Interpreter Arkady Arkadyevich Kazansky
Editor Tatyana Borisovna Kazanskaya
Editor Irina Arkadievna Kazanskaya
© Homer, 2017
© Arkady Arkadyevich Kazansky, translation, 2017
ISBN 978-5-4485-8177-9
Created with the intelligent publishing system Ridero
110th anniversary of my Father, who returned from the War,
On the 105th anniversary of my Mother, who waited for her Husband,
To the blessed memory of Wives who waited for Husbands from the War
I DEDICATE
Arkady Kazansky
2017
Foreword
It is extremely difficult for a modern Russian person not only to understand the works of the great Homer, but also simply to read them. Translations of poems made by the great poets of the XIX centuries, written in archaic pre-Pushkin Russian, which is not spoken or written today. Great difficulties are caused by reading a poetic text that is not subject to strict rhythm, devoid of rhyme, and not built in stanzas that are visible to the eye.
The proposed transcription of the text of Homer's Odyssey sets itself the task of conveying to the modern reader great poem in its maximum completeness, with the preservation of all named actors and names, without exception, in the form in which they are presented in Homer. The order and number of poetic lines in each of the 24 songs is preserved. Archaisms and long polysyllabic epithets are eliminated from the text as much as possible, which is why the poem acquires new dynamics and expressiveness.
The rhythmic structure of the poem is represented by a pentameter anapaest (three-syllable, with stress on the third syllable), with a constant alternation of female and male stanza endings. The graphic structure of the poem is adopted in the image and likeness of the Dante Comedy, broken down into stanzas of three lines; the first and third line of each tercet rhymes with the second line of the previous tercet, which gives a coherent text throughout such a long work, convenient for reading.
For a clear understanding of the meaning and action of the poem, each Song is preceded by summary its prose content. At the end of the poem, the necessary modern reader references on the nominative series of names and titles of the poem, with brief explanations each name and title:
– An alphabetical list of the Uranid gods mentioned in the poem;
- An alphabetical list of the heroes of Homer and the characters of the poem;
- An alphabetical list of other names and concepts of the poem.
Introduction
With the undoubted authorship of the great Homer, the poem "Odyssey" is strikingly different from the poem "Iliad". If the Iliad is a majestic historical epic in which the Olympian gods appear as people of previous generations, deified in the memory of living people; Odyssey is an unrestrained flight of the author's fantasy, in which, with the exception of the Olympian gods, some realities of the world surrounding the author are hidden.
These are immortal nymph-goddesses living somewhere on distant islands, and cannibal giants lestrigons, and cannibal giants cyclops, and peaceful lotophages, feeding on the same color of the lotus, and friendly Phaeacians, whose ships themselves find their way in the seas. Add to this terrible monsters - Scylla and Charybdis; sirens, bewitching travelers with their beautiful songs; countries where there is no sunlight so do not know where the east is, where the west is; the god Aeolus, who holds the winds shut up and controls them. And what is it worth dark kingdom the dead - Hades, where Odysseus directs his path to the soul of the prophet Tiresias. And the scene of the beating of more than a hundred suitors of Penelope by father and son in the limited space of the dining room, albeit the royal hall, is unrealistic. Involuntarily, you question each of the scenes of the Odyssey, up to the murder of King Agamemnon by an unfaithful wife who sinned with his cousin. Yes, and the culmination of the Trojan War - the introduction of the Trojan Horse, full of armed soldiers, into the walls of Ilion, raises a lot of questions.
It's amazing, if you look at storylines The Odyssey, apart from Homer's narrative, involuntarily comes to mind the storylines of the New Testament.
Let's take a story about three shepherds - Eumeus, Philoitius and Melanthia, meeting and accompanying Odysseus when returning to their homeland - three shepherds-sorcerers immediately come to mind - Caspar, Belshazzar and Melchior, meeting the Mother of God and the baby Christ after the Nativity of Christ. In the plot about the descent of Odysseus into Hades, the descent into Hell of Christ after His Crucifixion before the Resurrection from the dead is recognized. Remarkable is the appearance before Odysseus in Hades of the soul of Mary, the daughter of Pretus, the grandson of Sisyphus, who gave birth to the son Locri from Zeus, and at the same time retained her virginity, like Holy Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Christ, and died a virgin.
The plot of the beating of Odysseus' companions by cannibal giants, the Laestrygons, recalls the beating of babies in Bethlehem; the plot of the cannibal giant Polyphemus, recalls the covenant of Christ to partake of His flesh and blood, which is replaced by bread and church wine, in addition, the covenant - you have no other god in heaven; the story of the unfaithful wife Clytemnestra, the covenant - do not commit adultery. In this row, one can also put the plot of the struggle and victory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (which is the goddess Athena) over the mighty of the world this, - the story of the beating of the suitors of Penelope. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are the canonical Christian Trinity.
Even small details - the plot of tying Odysseus to the mast of the ship during the passage of the island of sirens, his tying to the mast of the ship during shipwrecks, resembles the plot of the crucifixion of Christ on the cross; the plot of his appearance naked in front of Nausicaa with his girlfriends, the plot of the appearance of Christ to his wives after the Resurrection, and much more.
Special mention should be made of strange custom dilution of wine with water before its use during feasts, and libations to the gods. Ordinary grape wine is not so strong; if it is further diluted with water, you get a drink to quench your thirst, but not cause hopping at feasts. But if you use alcohol as a drink, you won’t be able to drink it without dilution with water, which clearly shows the plot of the intoxication of the ogre giant cyclops with Odysseus’ undiluted wine. In addition, grape wine spoils quickly unless kept in a cold cellar; they can be poisoned; alcohol does not deteriorate during long-term storage, taking up little volume in the belongings of the troops. Here, just remember gospel story turning water into wine by Jesus Christ, where Christ orders water to be poured into large vessels.
Yes, one can say that in his huge poem, Homer uses almost all the storylines of human relationships and passions, reflected in the Gospel teaching of Christ, but the coincidence of the plots about the three shepherds, the descent to Hades, the dilution of wine with water can hardly be called accidental in this context. . Whether the Evangelists copy from Homer, or vice versa, is a question that requires research.
Genealogy of the Homeric gods mentioned in the poem
In the beginning there was a gloomy, immeasurable Chaos, in which Gaia (Earth) was born. Gaia gave birth to Uranus (Sky) and married him. Titans were born from this marriage (Iapetus, Coy, Phoebe, Oceanus, Tethys, Mnemosyne, Themis, Cronus, Rhea, Crius, Hyperion, Teia), as well as Cyclopes, Hundred-handed (Hecatoncheirs) and Erinnia.
The titan Kron married his sister, the titanide Rhea. From this marriage were born the Olympic gods of the first generation (Hera, Zeus, Demeter, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia). By the name of their ancestor Uranus, all the Olympian gods are called Uranids, along with other descendants of Uranus.
The supreme Olympian god Zeus (Diy) Kronid married his sister, the Olympian goddess Hera. From this marriage were born the Olympic gods of the second generation (Hephaestus, Hebe, Ilithyia, Ares).
In addition, the Olympic gods of the second generation include the numerous children of Zeus and the descendants of Uranus from other women, of whom there were a great many. Beyond the second generation from Zeus, the generation of heroes begins. Many of the second and subsequent generations of heroes take part in the events of the Trojan War described by Homer.
Thus, the genealogy of the gods of Homer is very short. From Chaos to Trojan War fit only 4-5 generations of gods and heroes, which can be put in a period of time of about 150 years. It can be said that Odysseus returned home in 150 after the birth of the Earth from Chaos. Remarkably, when descending to Hades, Odysseus sees there the soul of the giant Titius, the son of Gaia (Earth), as the most ancient of the titans.
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Canto One
Ten years ago, the Trojan War ended with the capture of Troad, the ruin and burning of its capital, Ilion. All the surviving heroes return home, one cunning king of Ithaca, Odysseus, who brought immortal glory to his homeland - Hellas and Argos, is still wandering around the wide world. Twenty years have passed since he went to the Trojan War, leaving his wife Penelope with her infant son Telemachus. Odysseus loses in his wanderings all his ships, all his comrades. He loses his last comrades after they, despite the strict prohibition of the gods, eat the cows of the solar god, Helios Hyperion. God Poseidon is angry with Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and does not let him return home to Ithaca. Already for a long time Odysseus is on the island of Ogygia, with the daughter of the titan Atlanta, the nymph goddess Calypso, who wants to make him her husband, promising immortality and eternal youth in return.
However, the terms appointed by the gods for Odysseus to stay away from his homeland expire. God Poseidon briefly departs at this time to the inhabitants reverse side Land, Ethiopians, accept their sacrifices. At this time, the rest of the gods gather on Olympus at the supreme god Zeus, to decide the fate of Odysseus, for whom the goddess Athena asks. Zeus commemorates the fate of King Agamemnon, who was killed by his nephew Aegisthus, son of Fiesta, brother of Atreus, in collusion with unfaithful spouse Agamemnon, Clytemnestroy. They commit murder despite a warning from the gods given to them by the god Hermes. Zeus also recalls the fate of Aegisthus himself and Clytemnestra, who were killed by Agamemnon's son Orestes, in revenge for the death of their father. For the murder of Orestes' mother, the evil goddesses of vengeance, Erinnia, are persecuted.
Odysseus suffers on the island of the nymph goddess Calypso, not knowing how to return home. The goddess Athena offers to send the god Hermes as a messenger to the nymph Calypso, with the order to send Odysseus home, to which Zeus agrees; the goddess Athena herself goes to Ithaca, to the son of Odysseus, Telemachus; let him go to Pylos to King Nestor, and to Sparta to King Menelaus, to ask about the disappeared father. Arriving in Ithaca, the goddess Athena finds a good hundred suitors there, wooing the wife of King Odysseus, Penelope, who feast in the palace of King Odysseus, eating through his supplies, despite the protests of Telemachus. Here the rulers of different islands gather - Zama, Dulikhia, Zakynthos, and Ithaca itself; marriage with the widow of a basileus will give them great honor, and the opportunity to become a basileus himself. Telemachus meets the goddess Athena, who appeared in the form of Ment, the king of the Taphos, an old friend of Laertes, the father of Odysseus, as if on his way to Temes for iron. Telemachus expresses his troubles to the goddess; Athena is indignant at the suitors of Penelope and prophesies to them quick death, saying to Telemachus, his father is still alive. The goddess recalls her travels with Odysseus, says, Telemachus is very similar to his father. She invites Telemachus to convene a meeting of the Achaeans, and demand that the suitors clean the house of Odysseus; then go to Pylos and Sparta, find out about the disappeared father, then the goddess flies away. Telemachus, seeing this, realizes that he was talking to God.
The suitors of Penelope come, with them the singer Phemius, who sings about the events of the Trojan War. Penelope goes out to the suitors, asks Themius to sing about something else, but Telemachus stops her mother, sending her to female half. Telemachus firmly addresses the suitors - let them leave his house and woo his mother from her father Icarius, as it should be. The grooms are rude to Telemachus and ask about his guest; Telemachus brushes aside and says - tomorrow he will convene a meeting of the Achaeans to reason with the suitors. Night falls, the guests go home, Telemachus also goes to bed, accompanied by his nanny, the old slave woman Eurycleia, considering the proposals of the goddess Athena about the meeting and a trip to Pylos and Sparta.
Odysseus sing of the cunning, Muse, who
The citadel of holy Troy destroyed, wandered since then,
Cities visited by many people, arguing in customs;
Suffered on the seas, take care of salvation soon
Dear life, return of faithful comrades to their homeland. (5)
All the same, he did not save his comrades, as a reproach to them, -
By blasphemy they destroyed themselves during their lifetime, -
Helios Hyperionides eating fat cows.
God forfeited his return home with reproach.
Oh, goddess, daughter of Diya, say a few words about that, - (10)
The rest at that time, having escaped certain death,
Were at home, the war was avoided, and the sea of fetters.
Only him, by his wife and homeland, who had a sick heart,
Queen Calypso, goddess and nymph, holding
In a bright grotto, she wished that she would become a faithful spouse. (fifteen)
Years passed, and the fatal year came running,
Calling when the gods intended to return.
He, however, even there, on Ithaca, could not avoid
Evil labors, though he was among friends. Compassionate, swear
Gods much to him. Continuously one Poseidon (20)
Odysseus drove so that he would not touch his own land.
The shaker of the earth here went to the country of the Ethiopians,
Ethiopians, who inhabit the earth on the other side, -
Where Hyperion went, and where he went to sunrise.
Accepting from them the sacrifices of many bulls and rams, (25)
God enjoyed sitting at the feast. All other
There were lords in the house of Zeus, in the spacious Olympus.
Then the parent of men and gods turned to everyone, -
In the heart, in the memory of Vladyka Egistus, of course,
That Orestes was killed, Agamemnon's son, meanwhile. (thirty)
The god Zeus turned to the immortals, remembering verbatim:
“Strange, people willingly in everything only gods, they blame us!
Evil comes from us, they say, but, after all, by the way,
Death, contrary to Fate, does everyone want to bring upon themselves?
So Egistus, is it not Fate in spite of Atrid's wife, (35)
Having killed him when he returned to his homeland, did he take him as a wife?
He knew a formidable death, - the gods set views for him, -
They sent the Argoslayer Hermes - to think, did not dare,
Neither kill him, nor take his wife as a wife. It is seen,
For Atrids, revenge will come from Orestes - only having matured, (40)
Willing to take possession of his homeland.
Hermes failed, wishing Aegisthus well, like a lion,
Convince his heart. For which he paid with his soul.
Seroglazka, the goddess Athena said then:
“Ah, our father Kronid, the highest of the rulers of all! (45)
You spoke the truth - death is deserved as never before.
Let everyone who does such a thing perish!
For Tsar Odysseus my heart always hurts, -
He, unfortunate, is in trouble, and away from his beloved, embraced
By the sea of the island, in the place where the navel overgrows the land, (50)
All overgrown with forests; the goddess lives on it,
Daughter of the titan Atlanta, who is beyond the abyss,
He himself keeps the pillars of Hercules; vault of heaven rises
Full of stars, - he perched on his powerful shoulders.
Sorrow taken, the daughter of an unfortunate titan warms, (55)
With soft, insinuating speech all the time seducing him,
To forget Odysseus about Ithaca. But, passionately cherishes
To see with the eye even the smoke of the rising native land, -
Thinking about Death alone. Will it not move
Odysseus, are your heart strings, Olympian? Away, (60)
He offered you holy sacrifices in the courts of Argives,
In Troy being myself? So why are you angry, Zeus?
Zeus answers her, gathering large clouds:
“Your word hurts, flying out of the fence of teeth!
How could I forget about divine volume Odyssey, (65)
An outstanding thought among mortals, with the desire of all
Offering sacrifices to us, the immortal rulers of heaven?
Poseidon is a landowner to him, having no measures
Anger feeds because the Cyclops Polyphemus is incomparable
The eye is deprived of it, - an atheist, whose strength is an example to the Cyclopes (70)
She was great; he was born of the nymph Phoosa,
Daughters of Forkin, guardian of the sleepless sea, at the skerries
With Poseidon, the lord who fell asleep in a cave. And strictly
Odyssey since the shaker of the seas Poseidon
Well, we think, who is now gathered around here, -
How to return home to him. Poseidon will reject
Anger, - he will not be able to argue with all the immortals,
Against the will of the immortal gods, self-will will throw.
Seroglazka, the goddess Athena said then: (80)
“Oh, our father Kronid, you surpass all rulers!
If it pleases the blessed gods to return there
Odysseus is cunning, to the homeland, let's tell Hermes
Executor, Argoslayer, decision - yes, -
To a nymph in braids woven, to the island of Ogygia by a demon (85)
To rush, to convey to her our inexorable words, -
So that Odysseus, honest in trouble, is returned to his homeland.
I will go to the Ithacaians, so that his son there first
To inspire more will, and put God's courage in the heart, -
Calling all the hairy Achaeans to a meeting, (90)
Grooms to expel those who kill in the house immensely
From a flock of sheep, slow-moving horned bulls.
And then I will send sandy Pylos and Sparta, probably
To reconnoiter about the dear father coming from Dreams,
So that a good reputation will be established in people about him there. (95)
And she tied to her feet the shine of beautiful soles,
Ambrosial, everywhere her breaths are nice
Above the boundless land they carried, still above the water.
Taking a combat spear in hand, completed with steel, -
Very strong; they beat people under her, (100)
Bringing down the wrath of the goddess, daughters of the Almighty Father.
The goddess flew from the top of Olympus in a thunderstorm, -
Standing in Ithaca at the house of King Odysseus, like a cloud,
At the threshold of the gate, and with his sharp spear in his hand,
Taking a stranger, the guise of the ruler of Taphos Menta, (105)
I found the grooms proud. They are light
They delighted their souls, playing dice with zeal,
Sitting on the skins of bulls they ate at a picnic.
The butlers, together with the servants of the house, tried, -
Te - wine, pouring into craters, mixing with water, (110)
Those, having washed the tables with a porous sponge, moved
In the middle, and they put a lot of meat on them in a mountain.
Telemachus, the god-like goddess, noticed everyone better.
Saddened by his heart, he silently sat with their crowd, -
It seemed to him how a mighty parent appeared, (115)
He would disperse all the suitors to their homes, capture
Lord possession, and again took his power steeper.
Sitting with the suitors, he saw Athena, jumped up
And he went to the door, ashamed in his soul that the innocent
The wanderer is forced to stand at the entrance; approaching, grabbed (120)
He is for right hand stranger, took his spear, -
And affably, with a winged speech he said to him:
"Foreigner, come in! We will treat you the old fashioned way
Hearty food, then you will tell us - you came to what, ”-
So he said and went. And behind him is Pallas Athena. (125)
How they entered that high house, according to its order
He carried the peak of the guest to a high column, and pushed
In a smooth urn with spears, where there is still a lot
Odyssey of other copies, powerful in spirit in offenses.
And he brought her to a beautiful throne in appearance; (130)
He made me sit down, covered with a cloth, and moved a bench under my feet.
Nearby he himself fit on a carved chair, from insults
Suitors, so that the guest does not sit there, with the haughty together,
He did not feel aversion to food, weighed down by the game;
Ask him to secretly about his father, with interest. (135)
Here is a beautiful golden jug with washing water,
A silver basin was placed in front of them by a maid
For washing; after I set up a small table,
The venerable housekeeper put in the bread, trying
Having added different things to eat, stocks, willingly giving away. (140)
Kravchiy put them on dishes in front of them, lifting them up,
Various meats, golden goblets near them;
The cupbearer went about every now and then, pouring wine.
Proud suitors entered the hall; in rows,
In order, they sat down on armchairs and chairs; and from the edge (145)
The maids came up to them; and they sat down, having washed their hands.
The servants filled the bread in the baskets to the top,
The butlers poured the drink into the craters; filling,
Those hands immediately up to the food being pulled ready.
How the desire for drink and food was quenched by tasting, (150)
Suddenly, all the hearts of the suitors lit up with desire - they rested,
Dances, music are thirsty - the delights of beautiful feasts.
And the messenger gave the cithara the beautiful Themia into his hands, -
He involuntarily had to sing for the suitors.
The chanter raised the cithara and began a beautiful song. (155)
To gray-eyed Athena then Telemachus said again,
Bowing his head so that no one would hear their news:
“You won’t be angry, my dear guest, at what I say?
Only one thing is on the mind of these - cithara, yes songs.
They squander other people's wealth here, I tremble, - (160)
Husband; his white bones had rotted away somewhere; rain
It wets them in their ashes, a wave shakes in the sea, just horror.
If you could see that he keeps a path to Ithaca,
Wish it were better to have more agile legs,
Than to accumulate clothes and gold here little by little. (165)
Evil Fate, however, ruined him, and no strength to endure
Consolations, although some of the people claim -
He will arrive! But the day of his return was hidden by Death!
You tell me now, without hiding anything from me, -
Who are you? What kind? What other city did you live in? (170)
On what ship did you come to us, flying on the sea,
Shipmen were taken to Ithaca to visit? Tell,
Not walking here, I suppose you got to us?
So tell this frankly, I don’t need lies, -
Is it the first time you come here, or has it happened before, (175)
Are you a guest of your father? We've had a lot of them
In previous years, guests, a lot of people talked to the parent.
Seroglazka, the goddess Athena said at once:
“I will answer your questions with complete frankness, -
Name, - Ment; my father, - Anchial the wise, just (180)
I have always boasted about them; and I myself am the lord of the Taphos,
The oars of those who love, here with their own came in the ship;
To strangers for steel I sail on the wine sea,
To the distant city of Temes, and I'm going with iron. in the mist
He established his own ship, Neriton of the forest where steep, (185)
Name: Odysseus (Odysseus)
Country: Greece
Creator: ancient Greek mythology
Activity: king of Ithaca
Family status: married
Odysseus: Character Story
The hero of the mythology of the ancient Greeks, the king of the island of Ithaca, a participant in the Trojan War, a brave warrior and a skilled speaker. In the Iliad, he is present as a key character. In the poem "Odyssey" - main character. The peculiarity of Odysseus is a dodgy character, the ability to cunningly get out of dangerous situations saving himself and his comrades. Therefore, "cunning" has become one of the constant epithets hero.
History of creation
The image of Odysseus became a reflection of the era of development by the Greeks sea spaces. The situations when the warriors set sail on their ships and their connection with their relatives was cut off for a long time found their mythological embodiment in the story of the wanderings of Odysseus. Homer (Iliad, Odyssey), Hecuba, Cyclops, Ajax, Philoctetes and other authors wrote about the adventures of the hero and his journey home to his wife Penelope.
Various episodes from the life of the hero are captured in the form of drawings on Greek vases. According to them, you can restore the alleged appearance of the hero. Odysseus is a mature bearded man often depicted wearing the oval cap worn by Greek sailors.
Biography
Odysseus was born from the marriage of the Argonaut Laertes, king of Ithaca, and the granddaughter of the god Hermes - Anticlea. The hero's grandfather Autolycus bore the proud title of "the most thieving of men", was a clever swindler and personally from Hermes, his father, received permission to swear by the name of this god and break oaths. Odysseus himself is married to Penelope, who gave birth to the hero's son Telemachus.
Odysseus met his future wife Penelope in Sparta, where he arrived, among other suitors, to woo Elena the Beautiful. There were many who wanted to marry, but Elena's father was afraid to make a choice in favor of one person, so as not to incur the wrath of the others. The cunning Odysseus gave a fresh idea - to give the girl the right to vote, so that she chooses the groom herself, and bind the suitors with an oath that, if necessary, they will all help Elena's future husband.
Helen chose Menelaus, the son of the Mycenaean king. Odysseus laid eyes on Penelope. Penelope's father gave his word that he would give his daughter to the one who won the race. When Odysseus became the winner, his father tried to dissuade Penelope from this marriage and stay at home. Odysseus repeated his trick and let the bride choose herself - to stay with her father or go with him, and she, despite the persuasion of the parent, chose the hero. Having played the wedding, Odysseus and his young wife returned to Ithaca.
When Paris kidnapped Helen former suitors zasobiralis for the Trojan War. The oracle predicted to Odysseus that if he went under Troy, he would return home after 20 years, poor and without companions. The hero tried to "slope" from this event. Odysseus tried to pretend to be crazy, but was exposed.
The man began to sow the field with salt, harnessing a bull and a horse to the plow, but when his newborn son was thrown under the plow, he was forced to stop. So it became clear that Odysseus was fully aware of his actions, and the hero had to go to war. According to Homer, the hero was persuaded to go under Troy by King Agamemnon, who came to Ithaca for this.
Under Troy, Odysseus comes with 12 ships. When ships come ashore, no one wants to get off. Another prediction promises that the first person to set foot on the land of Troy will certainly perish. Nobody wants to be the first, so Odysseus jumps off the ship, and people follow him. The cunning hero performs a deceptive maneuver and throws a shield under his feet, so that it turns out that it was not he who first set foot on the Trojan land, but the one who jumped down next.
During the war, Odysseus manages to settle personal scores by exposing as a traitor the man who threw his son under the plow, thereby forcing the hero to go to war. A number of conditions are necessary for victory, and Odysseus fulfills them one by one. Produces a bow, which remained with Philoctetes, abandoned at the beginning of the war on the island and embittered at the others. Together with Diomedes, he steals a statue of the goddess Athena from Troy. Finally, Odysseus pitches the idea with the famous Trojan horse, thanks to which, along with other warriors, he falls outside the walls of the city.
After the victory at Troy, the ships turn back and Odysseus's wanderings by sea begin. The hero experiences many misfortunes, during which he loses ships and crew, and returns to Ithaca 10 years after sailing from the coast of Troy. In Ithaca, meanwhile, the suitors are besieging Penelope, claiming that Odysseus died long ago and it would be necessary to remarry, choosing one of them. The hero, turned by Athena into an old man, comes to his own palace, where no one recognizes him except old nanny and a dog.
Penelope offers the suitors a competition for their hand - to pull the bow of Odysseus and shoot an arrow through 12 rings. The grooms insult Odysseus in the guise of an old man, but none of them can cope with the bow. Then Odysseus himself shoots an arrow, thus revealing himself, and then, together with his grown-up son Telemachus, arranges a bloody battle and kills the suitors.
However, the hero's journey does not end there. The relatives of the suitors he killed are demanding trial. Odysseus, by decision of the arbitrator, is expelled from Ithaca for 10 years, where the son of the hero Telemachus remains king. In addition, the god is angry with the hero, whom the hero offended by blinding the son of the god Polyphemus, the giant Cyclops.
To appease the god, Odysseus, with an oar on his shoulders, must walk through the mountains to find a land where people have never heard of the sea. Odysseus finds land where his oar is mistaken for a shovel and stops there. Poseidon forgives the hero after he makes sacrifices, and Odysseus himself marries the local queen.
Further fate The hero is described in different ways in different sources. Odysseus either died in foreign lands (in different versions- in Aetolia, Etruria, Arcadia, etc.), not returning home, or returned after the expiration of the exile to Ithaca, where he was mistakenly killed by his own son, born of the sorceress Circe. There is even a version according to which Odysseus was turned into a horse and died in this guise from old age.
legends
The most famous adventures of the hero happened on the way home from Troy and are described in Homer's poem "The Odyssey". Returning, the ships of Odysseus moor now to one, then to another island inhabited mythological creatures, and each time the hero loses some of the people. Lotuses grow on the island of lotophages, granting oblivion to those who eat them. On the island of the Cyclopes lives the one-eyed ogre Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon. The heroes try to find shelter for the night in Polyphemus' cave, and he eats some of Odysseus' men.
The hero and the surviving companions blind Polyphemus, gouging out the giant's only eye with a pointed stake, and then escape with the help of sheep. The blind giant examines the sheep by touch before releasing them from the cave, but does not find the heroes clinging to the animal's fur from below, and so they get out of the cave. However, Odysseus calls the giant his real name, and he turns to his father Poseidon with a cry for help. Since then, Poseidon has been angry with Odysseus, which does not make the hero's journey home by sea easier.
Having escaped from Polyphemus, the heroes end up on the island of the wind god Eol. He presents Odysseus with a fur, inside of which the winds are hidden. The hero must not untie this fur until he sees the shores of his native Ithaca. Odysseus and his team almost get home, but his people, thinking that there is a treasure hidden inside the fur, untie it while the hero is sleeping, release the winds into the wild, and the ship carries far into the sea.
On the island of the sorceress Circe, Odysseus's companions turn into animals after tasting treats, and the hero himself conceives a son with the sorceress, who, according to one version, will cause his death. With Circe, the hero spends a year, and then goes on and passes the island of sirens, who enchant and destroy sailors with singing, and then swims between the huge whirlpool Charybdis and the six-headed monster Scylla, which devours six more crew members.
Gradually, Odysseus loses all his companions and on the island of the nymph Calypso finds himself alone. The nymph falls in love with Odysseus, and the hero spends 7 years with her, because there is not a single ship on the island to sail away. In the end, Hermes appears to the nymph and orders the hero to be released. Odysseus is finally able to build a raft and sail away.
- The name of the hero has become a household name. The word "odyssey" means a long journey with many obstacles and adventures and is often found in contexts far removed from ancient Greek realities. For example, in the title of the film "Space Odyssey 2001", filmed in 1968 based on the story of Arthur C. Clarke, or in the title of the adventure novel "Odyssey".
- In the literature of the New Age, one can often find the image of Odysseus - reworked or taken "as is". In the book Eric, a character named Windrisseus appears, an ironically reimagined variation on the theme of Odysseus. In 2000, the two-volume novel Odysseus, Son of Laertes by Henry Lyon Oldie was released, where the story is told from the perspective of the hero.
- The image of Odysseus also penetrated the cinema. In 2013, the Franco-Italian TV series Odysseus was released, where we are talking not about the wanderings of the hero, but about the family that awaits his return, about the intrigues and conspiracies of suitors who want to seize the throne, and about the events that occur after the king returns to the island. Released in 2008 adventure movie Terry Ingram's Odysseus: Journey into underworld”, where the hero was played by an actor.
- Odysseus is one of the characters computer game in the strategy genre "Age of Mythology", released in 2002.
The Odyssey became the second poem after the Iliad, the creation of which is attributed to the great ancient Greek poet Homer. According to researchers, the work was written in the 8th century BC, perhaps a little later. The poem is divided into 24 songs and consists of 12110 verses. Presumably, the "Odyssey" was created on the Asia Minor coast of Hellas, where the Ionian tribes lived (currently Turkey is located on this territory).
Probably, the primordial "Odyssey" does not exist. However, many stories and mythological heroes, mentioned in the poem, already existed at the time of the creation of the work. In addition, echoes of Hittite mythology and Minoan culture can be found in the poem. Despite the fact that many researchers find features of various dialects of Greek in the Odyssey, the work does not correspond to any of the regional variants of the language. Perhaps Homer used the Ionian dialect, but a huge amount archaic forms indicates belonging to the Mycenaean era. Elements of the Aeolian dialect are found, the origin of which is unknown. A significant number of inflectional forms used in the poem have never been used in real life. colloquial speech.
Like the Iliad, the Odyssey begins with an appeal to the Muse, whom the author asks to tell about the "experienced husband."
The poem describes the events that took place 10 years after the fall of Troy. The protagonist Odysseus, returning home after the war, was captured by the nymph Calypso, who refuses to let him go. Faithful wife Penelope is waiting for Odysseus in Ithaca. Every day, numerous applicants for a hand and heart woo her. Penelope is sure that Odysseus will return, and refuses everyone. The gods gathered in council decide to make Athena their messenger. The goddess comes to Telemachus, the son of the protagonist, and encourages him to go to Sparta and Pylos to find out about the fate of Odysseus.
Nestor, the king of Pylos, gives Telemachus some information about the Achaean leaders, and then invites him to contact Menelaus in Sparta, from whom the young man learns that his father became a prisoner of Calypso. Upon learning of Telemachus' departure, Penelope's numerous suitors want to ambush and kill him when he returns home.
Through Hermes, the gods give the order to Calypso to release the prisoner. Having received the long-awaited freedom, Odysseus builds a raft and sets sail. Poseidon, with whom the protagonist is in conflict, raises a storm. However, Odysseus managed to survive and get to the island of Scheria. Phaeacs live here - sailors with fast ships. The protagonist meets Nausicaa, the daughter of the local king Alcinous, who arranges a feast in honor of his guest. During the holiday, Odysseus tells about his adventures that happened to him before he got to the island of Calypso. After listening to the guest's story, the faeacs want to help him return home. However, Poseidon again tries to kill the hated Odysseus and turns the ship of the feacs into a cliff. Athena turned the protagonist into a beggarly old man. Odysseus goes to live with the swineherd Eumeus.
Returning home, Telemachus was able to avoid an ambush set by his mother's suitors. Then the protagonist's son sends Eumea to the swineherd, where he meets his father. Arriving at the palace, Odysseus found that no one recognized him. The servants mock and laugh at him. The protagonist intends to take revenge on his wife's suitors. Penelope decided to arrange a competition between applicants for a hand and a heart: it is necessary to pass an arrow through 12 rings using her husband's bow. Only the true owner of the bow was able to cope with this task. Odysseus tells his wife a secret that was known only to the two of them, thanks to which Penelope finally recognizes her husband. Enraged, Odysseus kills all the servants and suitors of his wife who mocked him. The relatives of the dead rebel, but Odysseus manages to make peace with them.
Despite the fact that the main character trait of Odysseus is heroism, the author does not try to emphasize this trait. Events take place after the end of the war in Troy, that is, the reader does not have the opportunity to evaluate the main character on the battlefield. Instead, the author wants to show completely different qualities of his character.
The image of Odysseus has two dissimilar sides. On the one hand, this is a patriot devoted to his homeland, loving son, spouse and parent. The protagonist is not just a talented military leader, he is well versed in trade, hunting, carpentry and maritime affairs. All actions of the hero are guided by an irresistible desire to return to the family.
The other side of the Odyssey is not as perfect as the first. The author does not hide the fact that the brave warrior and navigator enjoys his adventures and in the depths of his soul wishes that the return home would be delayed. He likes to overcome all sorts of obstacles, pretend and go for tricks. Odysseus is able to show greed and cruelty. He, without hesitation, cheats on his faithful wife, lies for his own benefit. The author points out minor, but very unpleasant details. For example, at a feast, the main character chooses the best piece for himself. At some point, Homer realizes that he "went too far", and rehabilitates Odysseus, forcing him to mourn his dead comrades.
Analysis of the work
Chronology of events
The odyssey itself, that is, the wanderings of the protagonist, took 10 years. Moreover, all the events of the poem fit in 40 days. Researchers from the US National Academy of Sciences, relying on the astronomical signs mentioned in the work, were able to establish that the protagonist returned home on April 16, 1178 BC.
It is assumed that the character of Odysseus appeared long before the creation of the poem. Researchers believe that the main character is a pre-Greek figure, that is, the image was not created by the ancient Greeks themselves, but borrowed. Passing into Greek folklore, Odysseus received a Hellenized name.
The poem contains at least 2 folklore stories. Firstly, this is a story about a son who went in search of his father. Secondly, the plot is about the head of the family, who returns to his homeland after years travel for one reason or another. The husband usually returns on the day of his wife's wedding with another man. The wife, considering her first husband dead, tries to arrange her happiness a second time. At first, no one recognizes the Stranger, but then they still manage to identify him by some sign, for example, a scar.
It is possible to draw analogies not only with ancient Greek folklore, but also with famous works world literature. Most a prime example considered the novel "Dead Souls".
Features of the work
The Odyssey has symmetrical composition. This means that both the beginning and the end of the poem are dedicated to the events in Ithaca. compositional center becomes the story of the protagonist about his journey.
Narrative style
The description of wanderings is conducted in the first person, that is, the protagonist speaks directly. The feature is traditional for works this genre. Such a technique is known from Egyptian literature. It was often used in the folklore of seafarers.
In today's lesson, we will get acquainted with Homer's poem "The Odyssey", the main plot of which is the wanderings of Odysseus, the king of the island of Ithaca, who was returning home after the capture of Troy by the Greeks. “There is nothing sweeter than our homeland and our relatives,” Odysseus did not tire of repeating. However, the gods pursued him, for a long ten years he wandered the seas, until he saw the shores of his Ithaca.
Odysseus told how, having lost his way on sea routes, he landed on the island of one-eyed giants-cyclops. By the sea, the Greeks saw big cave and entered it. Soon, along with the herd, the owner of the cave, the Cyclops Polyphemus, the son of the lord of the seas, the god Poseidon, appeared (Fig. 2).
Having driven a herd of sheep and goats into the cave, Polyphemus blocked the entrance to it with a piece of rock. He greeted the guests warmly.
Horror gripped the Greeks. Then Odysseus untied a leather sack with wine and "bravely offered a full cup to Polyphemus." The giant liked the drink. He invited Odysseus to give his name, promising to give him a gift. The cunning Odysseus said:
“I am called Nobody; I was given this name
Mother and father and comrades all call me that.
With an evil sneer, the cannibal beast-like answered me:
“Know, Nobody, my dear, that you will be the very last
Eaten when I'm done with the others; here's my present."
Then he collapsed on his back completely drunk.
The Greeks found a huge stake in the cave, heated it on a fire and knocked out the cannibal's only eye. Polyphemus howled wildly...
Hearing loud cries, Cyclopes fled from everywhere:
“Who, Polyphemus, is destroying you here by deceit or by force ?!”
He answered them from dark cave desperately wild
With a roar: "No one! .." Cyclopes screamed in their hearts:
“If no one, why are you alone crying like that? ..”
The Cyclopes dispersed to their caves. And in the morning Odysseus tied rams in threes. Under each middle was tied one of the Greeks. Polyphemus moved a huge stone away from the entrance and, feeling the rams from above, released the whole herd. And along with it, the Greeks ... Having reached the ship, they foamed with oars dark waters. Here Odysseus shouted to the Cyclops: “Know, ogre, that Odysseus, the ruler of Ithaca, blinded you!” Hearing the name of his enemy, Polyphemus prayed to Poseidon: “Oh, lord of the seas! My father! May Odysseus never see his homeland. If, by the will of fate, he reaches Ithaca, let him return alone, on a strange ship and find misfortune in his house! Since then, Poseidon began to pursue Odysseus.
Rice. 2. Odysseus and Polyphemus ()
Once Odysseus sailed past the island of the Sirens. They were evil sorceresses, half birds, half women. With their sweet-sounding singing, the sirens lured sailors and devoured them. The whole island was white with the bones of the dead. I really wanted Odysseus magic singing listen and stay alive. He sealed the ears of his comrades with wax and asked to be firmly tied to the mast. The sirens sang beautifully. Odysseus forgot about everything: about his rocky Ithaca, about his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. He tried to break the ropes. But with a vengeance, his faithful companions pressed the oars. And only when the island of the Sirens was out of sight, they untied Odysseus from the mast (Fig. 3).
Rice. 3. Meeting with sirens ()
Soon, Odysseus and his companions again experienced mortal danger. “In great fear then we passed through a narrow strait,” Odysseus told King Alcinus. From a rocky cave on one side of the strait crawled out a terrible monster - Scylla. It was a huge snake with six dog heads, each of which had the sharpest teeth in three rows. On the other side of the narrow strait, no less than scary monster- Charybdis. Three times a day, she opened her huge mouth, absorbing the black waters, and then vomited them back. Passing between Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus and his companions "in awe fixed their eyes on the threatening death."
After listening to the woeful story of Odysseus, Tsar Alkinoy ordered a ship to be equipped to deliver it to Ithaca.
The curse of the Cyclops came true: on a strange ship, alone, ten years after the death of Troy, Odysseus returned to his homeland. In his house uninvited guests feasted noble youths Ithaca. They considered Odysseus dead, brazenly disposed of his property, wooed his wife Penelope (Fig. 4), mocked their son Telemachus, hoping to deprive him of his father's inheritance.
Penelope did not stop believing that Odysseus was alive and was waiting for him. She came up with a trick: she promised to choose a new husband as soon as she weaves the funeral cover for Odysseus's father (he was old and was preparing for death). During the day she weaved tirelessly, and at night she unraveled the threads. The deception lasted for three years, on the fourth one of the maids revealed to the suitors the secret of the mistress.
Rice. 4. Penelope ()
Not wanting to be recognized, Odysseus changed into patched clothes and, under the guise of a beggar, entered his house. The riotous suitors ate and drank, forcing Penelope to choose a new husband for herself. Finally, she announced that she would become the wife of the one who won the archery belonging to Odysseus. She herself hoped that no one would even be able to bend a mighty bow. And so it happened. Odysseus asked permission to draw his bow. The suitors decided that the beggar tramp had lost his mind.
Taking your mighty bow, Odysseus, solid in trials,
Instantly he pulled the bowstring, and an arrow flew through the rings ...
Odysseus brutally dealt with the suitors: "In his house he exterminated all the riotous suitors here ...". The relatives of the dead rushed to the palace of Odysseus, calling for revenge. With great difficulty, Odysseus achieved reconciliation with the nobility of Ithaca.
Bibliography
- A.A. Vigasin, G.I. Goder, I.S. Sventsitskaya. Ancient world history. Grade 5 - M .: Education, 2006.
- Nemirovsky A.I. History Reading Book ancient world. - M.: Enlightenment, 1991.
- Lib.ru ()
- Godsbay.com ()
Homework
- Why couldn't Odysseus return to his homeland for ten years after the end of the Trojan War?
- What does popular expression"between Scylla and Charybdis"? When can we use this aphorism?
- Describe the character of Odysseus. What character's actions do you like? What actions do you condemn?
The ODYSSEY is a Greek epic poem, along with the Iliad, attributed to Homer. Being completed later than the Iliad, O. adjoins an earlier epic, without constituting, however, a direct continuation of the Iliad. The theme of the Odyssey is the wanderings of the cunning Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who was returning from the Trojan campaign; in separate references there are episodes of the saga, the time of which was timed to coincide 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 most widespread folklore plots, as well as the plot of "a son going in search of his father." Almost all episodes of Odysseus' 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 the Egyptian literature of the beginning of the 2nd millennium.
Narrative technique in "O." in general close to the Iliad, but the younger epic is distinguished by greater art in combining diverse material. Separate episodes are less isolated and form integral groups. The composition of the Odyssey is more complex than the Iliad.
The plot of the Iliad is presented in a linear sequence, in the Odyssey this sequence is shifted: the narration begins in the middle of the action, and the listener learns about previous events only later, from the story of Odysseus himself 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" of individual "songs", was therefore rarely applied to "O."; Much more widespread among researchers is Kirchhoff's hypothesis that "O." is a reworking of several "small epics" ("Telemachia", "wanderings", "the return of Odysseus", etc.).
The disadvantage of this construction is that it breaks apart 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 more primitive form than "O."; theoretically a very plausible hypothesis of one or more "proto-dysseys", i.e. poems that contained the plot completely and formed the basis of the canonical "O.", encounters great difficulties when trying to restore the course of action of any "proto-dyssey" .
The poem opens, after the usual invocation of the Muse, brief description situations: all participants in the Trojan campaign, who escaped death, returned safely home, one 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, wishing in vain To see at least 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, Cyclops Polyphemus, was once blinded by Odysseus. Athena, who patronizes Odysseus, offers to send the messenger of the gods Hermes to Calypso with the 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 the house of Odysseus 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 popular assembly of Ithaca. Telemachus brings a complaint against the suitors, but the people are powerless against the noble youth, who demand that Penelope choose someone else. Along the way, the image of the “reasonable” Penelope arises, with the help of tricks delaying consent to marriage. With the help of Athena, Telemachus equips the ship and secretly leaves Ithaca for Pylos to Nestor (Book 2). Nestor informs Telemachus about the return of the Achaeans from under Troy and about the death of Agamemnon. Having escaped, thanks to the miraculous intervention of the goddess Levkofei, from the storm raised by Poseidon, Odysseus swims ashore about. Scherii where he lives happy people- feaks, navigators who have fabulous ships, fast, “like light wings or thoughts”, who do not need a rudder and understand the thoughts of their sailors. The meeting of Odysseus on the shore with Nausicaa, the daughter of the Phaeacian king Alminoy, who came to the sea to wash clothes and play ball with the servants, is the content of the 6th book, rich in idyllic moments. Alkina, with his wife Areta, 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 feakov is very curious. There is reason to think that, according to the original meaning of the myth, the feacs are death shippers, carriers to the realm of the dead, but this mythological meaning has already been forgotten in the Odyssey, and death shippers have been replaced by a fabulous “gay-loving” people of sailors leading a peaceful and magnificent 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 tells of his ill-fated adventures on the road from Troy. The story of Odysseus occupies the 9th - 12th book of the poem and contains a number of folklore plots, often found in the tales of the New Age. The form of the story in the first person is also traditional for stories about the fabulous adventures of seafarers and is known to us from Egyptian monuments of the 2nd millennium BC. e. (the so-called "story of the shipwrecked").
The first adventure is still quite realistic: Odysseus and his companions rob the city of the Kikons (in Thrace), but then a storm carries his ships over the waves for many days, and he ends up in distant, wonderful countries. At first it is a country of peaceful lotophages, "devourers of the lotus", 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 Cyclopes (Cyclops), one-eyed monsters, where the cannibal giant Polyphemus devours several of Odysseus' companions in his cave. Odysseus saves himself by drugging and blinding Polyphemus, and then exits the cave, along with other comrades, hanging under the belly of long-haired sheep. Odysseus avoids revenge from other Cyclopes, prudently calling himself "Nobody": the Cyclopes ask Polyphemus who offended him, but, having received the answer - "no one", they refuse to interfere; however, the blinding of Polyphemus becomes the source of numerous misadventures of Odysseus, since from now on he is pursued by the wrath of Posidon, the father of Polyphemus (book 9).
The folklore of navigators is characterized by a legend about the god of the winds Eol living on a floating island. Aeolus amiably handed Odysseus a fur with unfavorable winds tied in it, but not far from their native shores, Odysseus' companions untied the fur, and the storm again threw them into the sea. Then they again find themselves in the country of cannibal giants, lestrigons, where "the paths of day and night converge" (obviously, distant rumors reached the Greeks about short nights northern summer); the lestrigons destroyed all the ships of Odysseus, except for one, which then landed on the island of the sorceress Kirka (Circe).
Kirka, like a typical folklore witch, lives in dark forest, in a house from which smoke rises over the forest; she turns Odysseus' companions into pigs, but Odysseus, with the help of a wonderful plant indicated to him by Hermes, overcomes the spell and enjoys Kirk's love for a year (book 10). Then, at the direction of Kirk, he goes to the realm 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 realms of the dead completely unmotivated, but this element of the tale contains, apparently in naked form, the main mythological meaning of the whole plot about the husband's "wanderings" 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 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 meanwhile the listener does not lose Odysseus out of sight - and this also testifies to the improvement of the art of epic storytelling.
