Here in Northern Ireland, only a few schools offer the study of Latin or Classical Civilisation. Students in even fewer schools can choose Classical Greek which is often taught off timetable, at lunchtime or after school.
As convenor of the Classical Association in Northern Ireland, my role, and that of the other members of the board, is to share our love of the ancient Mediterranean. In addition to lectures, public readings of ancient texts, film screenings and study days, we organise an annual schools conference. This conference is aimed at children of both primary and post-primary age. The morning session is tailored for primary school children, the afternoon for older students.
We are delighted with the interest and enthusiasm with which this conference has been received. There truly is a desire among young people to learn about the ancient world and it is up to us to provide access to the subjects they want to learn.
I spread the love of classics by tutoring classical Greek language and literature. As well as teaching an evening class at Queen’s University Belfast, I have private students who are learning Greek for a variety of reasons – from GCSE and A level examinations through to PhD preparation. Others have joined a purely-for-pleasure class which aims eventually to cover enough grammar so they can read ancient texts in the original.
Alongside this I have added a literature course on Homer’s Odyssey in translation. Participants read set books of the Odyssey independently per week which we then discuss book-group style. There is no set text and participants read their favourite translation which we can fruitfully compare in class. I prefer verse translations, especially those by Richmond Lattimore and Emily Wilson, and so I value input from readers who prefer prose editions.
Where do we begin with a text like The Odyssey?
The Homeric epics are mysterious. Evidence suggests that the poems were recorded in writing by the mid-sixth century BC. Prior to this date, since the fall of the Mycenaean palaces around 1100 BC, Greece had been in a dark age. Around the seventh/eighth centuries BC, the alphabet developed and we have the first literature from early writers such as the poet Hesiod.
But who was Homer? The short answer is we don’t know. There might have been a poet named Homer who wrote The Odyssey and The Iliad. Certainly the author of The Odyssey was familiar with the content and story of The Iliad and the Trojan War, and it is thought the Iliad was written down first. But, in my view, it is unlikely that the same poet wrote both poems; indeed, it may be the case that the poems were composed by many different writers.
The way in which the poems are written is curious. An American scholar, Milman Parry carried out research on illiterate and semi-literate bards in the former Yugoslavia during the early 1930’s. Parry died in 1935 at the age of 33 in a tragic accident. His work was continued by his student Albert Lord. The pair had recognised that the Yugoslav singers were able to recite lengthy poems to a specific rhythm. As aide memoire, the bards used methods such as formulae and ring composition.
In the Homeric epics, characters are given epithets and so we find ‘rosy-fingered Dawn’, ‘grey-eyed Athene’ and ‘thoughtful Telemachus’. Formulaic scenes are repeated for such activities as arming oneself or welcoming a guest. In the examples below, from Odyssey books 4 and 7, beds are prepared for visiting guests. In the palace of Menelaus, Helen orders her maidservants to make up the beds for Telemachus and Peisistratus (4.296-305). The scene is repeated almost word-for-word at 7.335-347 where Queen Arete orders a bed prepared for Odysseus.
4.296-305
So he spoke and Helen of Argos told her serving maids
To make up beds in the porch’s shelter and to lay upon them
Fine underbedding of purple, and spread blankets above it
And fleecy robes to be an over-all covering. The maidservants
Went forth from the main house, and in their hands held torches,
And they made the beds. The guests were led outside by a herald.
So the hero Telemachos and the glorious son of Nestor
Slept in the place outside the house in the porch’s shelter,
But the son of Atreus slept in the inner room of the high house
And by him lay Helen of the light robes, shining among women.
7.335-347
But Arete of the white arms told her attendant women
To make up a bed in the porch’s shelter and to lay upon it
Fine underbedding of purple, and spread blankets above it
And fleecy robes to be an over-all covering. The maidservants
Went forth from the main house, and in their hands held torches.
When they had set to work and presently had a firm bed made
They came and stood beside Odysseus, and with words roused him:
“Up stranger so you can go to rest. Your bed is made for you.”
So they spoke, and the thought of sleeping was welcome to him.
Then long-suffering great Odysseus lay down and slept there
upon a corded bedstead in the echoing portico,
But Alkinoos went to bed in the inner room of the high house,
And at his side the lady his wife served as bedfellow.
The importance of xenia today
‘Hospitality’ or xenia, as demonstrated in the extracts above, is a theme which runs throughout the Odyssey, both hospitality in its correct form, such as that exercised by King Alkinoös in Books 7 and 8, and in its incorrect form, by Polyphemus the Cyclops in Book 9.
‘Guest-friend’ is a clumsy English rendition of the Greek xenos. The same Greek word means stranger, foreigner and sometimes host. The practice of xenia, the rituals to be undertaken when welcoming a guest, should be carried out in a specific order: the guest is welcomed in, then offered food and greetings. The food is consumed, and only then should the guest be questioned. At the conclusion of the visit, gifts will be exchanged.
When Telemachus arrives at Nestor’s house in Book 3, he receives a warm greeting and food before discussions take place (ll.31-74). Gifts of bread, wine and meat are offered (l.479). Later Telemachus and Peisistratus arrive at the palace of Menelaus while the King of Sparta is holding a wedding feast for his son and daughter. Despite this, it is important that the strangers are not left waiting at the door and should be invited to the wedding feast (4.25-36). Food is offered, then questions (4.60-64). When the guests are leaving, gifts are offered, for display in the guests’ homes as signs of wealth. Gifts received by xenia both increase the honour of the recipient as well as demonstrating the wealth and power of the host.
Xenia is hereditary and relationships forged in the past are relevant in the contemporary time of the poem. Iliad 6 contains an interesting example of hereditary xenia. Diomedes and Glaukos come together in chariots during the fighting: Diomedes says to Glaukos that he has not seen him on the battlefield before, queries whether Glaukos might be an immortal god, and in his answer, over the course of 67 lines (ll.145-211), Glaukos responds with a detailed account of his ancestor Bellerophon to which Diomedes rejoices, informing Glaukos that his own ancestor Oineus once entertained Belleophon. With this information, the two warriors jump from their chariots and exchange their armour (ll.232-236):
“So they spoke, and both springing down from behind their horses
gripped each other’s hands and exchanged the promise of friendship;
but Zeus the son of Kronos stole away the wits of Glaukos
who exchanged with Diomedes the son of Tydeus armour
of gold for bronze, for nine oxen’s worth the worth of a hundred.”
As Peisistratus, the son of Nestor, tells Telemachus as they prepare to leave the palace of Menelaus, ‘For a guest remembers all his days the man who received him / As a host receives a guest, and gave him the gifts of friendship’ (Od.15.54-5).
In the Homeric epics, strangers are invited into homes with no thought given to the danger that they may pose. They are washed and cared for, and provided with food and drink before being asked the questions, “Who are you? Where have you come from?” In these strange, worrying and unsettling times, perhaps we should be look to the Homeric heroes in terms of their treatment of visitors. At present, much of the world is self-isolating, many only leaving home for essential grocery shopping. It would be impossible to act hospitably in the ‘hands-on’ manner described by Homer. But by remaining at home, having as little contact with other people as possible, we are indeed caring for others, ensuring that strangers within our own communities remain infection-free.
The thought I leave with you? Keep calm and read Homer!
