Singers in the Odyssey
During the Odyssey, many singers are mentioned. They told stories of the past and the stories about the gods to entertain the household they were singing for. Singers were well respected because they had a divine gift from the Muses. Phemios and Demodokos are two examples of singers in the poem. Phemios was a singer in the house of Odysseus. While Odysseus was away in battle and his journey home, Phemios was made to sing at Odysseus's house by Penelope's suitors. "A herald put the beautifully wrought lyre in the hands of Phemios, who sang for the suitors because they made him." (53 - 54, Book I) He sang of Odysseus being lost in his homecoming (326 -327, Book I). This made Penelope upset and she asked Phemios to stop his song (337 - 344, Book I). Then Telemachos reminded her that Phemios was not to blame. "Why, my mother, do you begrudge this excellent singer his pleasing himself as the thought drives him? It is not the singers who are to blame, it must be Zeus is to blame, who gives out to men who eat bread, to each and all, the way he wills it. There is nothing wrong in his singing the sad return of the Danaans. People, surely, always give more applause to that song which is the latest to circula
When Phemios feared for his life when Odysseus was killing the suitors, he caught the knees of Odysseus, and gave him many reasons why his life should be spared. Demodokos also sang the story of the Trojan Horse and how the Achaians won the Trojan War (499 - 520, Book VIII), and Hephaistos, his wife Aphrodite, and the affair between Aphrodite and Ares (266 - 366, Book VIII). Odysseus spared Phemios because Telemachos said that he was innocent. Odysseus sent Phemios and Medon away from the palace, in the courtyard, so they would not be harmed in battle. Singers were very well respected in the Odyssey. People believed that the singers not only sang for mortals, but the gods as well. When the suitors forced Phemios to sing for them while Odysseus was away, they were respectful of him when he was singing. Demodokos is another singer mentioned. He was the excellent, but blind singer on the island of the Phaiakians. He sang about history of mortals and immortals. te among the listeners. So let your heart and let your spirit be hardened to listen." (346 - 353, Book I)
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 840
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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