
And he imagined how a mighty parent appeared,
How would he have sent all the suitors home, captured
His power again and would become the master of his possessions.
In such thoughts, sitting with the suitors, he saw Athena.
He quickly went to the door, ashamed in his soul that it had taken so long
The wanderer is forced to stand at the entrance; and, hastily approaching,
He took the stranger by the right hand, took his spear,
He raised his voice and addressed him with a winged speech:
“Rejoice, stranger! Come in! We'll treat you, and then,
Once you’ve had your fill of food, you’ll tell us what you need.”
So he said and went. And behind him is Pallas Athena.
After they entered the high house of Odysseus,
He carried the guest's spear to a high column and placed it
In the spear storage is smooth, where many still stood
Copies of others of Odysseus, mighty in spirit in adversity.
Afterwards he led the goddess to a beautifully decorated chair,
He covered him with a cloth, sat him down, and pulled a bench under his feet.
Nearby he himself sat on a carved chair, in the distance
From suitors to guests, sitting next to the arrogant ones,
Didn't get aversion to food, aggravated by their noise,
Also, to ask him in secret about his distant father.
Immediately a beautiful golden jug with wash water
In a silver basin was placed before them by a maid
For washing; After setting up the table it was smooth.
The venerable housekeeper placed bread in front of them, a lot
He added various foods, willingly giving them from the reserves.
Kravchiy placed them on platters, raising them high,
Various meats and golden goblets were placed near them;
The messenger approached them every now and then, pouring wine.
Proud grooms noisily entered the hall from the courtyard
And they sat down in order on armchairs and chairs; with water
The messengers came to them, and they washed their hands.
The servants placed them in baskets full of bread,
The boys poured the drink into the craters to the very edge.
They immediately extended their hands to the ready food.
After the desire for drink and food has been quenched,
The hearts of the grooms were lit with a new desire: they wanted
Music and dancing are the most beautiful delights of any feast.
The messenger handed the beautiful cithara into the hands of:
He had to sing in front of the suitors against his will.
Femiy raised his cithara and began a beautiful song.
And then Telemachus turned to the owl-eyed Athena,
Leaning his head towards her so that no one else could hear:
“You won’t be angry, my dear guest, at what I say?
There is only one thing on these people’s minds – cithara and songs.
No wonder: they squander other people's wealth here -
A husband whose white bones, rotted somewhere, rain
It wets on land or the fierce waves rock in the sea.
If they saw that he returned to Ithaca again,
Everyone would like to have quicker legs,
How to get rich by accumulating clothes and gold here.
However, he was destroyed by evil fate, and there is no
We have consolation, although some people claim:
He will still be there. But no! The day of his return is already lost!

Who are you? Parents who? What city are you from?
And what ship did you come on, what route?
Did the shipmen bring you to visit us? Who are they?
After all, I believe you didn’t get here on foot.
Say this also frankly, so that I know well:
Is this your first time coming here or was it your father’s long time ago?
Were you a guest? Quite a few came in past years
There are guests in our house, because my parent talked a lot with people.”

“I will answer your questions with complete frankness:
My name is Ment; my father, Anchial, is very clever, and this
I am always glad to boast; and I myself am the lord of the Taphosians
Veslolyubivykh, came in his ship with his own;
I sail across the wine-red sea to foreigners for copper
To the distant city of Temesu, and I’m going with shiny iron.
I placed my ship under the wooded slope of Neyon
In the Retre pier, far from the city, near a field.
It is with pride that I declare that Odysseus and I belong to each other
Long time guests. When you visit the hero Laertes,
You can ask the old man about this. They say he doesn't walk anymore
He mostly goes to the city, but, enduring troubles, he lives far away
In a field with an old maid who feeds and waters
The old man, when, having wandered through the hills of the vineyard for a day,
Having exhausted his old limbs, he returns to the house.
I am coming to you now: they said that he is already at home, your father.
Apparently, however, the gods are preventing him from returning.
But God-like Odysseus did not die on earth, believe me.
Somewhere in the wide sea, on an island embraced by waves,
He lingered alive and languishes under the power of the ferocious,
Wild people cannot leave, no matter how much their soul tries.
But I undertake to predict - and what do they think about it?
The opinion of the gods and how, I believe, everything will happen,
Although I’m not a prophet at all and I don’t know how to tell fortunes by birds.
He will not be separated from his dear fatherland for long,
Even if only iron chains held him.
He is experienced in tricks and will figure out how to get back.
Now tell me, without hiding anything from me:
Do I really see in you the son of Odysseus?
You are terribly similar to him in your head and beautiful eyes.
Often in past tense we met before
He went on a campaign to Troy, where others
The best of the Argives sailed on steep-sided ships.
Afterwards, neither I nor Odysseus met with me.”
Answering her, the prudent son of Odysseus said:
“I will answer your question, O our guest, quite frankly:
Mother says that I am the son of Odysseus, but I myself do not know.
Can anyone know what father he was born from?
I would be happy if I had a parent
A husband who lived peacefully into old age in his possessions.
But - among all earthly people the most unfortunate is
He is my father, since you wanted to know this from me.”
The owl-eyed maiden Athena said to him again:
“Apparently, it is the will of the immortals not to be without glory in the future
Your family, when Penelope gave birth to someone like you.
Now tell me, without hiding anything from me:
What kind of lunch is here? What meeting? Why do you need it?
Is there a wedding or a feast here? After all, it doesn’t happen as a team effort.
It just seems that your guests are unbridled in the house
Yours is being outraged. Any reasonable person would feel shame
The husband, who looked in here, saw their vile behavior.”

“Since you, O my guest, asked and wanted to find out, then find out:
This house was once full of wealth, it was respected
All at the time when that husband was still here.
Now the hostile gods have made a different decision,
Having made him invisible to the eye between all the men.
I would mourn him less if he died,
If he had died in Trojan land among his comrades
Or, having ended the war, he would have died in the arms of his friends.
The All-Achaeans would have built a funeral mound over him,
He would leave his son great glory for all time.
Now the Harpies took him ingloriously, and he left,
Forgotten by everyone, unknown, and left to his son’s share
Only sadness and sobs. But I'm not talking about him alone
I'm crying; The gods sent me another cruel grief:
The first people in power that inhabit the islands here
Zam, and Dulihiy, and Zakynthos, covered with dense forests,
And our rocky Ithaca, they strive stubbornly
They forced my mother into marriage and robbed our property.
The mother does not want to enter into a hateful marriage and cannot
Put an end to their claims, and they ruin
My house is full of feasts and soon I myself will be destroyed.”
Pallas Athena answered him indignantly:
“Woe! I see now how distant Odysseus is to you
It is necessary that he lay his hands on the shameless aliens.
If now, having returned, he stood in front of the house door
With a pair of spears in his hand, with his strong shield and helmet, -
How I first saw the hero at the time when he
In our house at the feast he was having fun, sitting at the cup,
Coming to us from Ephyra from Il, Mermer's son:
Odysseus also visited there on his fast ship;
Yada, fatal to people, he was looking for something he could smear
Your copper arrows. However, Il refused
Give him poison: he was ashamed of the soul of the immortal gods.
My father gave it to him because he loved him dearly.
When would he appear before the suitors in this form,
They would have a short lifespan and be very bitter!
This, however, is hidden in the bosom of the almighty gods, -
Will he take revenge for himself or not by returning
To your own home. And now I would suggest you to think,
What to do to remove all the suitors from the palace.
Listen to me and pay attention to what I say:
Tomorrow, calling the Achaean citizens to a meeting, openly
Tell them everything, and let the gods be your witnesses.
Afterwards, demand that all the suitors go home;
Your mother, if her spirit wants to get married again,
Let him return to his powerful father, to his dear home;
Let him prepare the wedding, having given a large dowry,
How much does my dear daughter get?
As for you, perhaps you will follow my reasonable advice:
The best ship, equipped with twenty oarsmen, set sail
And find out about your father who has disappeared; right, from mortals
Anyone can tell you about it or Rumor will tell you
Zeus - she brings the most news to people.
In Pylos you will find out earlier what the divine Nestor will say,
After that you will go to Sparta to the fair-haired Menelaus;
He arrived home last of all the copperplate Achaeans.
If you hear that your father is alive, that he will return home,
Wait for him for a year, patiently enduring oppression;
If you hear that he is dead, that he is no longer in the world,
Then, returning back to his father’s sweet land,
In honor of him, you will build a burial mound, and you will do it properly.
Funeral rite for him and you will give your mother away in marriage.
After you've done it all, it's all over,
Think carefully in your heart and mind what
By means of destroying all the suitors in your palaces,
By cunning or openly. Living with childish trifles
Time has passed for you, your age is no longer the same.
Or do you not know what happened to the divine Orestes,
What glory he gained by dealing with the treacherous Aegisthus,
A parricide, depriving his glorious father of his life?
I see, my dear friend, that you are both great and beautiful,
You are no weaker than him, you will also become famous in posterity;
But it’s high time for me to return to my fast ship:
My companions are waiting and probably indignant at me in their hearts.
Take care of yourself and think about what I said.”
Again then the sensible Telemachus answered his guest:
“Really, my guest, you speak to me with such love,
Like a father; I will never forget your advice.
But wait, although I see that you are in a hurry to get on the road.
Wash yourself early with us, please your dear heart.
With a joyful spirit you will then take it to the ship, you are a gift
Valuable, beautiful, which I will present to you as a souvenir,
As it happens between guests and hosts, they are pleasant to each other.”
This is how the owl-eyed maiden Athena answered him:
“No, don’t detain me today, I’m in a hurry to get on the road.
The gift that your dear heart prompts you to give to me,
When I return back, I will accept and go home with him,
Having received the gift dearly and given you the same.”
The owl-eyed maiden Athena said and departed,
Like a fast-winged bird, it fluttered out the window. Covered
His strength and courage. And he's bigger than before
I remembered my dear father. And, having thought in my heart,
My soul trembled when I realized that I was talking with God.
The godlike husband immediately headed back to the grooms.
A famous singer sang in front of them, and they sat
Listening silently. He sang about the sad return from Troy
The army of the Achaeans, sent to them by Pallas Athena.
In my upper chamber I heard singing, inspired
Elder Icarius's daughter, Penelope the wise. Immediately
She went down the high stairs of the house from above,
But not alone; Two maids went down with her.
Entering the hall to the suitors, Penelope, a goddess among women,
She stood near the doorframe leading to the dining room,
He covered his cheeks with a shiny blanket, and next to him
With her, on both sides, were zealous maids.
Weeping, Penelope said to the inspired singer:
“Phemius, you know so many other soul-delighting
Songs with which singers glorify gods and heroes.
Sing one of them while sitting before the congregation. And in silence
Guests will listen to her over wine. But stop what you started
A sad song; it fills my chest with sorrow
Sweet heart. I suffered the worst grief.
Having lost such a husband, I cannot forget about the deceased,
So filled with his glory both Hellas and Argos.”
The reasonable son of Odysseus objected to his mother:
“My mother, why are you interfering with the singer’s pleasure?
Then sing about what burns in his soul? It's not the singer's fault -
Zeus is to blame here, who makes it painful for the working people
He puts into everyone’s soul what he wants. You can't get irritated
Once he wished to sing praises to the ill-fated destiny of the Danaans.
What people usually admire most is this
The song that seems to them to be the newest.
Tame your spirit and heart and force yourself to listen.
Not one Odysseus had to return home,
Many others also did not return home from Troy.
Better go back to your place and mind your own business -
Yarn, weaving; order the maids to get to work immediately
We also took it. Speaking is not a woman’s job, but a matter
My husband, most of all – mine; I am my only master."
That's what he said. Amazed, Penelope went back.
Her son's wise word penetrated deeply into her soul.
Having gone upstairs with the maids, she cried for a long time
It’s about Odysseus, about his beloved wife, while
The goddess Athena did not cover her eyelids with sweet sleep.
And at that time the suitors were making noise in the shady palace;
They all really wanted to lie down on the bed with Penelope.
The prudent Telemachus addressed them with a speech:
“O suitors of Penelope, arrogant, proud people!
Let us now feast and enjoy. Stop making noise!
It’s so pleasant and sweet to listen to beautiful songs
A husband like this - equal in singing to God!
Tomorrow morning we’ll go to the square and open the meeting,
There I will openly say before the whole people that immediately
You cleaned my house. And deal with feasts differently:
Spend your money on them, alternating between houses.
If you find what is both more pleasant and better for you
To destroy one person's wealth for free, -
Eat! And I will appeal to the eternal gods for support.
Perhaps Kronion will allow the work of retribution to take place:
You will all die here, and there will be no penalty for it!”
That's what he said. The suitors, biting their lips with vexation,
They were surprised at the bold words that were suddenly heard.
Immediately Antinous, born of Eupeitis, turned to him:
“Probably the gods themselves, Telemachus, are teaching you
To brag so shamelessly and talk so brazenly.
Zeus deliver us, so that you may stand in the waves of Ithaca
Our king, having the right to this by birth!”
And, objecting to him, the judicious Telemachus said:
“Don’t be angry with me, Antinous, but I’ll tell you this:
If Zeus gave this to me, I would certainly accept it.
Or do you think there is nothing worse than this?
Reigning is not a bad thing at all; will accumulate soon
There is wealth in the king's house, and he himself is honored by the people.
But among the noble Achaeans in wave-swept Ithaca
There are many others, young or old, who
Power could have passed, since King Odysseus was gone.
But at home I alone will remain the master of the house,
Like the slaves brought to me by Odysseus as the king!”
Then Eurymachus, born of Polybus, began to speak:
“O Telemachus, this is hidden in the bosom of the almighty gods,
Which of the Achaeans will be our king in Ithaca?
Still, what is here is yours, and in your own house you yourself are the master.
It's unlikely to be found as long as Ithaca is inhabited,
Someone who would dare to encroach on your property.
But I would like to know, my dear, about the current guest:
Who is this guest and where is he from? What kind of land is the Fatherland
Famous What family and tribe is he? Where he was born?
Did he come to you with news about the return of your father?
Or did he come here to Ithaca out of his own need?
Having immediately disappeared, he did not wait to meet us here.
He doesn’t look like a thin person.”
And, answering him, the judicious Telemachus said:
“I have no hope for my father’s return, Eurymachus.
I don’t believe any news coming from anywhere,
I don’t want to heed any prophecies, to which, calling
Various fortune tellers come into the house, my mother comes running endlessly.
This traveler is my guest on his father’s side, he is from Tafos,
Cop, calls himself Enchial the reasonable son
With pride, he himself is the ruler of the fun-loving Taphosians.”
This is what Telemachus said, although he knew that he was talking with God.
The same ones, having again taken up delightful singing and dancing,
They amused themselves with them and waited until evening approached.
We were having fun and having fun. And the evening approached black.
Then they got up and went home to indulge in peace.
The son of King Odysseus has a beautiful courtyard in his high
The sleeping quarters moved, well protected all around.
Thinking about many things in his heart, he went there to sleep.
Eurycleia walked ahead of him with a torch in each hand,
Daughter of the homely Opa, born from Pensenor.
Laertes once bought it and made it his property
As a young teenager, I paid twenty bulls for her,
And he honored her in the house along with his housewife,
But, so as not to anger his wife, he did not share his bed with her.
She walked with a torch in each hand. Of the slaves I loved
She is bigger than everyone else and raised him from childhood.
Telemachus opened the door to the skillfully built bedroom,
He sat down on the bed and, taking off his soft tunic over his head,
He threw this tunic into the hands of the helpful old woman.
She shook her tunic and skillfully folded it into folds.
And she hung it on a stake near the chiseled bed. After
The old woman quietly came out of the bedroom, with a silver hand
She closed the door behind her, tightening the bolt with a belt.
All night long on the bed, covered with soft sheepskin,
He thought about the road to which Athena had called him.