The Odyssey 

In the last edition of the Thistle, I wrote about the privilege and obligation of travel. I would like to build on that theme by writing about one of the earliest travelers in western literature, Odysseus. The tale was first created by Homer in the 8 th  century BC and to this day, it remains one of the most powerful stories we have of facing up to adversity and dealing with setbacks in many forms. It is tailor-made for our times; I encourage you to get an age-appropriate version for your son to read. The Odyssey chronicles the challenges which Odysseus and his crew face as they try to make their way home from the Trojan War – a journey which takes them ten years. 

Book One begins with these wonderful lines:

"Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns

driven time and again off course, once he had plundered

the hallowed heights of Troy.

Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,

many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, 

fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home.

But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove – 

the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all,"

Perhaps the major theme running through the book concerns the importance of being a good host, and the way that different characters fulfil their obligations as host (the Lotus-Eaters feed their guests and get them to completely forget their homes; Calypso changes his crew into animals; Polyphemus the cyclops eats some of them until Odysseus blinds him; and Odysseus' wife Penelope is required to entertain all of the suitors – over ten years – as they strive to replace her husband when it appears that Odysseus is dead). The relationship between host and guest involves the moral obligation to welcome and protect the stranger, an obligation imposed on civilized people by Zeus, who is the enforcer of a code of conduct that helps to make travel possible in a world of piracy and war, where no firm, central authority exists to impose law and order. It is a salient lesson for today's world, where strangers are no longer welcomed, and where there is no central authority to impose good manners upon men. Good manners and being a good host are still important habits for young people to learn. 

The story is also about the level of responsibility that men are willing to take for their lives, and the part played by luck, or the gods, depending on how you wish to see it.

As Zeus says:

"Ah, how shameless – the way these mortals blame the gods.

From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes, 

but they themselves, with their own reckless ways, 

compound their pains beyond their proper share."

And the story delves into the difficulties of life that lie ahead, for Odysseus, and for all humans. He is faced with the classic dilemma of having to navigate his boat between the twin dangers of Scylla (a sea monster) and Charybdis (a whirlpool); by avoiding one, he is drawn closer to the other. Polyphemus the cyclops kills and eats his men and Odysseus  has to  use  all of  his cunning to escape with what is left of his crew. He even  has to  prove to his wife that he is who he says he is, even though he is greatly changed from the person she once knew him to be. 

At different points, it seems that it would be far easier for him to give up on his efforts to return home. Calypso tries to lure him into staying with her. After escaping her island, he and his crew arrive in the land of the Lotus-eaters:

"Nine whole days 

I was borne along by rough, deadly winds

on the fish-infested sea. Then on the tenth 

our squadron reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, 

people who eat lotus, mellow fruit and flower…  

Any crewman who ate the lotus, the honey-sweet fruit, 

lost all desire to send a message back, much less return, 

their only wish to linger there with the Lotus-eaters, 

grazing on lotus, all memory of the journey home 

dissolved forever."

It is this section which reminds me so much of Perth. I read this as a warning against complacency and a reminder to guard against thinking that our wonderful, protected lives will go on forever uninterrupted; that we can consume indefinitely without considering the consequences. There is a big world around us which it has an impact on us, just as we should be striving to have a far greater impact on making it a better place, content as we may be to stay in our safe and comfortable cocoon. 

The desire to return home – to belong somewhere – is strong in most of us, wherever home may be. Whilst this is a tale about a journey, it is also about how – and where – we see ourselves and who we become as a result of our experiences. 

" Nevertheless  I long – I pine, all my days – 

to travel home and see the dawn of my return.

And if a god will wreck me yet again on the wine-dark sea,

I can bear that too, with a spirit tempered to endure.

Much have I suffered, laboured long and hard by now

in the waves and wars. Add this to the total – 

bring the trial on!"

The Odyssey is a tale of caution – of making sure that we finish the job before we relax. Odysseus gets his crew so close to home that they can  actually see  it (in Book 10) and, as he does, he falls asleep. He lets his guard down because he thinks the job is done. And it is at this point that his crew untie the bag he was given by Aeolus, thinking it contains treasure, and they let loose the winds which drive the ship back to Aeolus's island, where pleas for assistance a second time are rejected. This adds another fourteen books to the saga!

By the time he gets home, Odysseus has been away from his homeland for 20 years: 10 at war with Troy and then 10 more on his meandering way back to Ithaca. When he returns, he realises  that no one there has any experience of war, and so he never talks about it – the same silence we hear from generation after generation of men who return from conflict. 

And  so we have been gifted the term 'odyssey', to describe a long journey, often full of trials and tribulations. It is good for boys to read such tales, full as they are of resilience and resourcefulness. Our job is to be there to mentor them through their own journey. We should remind them that whilst they will face challenges, they can overcome these, and that they always have a place where they will be welcome, a place which is 'home' and which is a part of who they are.