A Guide to the Odyssey: A Commentary on the English Translation of Robert Fitzgerald (11 page)
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Authors: Ralph J. Hexter,Robert Fitzgerald
Tags: #Homer, #Language Arts & Disciplines, #Greek Language - Translating Into English, #Greek Language, #Fitzgerald; Robert - Knowledge - Language and Languages, #History and Criticism, #Epic Poetry; Greek - History and Criticism, #Poetry, #Odysseus (Greek Mythology) in Literature, #Literary Criticism, #Translating & Interpreting, #Ancient & Classical, #Translating Into English, #Epic Poetry; Greek
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I intend this pose as “learned” rather than “willed ignorance,” but those who see it as the latter might do well to recall the Greek sophist Gorgias’ insight that people who willingly permit themselves to be deceived by literary fictions are wiser than those who resist the deception.
2. The Palace at Pylos. A grand Mycenaean palace on the order of the majestic home of Nestor, like the one above, impresses Telémakhos in
Book III
, as he is used to simpler life on Ithaka. Excavations on a ridge, Epano Englianos, four miles north of Navarino Bay, in southwestern Messenia, have uncovered extensive remains of a large palace destroyed by fire ca. 1200
B.C.E
. The complex grew from an older, more modest palace to the southwest to include a much grander multistoried central palace, with richly decorated walls and floor, the latter with an octopus motif.
A. Throne room
B. Portico
C. Court
D. Covered porch
E. Inner porch
F. Waiting rooms, pantries
G. Storerooms
H. Bathroom
J-L. Women’s quarters
J. Hall with hearth
K. Inner court
L. Rooms
M. Archive room
N. Throne room, old palace
P. Covered court or antechamber
Q. Workshops
3. The Homeric ship. A: Mast. B: Yard. C: Sail. D: Braces. E: Sheets. F: Forestays. G: Pulley-hole and halyard. H: Backstay. I: Rudder-oar. J: Stem. K: Half-decks.
4. This depiction of Odysseus’ escape from Polyphêmos’ cave graced a proto-Attic wine vase painted ca. 675–600
B.C.E
. by a stylist so distinctive that art historians call him or her the “Painter of the Ram Jug.” The illustration is a loose interpretation of the episode (Book IX.463–505) where Odysseus ties each of his men beneath the middle of three rams while he clings to the fleece, not the horns, of the largest ram.
5. A bow like Odysseus’ prized hunting bow which Penélopê uses to test the suitors. The amount of tension on the bowstring made it a powerful and effective weapon, and a hard one to string. The suitors fail, but Odysseus has the requisite knowledge, strength, and dexterity. On the peculiarities of this double-torsion composite bow and the trick one needs to know to string it, see the note on
Book XXI
. 12.
