Odyssey
In book 23 of the Odyssey, reoccurring Homeric themes appear, character's roles change, and a homecoming for an epic hero is finally accomplished. Book 23 may be the one book in this poem that can be related the closest to the poem as a whole. In this book, we see the relationship of a god/goddess and a human being as a reoccurring theme throughout Homers works. This god/human relationship is shown throughout the poem mainly through the actions of Athene, who is trying to assure that Odysseus receives the glorious homecoming that he deserves. Book 23 concludes Odysseus's twenty-year homecoming journey by uniting him with his beloved wife, Penelope. The homecoming that is looked forward to by so many throughout the poem is finalized by the romantic reunion of Odysseus and Penelope This reunion shows a cunning side of Penelope that is almost the same as her husband, Odysseus, shows numerous times throughout the epic. This cunningness by Penelope exhibits a different example of the role of women in the time of the Odyssey. The relationships between humans and gods are looked at numerous times in both the Iliad and the Odyssey. Gods in these poems hurt some humans and help others. The relationship with Odysseus and
Penelope, like Odysseus and Athene, also has the ability to deceive. She shows this in book 23 as well as in her confrontations with the suitors. She lies to her suitors to delay having to choose one to be her husband. Like Odysseus, her lying is for a worthwhile reason. She lies to the suitors because she still believes that her real husband, Odysseus, is still alive. In book 23, Penelope turns the tides on Odysseus, assuring him trustworthy by using her own trickery. Where we usually see Odysseus lying to people to assure their loyalty, Penelope shows that she is truly Odysseus' equal by using this form of trickery on him. Odysseus parallels the trickery that Penelope uses on him when he tricks his father, Laertes, in book 24. Like Penelope, when she first sees Odysseus in book 23, Odysseus is at a crossroads when he first sees his father in book 24. He is contemplating whether to hug and kiss his father and tell him of his journey, or to "question him [Laertes] first about everything and make trial of him" (XXIV.236-238). The choice that Penelope has to make is described quite similarly when it says, "She spoke, and came down from the chamber, her heart pondering much, whether to keep away and question her dear husband, or to go up an kiss his head, taking his hands" (XXIII.85-87). Both Penelope and Odysseus take the route to assure loyalty. They need to assure this loyalty because they both have people around them that are looking to deceive they. If they are deceived, they each have much to lose. The parallelism that Odysseus and Penelope have in books 23 and 24, show how much these two are alike. In book 23, Penelope lies to a person who is closer to her than anybody in the world, because she has doubts. Odysseus has the same doubts about his own father's loyalty to him.
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Approximate Word count = 1762
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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