Odysseus' Adventures: A First-Person Account in Alcinous' Court

Odysseus' Adventures: A First-Person Account

My Journey After the Trojan War

I, Odysseus, stand before you in the court of King Alcinous, to recount my adventures since the end of the Trojan War. These tales have become popular, sung in many songs. They tell of the Cyclops Polyphemus, the enchantress Circe, who turns men into animals, and the Sirens with their misleading songs. Finally, in the thirteenth year, the narrative returns to a chronological order, and I reach Ithaca.

The Heroic Ideal in Homer's Epics

The human ideal in Homer's epics is characteristic of the aristocracy. The characters are heroes or noble kings, and their morale is competitive. The agonistic behavior of the individual is based on the recognition of their merits by others. The attainment of success is personal realization, known as *areté*. According to the framework in which their life unfolds, this success is achieved in war and through *boulé*, that is, in military and political action. This is exclusive to noble families and is compounded by heredity.

Divine Intervention and Human Virtues

Alongside this heroic ideal, we see divine intervention and human virtues. Hospitality is paramount. For example, my son Telemachus seeks to emulate me, his father, Odysseus, and is received warmly in the palaces of Pylos and Sparta. The warm and discreet welcome I received from Alcinous in the land of the Phaeacians demonstrates this virtue. Hospitality created a religious bond between two families that was hereditary.

A famous passage from the *Iliad* shows a Greek and a Trojan recognizing each other on the battlefield. Joined by this old link, they throw down their weapons to exchange them as gifts, attesting to this sacred hospitality.

Human Feelings in Homer's Works

Other passages highlight human feelings. Consider the delicacy of the encounter between Nausicaa and me on the beach, the tenderness of Hector and Andromache's parting, and the cordiality and understanding of the aged King Priam towards Helen, now the wife of his son Paris. Both of these latter passages are from the *Iliad*.

Hesiod: A New Era in Greek Literature

A Shift from the Heroic to the Personal

Hesiod appears connected to Homer, but with a different style, content, and meter. He belongs to a new era of the Archaic period. Literature begins to reflect personal problems rather than heroic ones. Hesiod lived in the first half of the 7th century BC. He is credited with two long poems: *The Theogony*, a genealogical and cosmogonic poem, and *Works and Days*, a didactic and exhortative poem. Hesiod is an epic poet in terms of form but one of the first lyric poets in terms of content.