Achilles
Son of the mortal man Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, Achilles is the best
warrior at the siege of Troy. Odysseus encounters his shade
(spirit) in the underworld in Book 11 while waiting for the seer Tiresias to
tell him how he is to return home after being delayed for ten years.
Aeolus
The son of Hippotas Homer describes him as
"beloved of the immortal gods" (X.2) and relates that Zeus put him in
charge of the winds, letting him "hold them still or start them up at his
pleasure" (X.22). He and his family (six sons married to six daughters)
live on Aeolia, a floating island. After listening to Odysseus's tales of Troy,
he agrees to help and makes Odysseus a present of a bag containing all the
adverse winds that could blow him off his proper course home. Unfortunately,
Odysseus's men untie the knot, thinking they will find gold in the bag; the
winds blow them back to Aeolia. Aeolus casts them out, saying he has no desire
to help anyone who is so obviously cursed by the gods.
Agamemnon
Son of Atreus, brother of Menelaus, and King of Mycenae, Agamemnon commands the
Achaean forces at Troy. Odysseus encounters his shade in the underworld.
Agamemnon tells him about what he (Agamemnon) found waiting for him when he
returned home after the war, and he cautions Odysseus to be careful until he is
sure of his wife's loyalty.
Ajax (Oilean, the Lesser)
Son of Oileus and leader of the Locrians at Troy. Shipwrecked on his way home
after the war, he boasts of having escaped the sea in spite of the gods—and is
subsequently drowned by Poseidon. Odysseus encounters his shade in the underworld
in Book 11.
Ajax (Telamonian, the Greater)
Son of Telamon and grandson of Aeacus (who was also grandfather of Achilles),
Ajax was one of the bravest and strongest fighters at Troy. At the funeral
games after Achilles's death, he and Odysseus competed for Achilles's armor and
weapons. When they were awarded to Odysseus, Ajax sulked and, in a fit of
madness, slaughtered a flock of sheep in the belief that they were his enemies.
When he discovered what he had done, he killed himself, unable to live with the
shame. Odysseus encounters the shade of Ajax in the underworld, and even
apologizes for the outcome of their contest at Achilles's funeral games. Ajax,
angry with Odysseus even after death, refuses to speak to the man he believes
had unfairly beaten him in life.
Alcinous
Son of Nausithous, husband of Arete and father of Nausicaa and Laodamas,
Alcinous (the name means "sharp-witted" or "brave-witted")
is king of Phaeacia and a grandson of Poseidon. Homer depicts him as a kind,
generous, and noble man, eager to help the stranger and put him at ease (e.g.,
VIII.94-5, 532-34). He even suggests that Odysseus should stay in Phaeacia and
marry his daughter.
Antinous
Son of Eupithes, Antinous's name literally means "anti-mind" and
could be translated as "Mindless." He is one of the boldest and most
ambitious (not to say obnoxious) of the suitors for Penelope's hand. He wants
to supplant Telemachus as the next ruler of Ithaca (I.384ff.). It is his idea
to attempt to ambush Telemachus on his way home from the mainland, and he
proposes killing Telemachus outright at least three different times (XVI.383,
XX.271-74, and XXII.49-53). He is the first man Odysseus kills in Book 22.
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love (the equivalent of the Roman Venus).
According to Homer, she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione; the poet Hesiod (who
likely lived and wrote not long after Homer's time), however, claims that she
sprang from the foam (aphros in Greek) of the sea, as seen in
Botticelli's painting The Birth of Venus (circa 1485). She is married,
though not faithful, to Hephaestus, god of fire and smithcraft. Among her many
lovers was the god of war, Ares. Aphrodite appears in the Odyssey only
by "reputation," so to speak, when Demodocus sings the story of how
her husband conspired to trap her in bed with her lover Ares and expose the two
of them to the ridicule of the gods (VIII.266-366).
Apollo
The son of Zeus and Leto, and twin brother of Artemis, Apollo is the god of
archery, prophecy, music, medicine, light, and youth. (Sometimes, though not in
Homer, Apollo is identified with the sun). As we frequently see in the Odyssey
(e.g, III.279, IV.341, VI.162, etc.), plagues and other diseases, and sometimes
a peaceful death in old age, were often explained as being the result of
"gentle arrows" shot by Apollo (for men), or by his sister Artemis
(for women).
Arete
Niece and wife of Alcinous and mother of Nausicaa, Arete is queen of the
Phaeacians. Her name means "Virtue" or "Excellence" in
Greek. Athena tells Odysseus that Alcinous honors Arete "as no other woman
on earth'' is honored (VII.67).
Artemis
Daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo, Artemis is the virgin goddess
of the hunt, the moon, and, in some traditions, of childbirth and the young. As
we frequently see in the Odyssey (e.g., IV.122, V.123, VI.102, etc.),
plagues and other diseases, and sometimes a peaceful death in old age, were
often explained as being the result of "gentle arrows" shot by
Artemis (for women), or by her brother Apollo (for men).
Athena
The daughter of Zeus and Metis, Zeus (following in the tradition of his own
father, Cronus) swallowed her at birth when it was revealed that she would
someday bear a son who would be lord of heaven (and thus take Zeus's place).
She was born, fully grown and in armor, from the head of Zeus after Hephaestus
(or, in some traditions, Prometheus) split it open with an axe to relieve his
headache.
Athena was revered as the patron goddess of Athens (where
the temple known as the Parthenon was technically dedicated to her in her
aspect as Athena Polios, protectress of the city), but also as a goddess
of war, wisdom and cleverness, and crafts, especially weaving and spinning. She
describes herself in the Odyssey as being "famous among all the
gods for scheming and clever tricks" (XIII.299).
Athena does not behave in the same way as most of the other
gods in the Odyssey; she is closely involved with both Odysseus and
Telemachus all through the poem, whereas the other gods (with the exception of
Poseidon) are more remote and rarely intervene in the affairs of mortals.
Indeed, the account of Athena's interaction with Odysseus, where he finally
reaches Ithaca in Book 13, reads more like an encounter between old friends or
cherished family members than between a mortal and a god. Homer may have
intended such closeness to underscore Odysseus's heroic status: the gods only
assist those who are worthy, and even then they tend to be somewhat distant.
For Athena to treat Odysseus so familiarly indicates his superior status even among
heroes.
Athene
See Athena
Atreides
See Agamemnon
Calypso
Daughter of Atlas, who holds the world upon his shoulders, Calypso (whose name
is related to the Greek verb "to hide'' and which might therefore be
translated as "Concealer") is a goddess who lives on the island of
Ogygia. She falls in love with Odysseus during the seven years he lives on her
island (I.15, IX.30), and proposes to make him immortal (V.136,209): not a gift
usually given lightly.
She says as much to Hermes in Book 5 when he comes to tell
her of Zeus's decision that she must let Odysseus go. She is not happy with
Zeus's decision, but she abides by it. She again offers to make Odysseus
immortal. When he turns her down, she provides him with the materials and tools
he needs to make a raft. When it is completed, she sends a favorable wind at
his back that almost gets him home—until Poseidon catches sight of him.
Circe
Daughter of Helios (the sun-god) and Perse, and sister of Aeetes, the king of
Colchis who plagued Jason and the Argonauts. A minor goddess who "speaks
with the speech of mortals," she is also a powerful enchantress.
Her "specialty" lies in turning men into pigs (in
Homer; pseudo-Apollodorus also mentions wolves, donkeys, and lions; this may be
reflected in the reference to wolves and lions at X.212) by means of potions
and spells. Yet once she recognizes Odysseus, and swears an oath not to harm
him, she becomes the most charming of hostesses, so much so that Odysseus and
his men remain with her an entire year before the crew asks Odysseus if it is
not time to head for home.
Apollodorus also records the tradition that Circe bore a
son, Telegonus, to Odysseus during his stay on the island. Homer merely notes
(IX.32) that she wanted Odysseus to remain as her husband.
Ctesippus
A suitor from the island of Same whom Homer describes (XX.287) as "a man
well-versed in villainy," though he does not specify exactly what
Ctesippus has done to earn that nickname. His name literally means
"Horse-Getter," so we might conclude that he was, literally, a
horse-thief.
Ctesippus insults Odysseus and throws an ox-hoof at him when
he goes around the hall begging on the day the suitors are killed. Odysseus
ducks the missile, and Telemachus orders Ctesippus to leave the stranger alone
or suffer the consequences. Ctesippus is later killed by the oxherd Philoetius
(XXII.285).
Demodocus
The blind bard, or poet, of the Phaeacian court. Traditionally, Demodocus has
been taken as representing Homer, but not all scholars accept this idea.
Eumaeus
Son of Ctesius, who was king of two cities on the island of Syria (not to be
confused with the Middle Eastern country of the same name), Eumaeus was
kidnaped at a young age by one of his father's serving women and taken by
Phoenician traders, who sold him as a slave to Laertes, Odysseus's father.
Odysseus's mother, Anticleia, raised him together with her own daughter, and
then sent him to the country when the daughter was married (XV.366ff.). His
name might mean something like "one who seeks the good." Eumaeus seems
quite content with his lot in life. He remains loyal to his absent master and
does his best to protect the property entrusted to his care from the
depradations of the suitors. He grieves for the loss of Odysseus (XIV.40-44,
etc.) no less than for his lost home and family, and when Telemachus returns
from his overseas journey, Eumaeus greets him as if he were his own son (XVI.
14-22).
It should be noted in passing that the sort of slavery
described in the Homeric poems, while it had some aspects in common with the
variety later practiced in Europe and America, is also different from the later
practice in several significant respects. Chief among them is the fact that in
Homer, the slave is often as much a part of the household as the son of the
house, with a place within it and defined rights and privileges: Eumaeus, for
example, was raised together with his masters' daughter and is both permitted
and sufficiently wealthy to have a slave of his own (XIV.449-52).
Eurycleia
The daughter of Ops, Eurycleia is a long-time servant of Odysseus' family.
Odysseus' father Laertes bought her in her youth for 20 oxen (not an
insignificant price, especially for an island king with relatively little land
for cattle). She was Odysseus' nurse, and then Telemachus', and in her old age
she now attends Penelope.
As with Eumaeus, although Eurycleia is a slave in the
household of Odysseus and his family, there is every indication that she is
loved and repected just as much as any of the "regular" members of
the household. It is she whom Thelemachus tells of his plans to travel to Pylos
and Sparta (II.348ff.), not Penelope, and also she who comforts Penelope when
the latter learns her son has been away all this time. Laertes, in his day, is
said to have "favored her as much as his own devoted wife'' (I.432).
It should be noted in passing that the sort of slavery
described in the Homeric poems, while it has some aspects in common with the
variety later practiced in Europe and America (i.e., use of slaves for sexual
relief, chattel ownership of one human being by another, and, to some extent,
the power of life and death over one's slaves), it is also different from the
later practice in several significant respects. Chief among them is the fact
that in Homer, the slave is often as much a part of the household as the son of
the house, with a place in it and defined rights and privileges: Eurycleia, for
example, is the one to insist that Odysseus' grandfather be the one to name the
new baby, and has a few suggestions of her own on that point (XIX.401ff).
Eurylochos
See Eurylochus
Eurylochus
A companion of Odysseus, Eurylochos is the one who ties Odysseus to the mast to
keep him from responding—fatally—to the song of the Sirens, and it is he who
leads the first group of men to Circe's palace, then has to report that they
have not come back out, and begs Odysseus not to make him go back (X.266-69).
Eurylochos eventually turns on Odysseus and refuses to obey him on Thrinacia,
where he urges the rest of the men to slaughter the sun-god's cattle
(XII.339ff.).
Eurymachus
Son of Polybus, Eurymachus is described as the "leading candidate"
for Penelope's hand (XV.17-18). His name means "wide-fighting."
Eurymachus is shown to be arrogant, disrespectful,
hypocritical, cowardly, and abusive. He is the second of the suitors to die by
Odysseus's hand. Odysseus's words to him, after Eurymachus offers to make good
on the damages the suitors have done to his household in his absence, are
virtually the same as Achilles's words in response to Agamemnon's offer of a
ransom for Briseis in Book 9 of the Iliad.
Helen
Daughter of Zeus and Leda, the most beautiful woman of her time. Wife of
Menelaus, Helen went, apparently willingly, with Paris to Troy: the resulting
war formed the background for Homer's other epic poem, the Iliad.
Even in the Iliad, Helen was something of an enigma, a
status that is still hers in the Odyssey. She herself tells the story of
how she recognized Odysseus on a scouting mission in Troy (IV.244ff.) and
announces that by that time, "my heart had already turned toward going
home" (IV.260). Yet scarcely 20 lines further on, Menelaus tells of how
she came by night to the Trojan Horse, accompanied by one of Priam's sons, and
walked around it, calling out to the men hiding inside by name, and imitating
the voice of each man's wife (IV.274-79).
One might have expected Menelaus to be angry with Helen for
running off to Troy, and she with him for having dragged her back. Instead,
Homer treats us to a portrait of marital bliss: Helen and Menelaus are to all
appearances deeply in love with one another, and quite happy to be back in
Sparta among their people and their possessions. Helen is regal and somewhat
mysterious, apparently as much an advisor to Menelaus as a wife. She is
understanding and compassionate as well, as evidenced by her putting soothing
drugs into the wine being served around the hall as everyone is on the verge of
breaking down and crying for their lost relatives (IV.220ff.).
Kalypso
See Calypso
Kirke
See Circe
Laertes
Son of Arcesius (and thus a grandson of Zeus), husband of Anticleia, and father
of Odysseus. Laertes was one of those (along with Menoetius, father of
Patroclus; Peleus, father of Achilles; and Telamon, father of Ajax the Greater)
who sailed with Jason on the Argo in the quest for the Golden Fleece, according
to pseudo-Apollodorus (Library, 1.97).
By the time the Odyssey begins, however, Laertes is
old and worn by care and grief. His wife has died, his son has been absent for
20 years, first at the Trojan War and then on his wanderings on his way home
from it. He has retired to a country estate, where he lives more like one of
the servants than the owner (XI.187-96).
This behavior has puzzled scholars and readers for many
years. Presumably, in the absence of his son and at least until Telemachus is
old enough to take over, Laertes would have acted as Odysseus's regent in
Ithaca, maintaining order and seeing to the safety of both the people in
general and of Odysseus's household in particular. Details are sketchy in the Odyssey,
but we do know that the suitors have only relatively recently arrived on the
scene (within three or four years, according to II.89-90) and, while we do not
know precisely when she died, that Anticleia's death was especially hard on
Laertes. We may conjecture that Laertes did in fact act in Odysseus's place for
most of the time he is absent, but subsequently retired to the country on the
death of his wife, when the burdens of rule became too great. This retirement,
of course, is also a necessary dramatic device: without it, there would be no
explanation for the suitors' presence, much less their audacity, and thus no
framework either for demonstrating the excellence of Telemachus and his fitness
to succeed his father, or for anything more dramatic for Odysseus's homecoming
than a simple announcement of his arrival.
Melanthius
Son of Dolius, Melanthius is Odysseus's goatherd. During his master's long
absence, Melanthius has become friendly with the suitors of Odysseus's wife
Penelope. He insults Odysseus as Eumaeus is bringing him into town, and again
on the morning of the day that Odysseus kills the suitors. He attempts to bring
armor from the storeroom for the suitors once Odysseus has revealed himself,
but is caught in the act by Eumaeus and imprisoned there until the end of the
fighting. He is severely mutilated (and presumably dies of his wounds, though
Homer is not explicit on this point) by Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoetius.
Menelaos
See Menelaus
Menelaus
Son of Atreus and brother of Agamemnon, Menelaus is king of Sparta and the
husband of Helen. While Menelaus was extraordinarily unassuming in the Iliad,
in the Odyssey he shines as an example of the happy husband and father,
the good ruler, and the perfect host, who is outraged at the suggestion
(IV.31-36) that he should send Telemachus and Pisistratus away, even though
they have arrived in the middle of a double wedding.
One might have expected him to be bitter at Helen's
betrayal, but we see no evidence of this in the Odyssey: quite the
contrary, he seems overjoyed to have her back at home. He has his share of
adventures on the way home from Troy, but unlike his older and more powerful
brother Agamemnon, in whose shadow he stands throughout the Iliad, Menelaus
returned home to a peaceful kingdom with a loving wife at his side.
Menelaus is happy to see Telemachus, who he says reminds him
very much of his father Odysseus (IV. 148-50), and to help him in whatever way
he can. (He even offers to take the boy around central Greece, collecting
gifts, an offer which Telemachus refuses, as he does several of Menelaus's own
gifts, which he says he is incapable of caring for on Ithaca.) Homer tells us
that because he is the husband of Helen, who is herself a daughter of Zeus, he
is destined after death to be taken by the gods to the Elysian Fields.
Nausicaa
Daughter of Alcinous and Arete, Nausicaa is a Phaeacian princess. The night
before Odysseus is discovered in the bushes, she dreams of her marriage: and
after Athena makes him look more regal, she seems to think that Odysseus would
make a suitable husband (VI.239-45): a sentiment her father echoes
(VII.311-16). Her name, as with many of the Phaeacian characters, is related to
the Greek word for "ship," naus.
Initially shy when confronted with a naked stranger, she
quickly recovers her poise and remembers the rules about dealing with strangers
and guests. She puts Odysseus at his ease, gives him clothing, and directions
on how to find the palace and how to proceed when he is admitted. Samuel Butler
suggested in The Authoress of the Odyssey that Nausicaa was either
herself the author of the Odyssey or intended to represent the author of
the poem, but this theory has met with almost universal skepticism.
Nausikaa
See Nausicaa
Nestor
The only surviving son of Neleus to survive, Nestor is the elderly king of
Pylos, where it is said (III.245) that he has reigned over "three
generations of men." As in the Iliad, Nestor's role is that of the elder
statesman and advisor. He is long-winded and prone to telling stories about his
remarkable feats in the old days (which Telemachus tries diplomatically to
avoid having to listen to on his return to Ithaca at XV.200), but his advice is
almost always sound, and his help is essential to Telemachus's mission.
Odysseus
Son of Laertes and Anticleia, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, and
absent King of Ithaca. In the Iliad, Odysseus was a first-rank character of the
second rank: important, but clearly secondary to the likes of Agamemnon, Achilles,
Hector, and Ajax. He was still known for guile, tact, and diplomacy more than
for courage, and there seemed to be something at least mildly sinister about
his talents.
In the Odyssey, however, we are given an opportunity
to see Odysseus at the center of the stage, doing what he does best—getting out
of difficult situations as easily as he seems to get into them—but in a much
different light. Whereas in the Iliad, Odysseus was always trying to get
someone else to do what he wanted, or what some third party wanted (e.g., the
embassy to Achilles), now we see him using his wits just to stay alive, and in
situations where it is quite clear that he needs every scrap of guile,
intelligence, and endurance he can muster. He acts as he does because he has no
choice: circumstances or the gods repeatedly force his hand.
We also see the more human side of Odysseus: his ability to
inspire affection and respect in others (Penelope, Calypso, the Phaeacians,
Eumaeus, etc.), his strength (even though he might not have been able to stand
up to Hector in battle, he is the only one of 110 people who try to string his
bow that manages to do so, and he breaks Irus's jaw with one punch), and his
love for his wife and family.
Some have argued that too much of the "human" side
of Odysseus shines through, that he is nothing more than a grasping, greedy,
selfish, disreputable man who simply bides his time, does as little as possible
to help anyone else, and always makes sure he takes care of Number One first.
The seeds of this view, which stretches all the way back to the tragedian Euripides (c. 480-406 BC), are
definitely present in Homer (especially in the episode with the Laestrygonians
in Book 10). Nevertheless, it is not a view that Homer would be likely to
accept.
Others, beginning with Dante (who puts Odysseus
in Hell for wanting to know too much) and continuing through Alfred, Lord
Tennyson, have seen in Odysseus the eternal wanderer, not content to rest too
long in any one place, and always seeking to learn new things. Again, there are
some hints of this interpretation in Homer, but no more than that.
For Homer, Odysseus is a loyal husband, loving father, and a
true hero who wants nothing more than to return to his home and his loved ones.
To achieve this goal he even turns down an easy chance at immortality: not a
gift which is frequently given to begin with, and not usually without a great
deal of hardship in the bargain.
Penelope
Daughter of Icarius, wife of Odysseus, and mother of Telemachus. Commentators
have noted that Penelope is a woman in conflict: should she await the return of
her long-missing husband, or remarry? Should she remain in the house she shared
with Odysseus, or move on? Is she still wife, or widow?
Penelope has a rough time of it throughout most of the Odyssey.
She cherishes memories of the past she shared with her long-absent husband. But
there is nothing grim, nothing suggestive of denial, in her relationship to the
past.
Penelope is not indecisive and she does not live in the
past. She is an intelligent woman (as both the episode of Laertes's shroud and
the trial with Odysseus's bow demonstrate). She wants to wait to consider
remarriage until she is sure that her son Telemachus can stand on his own
without her support.
Fidelity to her husband, devotion to her son, care for the
household, and resourcefulness on a par with Odysseus's own, especially where
any of the foregoing are concerned: these are the characteristics of Homer's
Penelope. She is a realist: she knows there is almost no hope that Odysseus
will come back after an absence of twenty years, but she will not deny that
last little bit of hope its chance, which sets her apart from the suitors and
the faithless servants. Her test of Odysseus's identity by mentioning their
marriage bed proves that she is the equal of the master of schemes himself.
Philoetius
A longtime servant of Odysseus, Philoetius manages the herds for the household.
He has remained loyal to his absent master, who he hopes will return, but
thinks it unlikely.
Polyphemus
A son of Poseidon and a Cyclops, a one-eyed giant. He lives on an island which
is usually thought to be Sicily. He is presented as a member of a lawless race
that does not acknowledge the gods, but which also lives in an area that
provides for all their needs without effort on their part.
Polyphemus, in Homer, is depicted as a particularly savage
giant, who eats human beings raw and washes them down with either milk or wine.
He briefly captures Odysseus and his men; they get him drunk and blind him,
after which they escape from his cave by clinging to the bellies of his sheep
and goats. The blinded giant counts his livestock by feeling their backs, but
is unaware of the escaping men sneaking out under the animals. Polyphemus asks
his father Poseidon for revenge against Odysseus, which he gets.
Poseidon
Son of Cronus and Rhea, and brother of Zeus and Hades, Poseidon is the god of
the sea, earthquakes, and horses. He is typically portrayed as a stately, older
figure, though one capable of great passion and bluster (not unlike the storms
at sea that were said to be caused by his anger).
In both the Iliad (where he is still furious with the
Trojans because of a slight a generation in the past) and the Odyssey
(where Odysseus languishes for years because of an injury to one of Poseidon's
sons), Poseidon is stubborn and prone to holding a grudge, but not entirely
unreasonable. When he is all set to bury the island of Scheria under a mountain
in retribution for the assistance the Phaeacians gave to Odysseus in getting
home, he gives way to Zeus's persuasion and "contents" himself with
turning their ship into stone as it sails back into the Phaeacian harbor.
Teiresias
See Tiresias
Telamonian
See Ajax the Greater
Telemachos
See Telemachus
Telemachus
Son of Odysseus and Penelope, Telemachus is only a baby when Odysseus left for
Troy (IV.112). He grows to manhood in a land beset by civic disorder (II.26-27)
and a household that has lately become the object of a concerted effort to
drive it into poverty or at the very least to reassign control to someone other
than its rightful heir.
As we see him early in the poem, Telemachus is rather shy
and diffident. He has no memories of his resourceful father to use as a model,
and no strong male figure to look up to or to show him the ways of a ruler. Yet
under Athena's guidance, Telemachus begins to grow in confidence and something
approaching wisdom, until at the very end of the poem we find him all but the
equal of his father, even to the point of nearly stringing Odysseus's great bow
(XXI. 125-30), until his father signals him not to.
As with Odysseus, the very fact that Athena acts as his
champion demonstrates his worth: had he not been worth, the goddess would have
had disregarded him. Nor is his new-found eloquence, poise, and grace entirely
Athena's doing: she helps him to discover the qualities that have long lain
dormant in him, lacking the proper atmosphere in which to grow and flourish.
Tiresias
A famous prophet from the Greek city of Thebes, the son of Everes and the nymph
Chariclo. Homer's near-contemporary Hesiod tells the story of how Tiresias was
changed from a man into a woman after separating a pair of snakes he found
mating in the woods, and eventually was changed back into a man when he again
separated the same pair of snakes. He was blinded either because he took Zeus's
side in an argument and Hera wanted revenge, or—in a different
tradition—because he beheld Athena in the nude.
Tiresias is already in residence in the underworld at the
time of the epic. He is the only person in the underworld who has any degree of
current knowledge about the world above: everyone else knows only what has
happened up to the time of his death, unless news can be obtained from a new
arrival. Tiresias is also a prominent character in the Theban plays of Sophocles (496-406 BC),
particularly the Antigone (441 BC) and Oedipus
the King.
Zeus
Son of Cronus and Rhea, brother and husband of Hera, brother of Poseidon and
Hades, Zeus is god of the sky, of the clouds, of storms and thunder, and the
ruler of the other gods. Zeus in the Odyssey is much more in the
background than was Zeus in the Iliad, In the present poem, Zeus is more of a
cosmic enforcer of the customs, a keeper of the peace among the gods (and
sometimes among mortals, as in XXIV.482-86), and a benevolent observer than the
direct participant he was in Homer's previous work.
His hand seems to rest more securely on the reins of power
in the Odyssey as well. Whereas in the Iliad the other gods frequently
challenged his decisions and stood up to him in council until he tactfully
reminded them of his superior power, in the Odyssey, his directives are
obeyed without hesitation or threats, and no one even seems to consider
opposing him.
1.
