Some initial thoughts on the Odyssey

The Odyssey is a work of literature that I have long been familiar with, just not as well as I would like to be. I believe that there are certain works of literature that one should not miss out on reading, the Odyssey being one of them. Reading the Odyssey now makes me a bit nostalgic, as it takes me back to my sixth grade ELA class.

Being that I was only 11, I was certainly not able to appreciate and evaluate all that the Odyssey has to offer. I addition to that, I read a version written in the form of a novel instead of a poem. Of course, I didn't get the real essence of it. Nonetheless, my teacher covered a tremendous amount of background information before we began reading the Odyssey; this information is essential when it comes to actually understanding the references that Homer makes. We started off with basic Greek mythology--the story of Gaea and Uranus and the lineage of gods and goddesses that followed. Greek mythology intrigued me then and it has held my interest to this day.

There is a certain quality about Greek mythology which reaches out to the reader across the centuries. I've always seen Greek mythology as a window into ancient Greek civilization--a window through which one can see a vivid image of what the land looked like, what the people looked like, how they dressed, how they interacted with one another, the values they cherished, and most importantly, the fear and uncertainty in their minds ameliorated by the beliefs they held. Greek mythology serves as a testimony of the ancient Greek mindset which is not unlike the mindset of any young civilization. To give the mysteries of their everyday encounters a meaning, these people came to develop myths. The Mayas were notorious for having done this (ironically this attempt at coming to better terms with their mysterious and unpredictable world ultimately led to their demise), and so were the Aryans of ancient India. I have found striking similarities between Greek mythology and Indian mythology; this says a lot about the nature of mythology: The unknown which is so deeply connected to people's daily lives intrigues them to the extent that they seek a divine explanation for it.

I would have forgotten most of what I had learned about Greek mythology in sixth grade (though most of the myths such as Athena's birth from Zeus's head are memorable) if I hadn't been required to brush up on it last year in AP English, as Greek mythology is often alluded to in the classic works of literature, as well as the contemporary works. This exposure certainly gives me the advantage of not having to grapple with complicated Greek names for the first time! In reality, I don't even think Greek names are that hard to pronounce, but that's just me. However, I do think that in spite of delivering a phenomenal rendition of the Odyssey, Fitzgerald does tend to complicate the spelling of the names. It could either be that, or it could be the simple fact that I'm so used to seeing Achilles spelled a certain way, yet Fitzgerald spells it as Akhilleus.

The fact that Homer orally delivered this epic poem and had the whole thing memorized is something I did not know. This is remarkable and also explains why I keep finding repetitive lines as I read.