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The Odyssey and Greek Traditions

The Odyssey as a social register and it deals with life and manners of Homer's age.




The Odyssey is an epic whose events are thought to have taken place in Greece in the 12th century B.C. At that time, Greece was a feudal system in which many small separated kingdoms and principalities existed. The bonds of friendships and allegiance tied these kingdoms together. They also share a common cultural background.
Homer?s historical value lies not in his attempt to describe an actual past, although he is the perfect one who can depicts us the life and manners of his age. There are many manners at that age, which are the assemblies, protecting guests, exchanging gifts, hospitality and the sacrifices.

Thus, during peacetime, the only official place for the nobles to meet was at the assembly, which was invoked by the king. These assemblies were called by the king whenever he had an important decision to make concerning all the nobles. Although he had the power to make his decisions without consulting any of them, but he rarely do so. At any assembly, the nobles discuss the problem, judging it on the basis of their traditions. In fact, Homer considered the assembly as a vital part of any civilized society. For instance, when Homer describes the Cyclops, he points out that they have neither assemblies nor traditions. Also, he considers the phaeacians to be over-civilized because they are constantly holding assemblies.

People had to depend on each other?s good will. Therefore, an elaborate tradition developed concerning the relationship between travelers and their hosts. Thus, there was a kind of relationship between both of the hosts and the guests and hosts were expected to protect their guests from harm. We can see it clear when Theoclymenus approaches Telemachus and openly admits to him that he have killed a man. As a result of that, he is escaping from the dead man?s relatives, so he asks Telemachus if it is possible to sail with him. Of course, the generous Telemachus agrees and he even invites him to go to Ithaca where he will be protected and safe.
Also, the guest had responsibilities towards his host. We all know that the cause of the Trojan War was a breach of faith on the part of a guest. Paris, the guest in the palace of Menelaus, seduced Menelaus? wife, the fair Helen, and ran away with her to his city, Troy.
You can also find that the Greeks are used to bathe a guest?s body. They have no obsessions or any inhibitions in doing that; they were very open and they want their guest to feel comfortable as if he is at his home.

In Greece in Homeric times, there is no money, trade or barter. So, the transferring goods become the accepted method. The barter system is developed within the rules of the guest-host relationship, where all actions were considered to be between friends, even though they may never have met before. Objects, which are given in trade, were always considered to be gifts. But it is supposed that the person who gives a gift is expecting to receive a gift in return, even if he had to wait several years for it. It is mentioned in the passage that is going on between Odysseus and his father Laertes. Odysseus takes advantage of the fact that his father does not recognize him after 19 years. So, he lies and tells him that he had seen his son Odysseus some years ago and he had given him many gifts. Laertes believes that it is true and he replies that he gave his gifts in vain, for now his son is dead and can no longer greet him with hospitality and gifts in return.

The rituals of hospitality to a stranger must always be observed. Athene as an example visits Telemachus and she is disguised as Mentor and holding a bronze spear in her hand. When he notices her, he goes straight up to her and shakes hands. Even, he relieves his visitor of his bronze spear and gives him cordial greetings. Telemachus talks to him and says: ?Welcome, sir, to our hospitality!? You can tell us what has brought you when you have had some food.?
Hospitality is not exclusive for human beings but it is also a tradition that is maintained by divinities. Calypso for an example invites Hermes, the ambassador of the gods, to sit down on a brightly polished chair, and questions her visitor and says: ?You are an honored and a welcome guest, though in the past your visits have been few. Tell me what is in your mind, and I shall gladly do what you ask of me, if I can and if it is not impossible. But first follow me inside and let me offer you hospitality.?

The Greeks performed meticulous sacrificial rites including a libation, the spelling out of some wine as a sacrifice to the gods before drinking the remainder. They respected the gods and offered them sacrifices to ask forgiveness for some mistakes they may have made. For instance, Alcinous, who saw the transformation of his ship into a stone, realizes that Poseidon disliked the Phaeacians? good will toward all strangers. He suggests that they promise never to receive strangers again and that they sacrifice twelve bulls to Poseidon, so he may accept their repent and take pity on them.
Sacrifices were performed according to strict rules and orders. An example of that is when Nestor?s people gather on the shore to sacrifice respectfully to the gods and then to feast. Look how accurate they are; they took a young cow with a gold foil on her horns to be sacrificed on the next day in Athene?s honor. The sacrifice is carried out involving flowers, water and a basket of barely. And Nestor?s son, Thrasymedes does the slaughtering himself, not a priest or a servant, and the butchering details are vivid.

Circe, the enchantress, helps him with advice and supplies on his voyage home. She tells Odysseus that he must visit the land of the dead and speak with a blind prophet. She gives him detailed instructions about how to do this and she even provides him the sacrificial animals, which are a black ram and an ewe. Odysseus follows her instructions and sails to the proper place. He digs a pit, sacrifices the ewe and the ram, and pours libations that are a mix of milk, honey and wine and then he sprinkles barley.
The gods punish some people because they do not sacrifice. Menelaus is imprisoned in Egypt and he is unable to escape because he made a mistake. He is told: ?before embarking, you should have offered rich sacrifice to Zeus and all the other gods, if you wished to get home fast across the wine-dark sea. You have no chance whatever of reaching your own country and seeing your friends and your fine house again before you have sailed the heaven-fed waters of the Nile once more and made ceremonial offerings to the everlasting gods who live in the broad sky. When that is done, the gods will let you start this voyage that you are so keen to make.?

The burial rites are also very important; they consider it as a sign of civilization. Cremation is more respectable for the memory of a man. Observe these lines and see how it is important, ? At the first sight of Dawn?s red streamers in the East, I sent off a party to Circe?s house to fetch the dead body of Elpenor. We quickly hewed some billets of wood, and then, with the tears streaming down our cheeks, gave him a solemn burial on the summit of the boldest headland of the coast. When the corpse was burnt, and with it the dead man?s arms, we built him a barrow, hauled up a stone for monument, and planted his shapely oar on the top of the mound.? Odysseus is really a very decent man, he thinks of his men even of the dead ones. Imagine that in the underworld, when Elpenor appears to him, he begs Odysseus to burn his dead body in order to die in peace.

Thus, it seems that The Odyssey is a social register that dealt with almost every tradition or habits, which had taken place at that period of time. Homer depicted us all conventions at his time as if he is researcher; for example, he talked about the assemblies, the relationship between hosts and guests, gifts, hospitality, sacrificial rites, burial rites, head gear, dowry, games, the role of women and finally the agrarian society. In a word, he depicted us the life and manners of his age.





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