Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Fame -- I Want to Live Forever
Odysseus demonstrates a passionate desire for kleos or fame through much of the Odyssey. Consider, for example, his taunting Polyphemus with his name as he escapes his island (and there are other examples) Yet, is it presented as an unequivocally good pursuit? Does the search for kleos help or hinder his journey? What about situations in which he disguises his identity? What is the importance of kleos to Odysseus and the Odyssey (the two may not be the same answer)?
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In The Odyssey, Odysseus’s search for kleos severely hinders and endangers his journey, which leads to the overall message that kleos is not that important. Odysseus demonstrates his desire for fame in several situations, but perhaps most prominently in his fight with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. During this scene, he enlists the help of several of his men to blind Polyphemus, and then as they are fleeing on ships, he yells his name back at the Cyclops so that everyone would know that “Odysseus,/raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,/Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (9.560-2). Despite the fact that the Cyclops throws several large rocks that nearly hit his ships, he continues to shout and taunt the Cyclops. This demonstrates how, in wanting to be famous for blinding the Cyclops, he endangers his men and himself, hindering the journey home. Instead of simply sailing away with nothing to guide Polyphemus’s aim to their ships, Odysseus decided to shout his name for the sake of his fame, which consequentially put everyone in danger. Using this same situation as an example, the Odyssey seems to place the importance of kleos lower than Odysseus does. The story shows that when Odysseus pursued fame, his crew and himself got put in danger and very nearly died. However, when he went in disguise to the swineherd Eumaeus, his journey goes very smoothly and he gets around very nicely in disguise. He finds his son, plots to kill the suitors, and no one suspects a thing. In this situation, he is not seeking kleos; in fact, it is quite the opposite. In disguising himself, he doesn’t let anyone know the great deeds he has done and doesn’t have any opportunity to expand his fame. The story shows that this approach is very effective, which seems to imply the statement that fame should not be very important in the story’s message. To Odysseus, fame is of high importance; however, in seeking it, he hinders and endangers his journey. To The Odyssey, fame is not important and not seeking it makes journeys much smoother.
ReplyDeleteIn the Odysseys, there are many moments where Odysseus’s desire for fame has put him and his crew in danger. One example that shows the clearest that fame is not something worth pursuing is with Polyphemus. Odysseus had done everything right, but he wanted one more thing, he wanted fame so he told Polyphemus his name which not almost gets them killed instantly but also he gains nothing but a curse to the gods. There is only one moral from this story, fame or kleos is not worth pursuing if it involves a risk of death. Even further, we know that fame is not worth pursuing because Achilles, the greatest hero in Greek history said it himself, “No winning words about death to me, shining Odysseus!
ReplyDeleteBy god, I’d rather slave on earth for another man, /some dirt-poor tenant farmer who scrapes to keep alive/than rule down here over all the breathless dead” (11. 547-558). Achilles was just like Odysseus, craving for fame and he did eventually achieve fame, but at a high cost and now he is telling Odysseus that he envy’s him and that he would rather be alive than be the most famous hero but death. To me, it seems that Odysseus learned from his visit. This can be seen when Odysseus talks to Eumaeus in a disguise, by hiding his true identity, this time, there came no danger, no problems at all because he wasn’t seeking fame.
As read in the Odyssey, all the warriors who fought in the war wanted to be known for kleos. Just like all the warriors, it is one of Odysseus’ most important pursuits in life. Even though there are several times though out the book when Odyssey says Nobody – that’s my name. Nobody – so my mother and father call me, all my friends (9.410-411). There are times where he does not feel like he is able to reveal his real identity. There are also times when he makes it clear that he wants to have a legacy for when he dies instead of oblivion. One of the most suitable examples for this is when Odysseus, knowing that it could ruin his life, said to Polyphemus, Cyclops –
ReplyDeleteif any man on the face of the earth should ask you
who blinded you, shamed you so – say Odysseus,
raider of cities, he gouged our your eye,
Laerters’ son who makes his home in Ithaca! (9. 558-562). As seen in this passage, Odysseus has risked his life and had give every detail about himself to make it clear that it was he, who had gouged out the eye of Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. Although Odyssey had made the Cyclops tell that it was Odyssey, it resulted in Odyssey getting punished by the gods. This shows that although you have done something for the fame, there is a possibility for punishment as shown with the gods punishing Odyssey for what he had done to Poseidon.
Odysseus’ lust for Kleos in The Odyssey ultimately hinders his journey and puts every single person in his crew in severe danger. There are many cases in The Odyssey where it becomes clear that Odysseus desires Kleos, but the situation where Odysseus is fighting the Cyclops makes it extremely noticeable of Odysseus’ want for Kleos. Throughout Odysseus’ journey in the cave with the Cyclops, Odysseus chooses to go by a false name. However, when Odysseus reaches his target and is able to severely injure him, he decides to tell him his real name. Odysseus reveals, “Cyclops-if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so-say Odysseus, raider of cities,” (9.558-561). This example clearly shows how Odysseus desires Kleos, and uses this to almost get him and his crew killed so he will be able to have the fame from blinding the Cyclops. Odysseus uses his pursuit for fame and glory to almost get him and the rest of his men injured, which proves how dangerous and not important fame is. The results of Kleos are clearly told to be minimal when Agamemnon tells Odysseus he would rather still be alive now with the least fame than to be ruling every other dead person currently. The Odyssey makes it clear that the desire for Kleos only has harmful effects on the people around, and ultimately has no positive outcomes to having Kleos.
ReplyDelete