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THE ODYSSEY LITERATURE ESSAY
The themes of vengeance throughout The Odyssey written by Greek poet Homer and throughout modern-day life are very similar. When an abstract view is taken on the conflicts of The Odyssey, they often relate quite well to more familiar situations.
An example from the book that clearly demonstrates the theme of vengeance is told in Demodocos’s song of Aphroditê, Hephaistos, and Arês. This story is told by the harper on pages 93 through 95. “The harper struck up a tune, and sang the loves of Arês and Aphroditê. He told how first they lay secretly in the house of Hephaistos himself… but before long Helios the sun came and told him that he had seen them loving in a loving embrace. Hephaistos heard the cruel tale, and straight to the smithy he went with a plan of vengeance in his heart.” This is a portion of Demodocos’s tale that describes the betrayal of Aphroditê to her crippled husband Hephaistos when she slept with the handsome god of war, Arês, and eventually the vengeance taken upon them both by Hephaistos. This demonstration of vengeance can be looked at in several different ways. Beyond the obvious Hephaistos to Aphroditê & Arês, it can be seen as god to god & goddess, or husband to adulteress & accomplice in adultery. There are many other examples of vengeance that can be found throughout the Odyssey.
One of these examples is Telemachos taking vengeance upon the suitors. The traces of this theme are most apparent in book XXII, throughout the battle. An excellent example of this is shown by a quote that lasts from pages 244 to 245; “But Telemachos was too quick for him; he cast his spear from behind and struck him between the shoulders - the point came out through his chest, and his face crashed on the ground with a thud. Telemachos leapt back and left the spear in the body he feared that some one might stab him with a sword, or strike a blow, if he stooped to pull it out.” Telemachos fighting the suitors can also be approached as a prince fighting other princes. However, Telemachos wasn’t the only character to take vengeance upon the suitors.
Odysseus is another character that took vengeance upon these unruly princes. Shown on page 245 of book XXII, Odysseus took his fury out in violence and possibly righteous murder. “As long as the arrows lasted Odysseus went on bringing them [the suitors] down one after another.” Odysseus took vengeance upon these suitors for their rude and disorderly invasion of his home and their attempts to court his wife while he was away while he had not yet been announced dead. Odysseus’s vengeance upon the suitors can be compared in several different ways. It may be approached as a king’s vengeance upon princes, an elder’s upon young men, or a mere comparison of higher to lower authority.
These demonstrations of vengeance can also relate to modern-day demonstrations. The first example of Hephaistos, Aphroditê, and Arês’ situation is not an uncommon one, especially in high school. For example, in a situation where two students are dating, and the girl in the relationship has some type of affair with another student, her boyfriend will most of the time become extremely angry with his girlfriend and also the other boy. The boyfriend may or may not use trickery as Hephaistos did, but sometimes may use violence.
The situation with Telemachos and the suitors shows a young man seeking vengeance on others of his age. A modern-day circumstance that compares well to this one occurred earlier this year between two upperclassmen students. Student A keyed student B’s car with profane terms, so student B went after student A with a lead pipe. Although this may not have been the most mature solution, it shows that vengeance being sought out in the Odyssey is comparable to modern-day in that violence seems to be the first option to pop into a young man’s head when dealing with revenge.
People of high authority often carry out vengeance upon people of lower authority, just as Odysseus and the suitors. For example, a principal may close off every single bathroom besides two to take vengeance upon a student that vandalizes a bathroom. However, this type of vengeance is often more acceptable, and usually referred to as punishment.
Vengeance, no matter the time period, is the same in almost all situations. Ways of dealing with it may vary, but there will always be a desire in people to seek revenge on wrongdoing. With these basic thoughts in mind, circumstances as different as ones in ancient Greece can be easily related to those of modern-day high school.