"ἔνθ᾽ ἦ τοι Μίνωα ἴδον, Διὸς ἀγλαὸν υἱόν,
χρύσεον σκῆπτρον ἔχοντα, θεμιστεύοντα νέκυσσιν,
ἥμενον, οἱ δέ μιν ἀμφὶ δίκας εἴροντο ἄνακτα,570
ἥμενοι ἑσταότες τε κατ᾽ εὐρυπυλὲς Ἄϊδος δῶ.
τὸν δὲ μετ᾽ Ὠρίωνα πελώριον εἰσενόησα
θῆρας ὁμοῦ εἰλεῦντα κατ᾽ ἀσφοδελὸν λειμῶνα,
τοὺς αὐτὸς κατέπεφνεν ἐν οἰοπόλοισιν ὄρεσσι
χερσὶν ἔχων ῥόπαλον παγχάλκεον, αἰὲν ἀαγές.575
καὶ Τιτυὸν εἶδον, Γαίης ἐρικυδέος υἱόν,
κείμενον ἐν δαπέδῳ· ὁ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἐννέα κεῖτο πέλεθρα,
γῦπε δέ μιν ἑκάτερθε παρημένω ἧπαρ ἔκειρον,
δέρτρον ἔσω δύνοντες, ὁ δ᾽ οὐκ ἀπαμύνετο χερσί·
Λητὼ γὰρ ἕλκησε, Διὸς κυδρὴν παράκοιτιν,580
Πυθώδ᾽ ἐρχομένην διὰ καλλιχόρου Πανοπῆος.
καὶ μὴν Τάνταλον εἰσεῖδον κρατέρ᾽ ἄλγε᾽ ἔχοντα
ἑστεῶτ᾽ ἐν λίμνῃ: ἡ δὲ προσέπλαζε γενείῳ·
στεῦτο δὲ διψάων, πιέειν δ᾽ οὐκ εἶχεν ἑλέσθαι·
ὁσσάκι γὰρ κύψει᾽ ὁ γέρων πιέειν μενεαίνων,585
τοσσάχ᾽ ὕδωρ ἀπολέσκετ᾽ ἀναβροχέν, ἀμφὶ δὲ ποσσὶ
γαῖα μέλαινα φάνεσκε, καταζήνασκε δὲ δαίμων.
δένδρεα δ᾽ ὑψιπέτηλα κατὰ κρῆθεν χέε καρπόν,
ὄγχναι καὶ ῥοιαὶ καὶ μηλέαι ἀγλαόκαρποι
συκέαι τε γλυκεραὶ καὶ ἐλαῖαι τηλεθόωσαι·590
τῶν ὁπότ᾽ ἰθύσει᾽ ὁ γέρων ἐπὶ χερσὶ μάσασθαι,
τὰς δ᾽ ἄνεμος ῥίπτασκε ποτὶ νέφεα σκιόεντα.
καὶ μὴν Σίσυφον εἰσεῖδον κρατέρ᾽ ἄλγε᾽ ἔχοντα
λᾶαν βαστάζοντα πελώριον ἀμφοτέρῃσιν.
ἦ τοι ὁ μὲν σκηριπτόμενος χερσίν τε ποσίν τε595
λᾶαν ἄνω ὤθεσκε ποτὶ λόφον: ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε μέλλοι
ἄκρον ὑπερβαλέειν, τότ᾽ ἀποστρέψασκε κραταιίς·
αὖτις ἔπειτα πέδονδε κυλίνδετο λᾶας ἀναιδής.
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ᾽ ἂψ ὤσασκε τιταινόμενος, κατὰ δ᾽ ἱδρὼς
ἔρρεεν ἐκ μελέων, κονίη δ᾽ ἐκ κρατὸς ὀρώρει.600
notes
Odysseus sees but does not speak to the ghosts of Minos, Orion, Tityos, Tantalus, and Sisyphus.
Aristarchus of Samothrace (217–145 BCE), a Hellenistic scholar whose marginal comments on the Homeric epics have come down to us, thought that verses 568–627 were added to the main composition of the Odyssey by a later poet and some modern scholars have agreed with him. Though our purpose here is to understand the version of the poem that we have now, rather than entering into scholarly controversies about the history of the poem’s composition, looking briefly at some of the objections to these verses can help to us to clarify their function in the overall structure of Book Eleven.
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At first glance, the passage describing six figures who follow Ajax recalls the earlier catalogue of heroines: the language, with variations on the verb εἴδω (568, 576, 582, 593; cf., 235, 261, 266, 281, 298, 306); the parade of mythical figures with identifying details. But this latter group stands apart from the heroines, in that none of them has any meaningful connection to Odysseus outside the poem. As a group, they represent no threat to him, unlike the women, who always embody danger for the hero. With the exception of Herakles, they appear only at a distance from Odysseus, inside Hades itself. None of the six drinks blood from the trench. Though Herakles does speak to Odysseus, he receives no answer. The immediacy of the encounters with Agamemnon, Achilles, and Ajax is missing here, as the poet seems to be lowering the dramatic intensity at the end of the katabasis. The ongoing implied comparison between the lives of the dead heroes and Odysseus’s different kind of heroism fades away.
Despite the differences between this last section and the earlier encounters, we can see a larger structural symmetry in Book Eleven: three figures who have significant exchanges with Odysseus, Elpenor, Tiresias, and Antikleia, are echoed by Agamemnon, Achilles, and Ajax; then comes the catalogue of heroines, mirrored by the catalogue of male figures from myth. This kind of structural interpretation can also be applied to the last scenes of the poem, after the reunion of Odysseus and Penelope, which also show a marked fall-off in dramatic intensity and were also found unsatisfactory by Aristarchus. We might account for the second underworld scene (24.1-240) by noting that, though quite dreary, it corresponds to the katabasis and rounds off the story of the suitors, while the remainder of the book tidies up loose ends with Laertes and the families of the suitors.
In both Book Eleven and Book Twenty-Four, the falling-off of dramatic tension has been a let-down for many, with the structural patterns seeming inadequate compensation for the lowered energy. But this kind of arc is not in fact unusual in Greek literature, where often a story will reach a dramatic climax some distance from the end of the work, with the remaining scenes devoted to realizing the implications of that climax. The death of Hector is followed in the Iliad by the funeral games for Patroclus and the ransoming of Hector; Oedipus’ shattering realization in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus comes well before the play’s end, leaving the survivors to cope with the wreckage. All that being said, it is hard to see how this last part of the katabasis addresses the implications of encounters with the Iliadic warriors, the dramatic high point of the Book.
Herakles, the last of the parade of heroes, makes an impressive entrance at the end of Book Eleven:
ἀμφὶ δέ μιν κλαγγὴ νεκύων ἦν οἰωνῶν ὥς,
πάντοσ᾽ ἀτυζομένων: ὁ δ᾽ ἐρεμνῇ νυκτὶ ἐοικώς,
γυμνὸν τόξον ἔχων καὶ ἐπὶ νευρῆφιν ὀιστόν,
δεινὸν παπταίνων, αἰεὶ βαλέοντι ἐοικώς.
σμερδαλέος δέ οἱ ἀμφὶ περὶ στήθεσσιν ἀορτὴρ
χρύσεος ἦν τελαμών, ἵνα θέσκελα ἔργα τέτυκτο,
ἄρκτοι τ᾽ ἀγρότεροί τε σύες χαροποί τε λέοντες,
ὑσμῖναί τε μάχαι τε φόνοι τ᾽ ἀνδροκτασίαι τε.
Around him was a clamor of the dead, like birds,
scattering, frightened, and he came on like black night,
holding a bare bow, an arrow notched in the string,
glaring dreadfully, always ready to strike.
A terrible belt crossed his chest, a golden
baldric, where marvelous works of art were figured,
bears and fierce boars and lions with eyes that glared,
and battles and quarrels, murders and slaughter.
Odyssey 11.605–612
Here is a compelling spirit Odysseus would surely want to follow and question. But he is not interested:
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν αὐτοῦ μένον ἔμπεδον, εἴ τις ἔτ᾽ ἔλθοι
ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων, οἳ δὴ τὸ πρόσθεν ὄλοντο.
But I remained there, in case any other of the
heroes would come, who were killed before.
Odyssey 11.628–629
The inertia that kept him from following Ajax seems to have grown. There he at least questioned the great warrior. The repeated rhythm of the two encounters, each ending with Odysseus turning away from a famous hero, brings the katabasis to an end in a fitting way. Typically for him, restless curiosity pushes him onward. Perhaps this conclusion also reflects the poet’s own restlessness?
Further Reading
Clay, J. 1983. The Wrath of Athena: Gods and Men in the Odyssey, 94–96. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Heubeck, A. and Hoekstra, A. ed. 1989. A Commentary on Homer’s Odyssey, vol. II, Books IX–XVI, 110-114. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Morrison, J. 2003. A Companion to Homer’s Odyssey, 109–110. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Thalman, W. 1992. The Odyssey: an epic of return, 73–75. New York: Twayne Publishers.
Tracy, S. 1990. The Story of the Odyssey, 72–73. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
569 νέκυσσιν: dative of interest.
570 οἱ: relative pronoun. The antecedent is νεκύσσιν.
570 μιν ἀμφὶ: ἀμφί can follow its object without change of accent (anastrophe).
570 δίκας εἴροντο ἄνακτα: “were asking the lord about judgements.” Imperfect, > εἴρομαι. The verb can take a double accusative of person questioned and thing inquired about (Smyth 1628).
571 ἑσταότες: perfect active participle masculine plural, >ἵστημι.
571 κατ᾽ … δῶ: “throughout the … house.”
572 τὸν δὲ μέτ᾽: “after him,” anastrophe.
573 ὁμοῦ εἰλεῦντα: “corralling” (literally, “shutting in together”).
577 ἐν δαπέδῳ: “on the ground.”
577 ἐπ᾽ ἐννέα κεῖτο πέλεθρα: “he was lying up to nine pelethra” (i.e., he was 900 feet long). κεῖτο, imperfect, unaugmented.
578 γῦπε … παρημένω: duals.
578 ἔκειρον: “tore off bits of.”
579 ἔσω: “into ...,” with δέρτρον.
580 Λητὼ: accusative.
580 ἕλκησε: “abducted," "assaulted." The root meaning of the word is "to drag," but also can have connotations of violence.
581 Πυθώδ᾽: "to Delphi." The Pytho is the priestess of Apollo at Delphi.
581 καλλιχόρου Πανοπῆος: Pausanias (10.4.3) has an explanation of why Panopeus is said to have "beautiful dancing floors." Panopeus was the home of Tityos (Strabo 9.3.14), who attempted to rape Leto and was killed by her children Apollo and Artemis.
583 ἡ: the pool (or the water of the pool).
583 προσέπλαζε: takes a dative.
584 στεῦτο: “he was making an effort.”
584 πιέειν: aorist infinitive of purpose, > πίνω.
584 οὐκ εἶχεν ἑλέσθαι: “he was unable to get hold of it (the water).”
585 ὁσσάκι: ὁσάκις, introducing a general temporal clause.
585 κύψει(ε): optative in a general temporal clause (> κύπτω).
586 τοσσάχ᾽: τοσάκις, correlative with ὁσσάκι.
586 ἀπολέσκετ᾽: “was lost,” “slipped away,” > ἀπόλλυμι.
586 ἀναβροχέν: aorist passive participle, modifying ὕδωρ.
588 κατὰ … χέε: “dropped down,” “bent down,” tmesis. The singular verb has the neuter plural subject δένδρεα.
588 κρῆθεν: the trees dropped fruit “from their tops” (LSJ κράς II).
591 τῶν: “them” (i.e., the fruits), partitive genitive with a verb of touching (Smyth 1345).
591 ἰθύσει᾽: ἰθύσειε, “reached,” aorist optative in a general temporal clause.
591 μάσασθαι: infinitive of purpose.
592 ῥίπτασκε: “would fling,” iterative imperfect, unaugmented.
592 ποτὶ: = πρὸς
594 πελώριον: “huge.”
594 ἀμφοτέρῃσιν: supply χερσί, dative of means.
595 χερσίν τε ποσίν τε: datives of means.
596 ποτὶ λόφον: “toward the top of the hill.”
596 ὅτε μέλλοι: general temporal clause with optative in secondary sequence.
597 ὑπερβαλέειν: “to push it over.”
597 ἀποστρέψασκε: iterative imperfect.
598 κυλίνδετο: imperfect, unaugmented.
599 ὤσασκε: iterative aorist, > ὠθέω.
599 κατὰ … ἔρρεεν: “poured down,” tmesis, > καταρρέω.
vocabulary
τοι: let me tell you, surely
Μίνως –ω ὁ: Minos
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus
ἀγλαός –ή –όν: splendid, shining, bright
χρύσεος –η –ον: golden, gold-inlaid
σκῆπτρον –ου τό: a staff
θεμιστεύω θεμιστεύσω ἐθεμίστευσα: to render justice; to govern, command (+ gen.)
νέκυς –υος τό: dead body, corpse
ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit 570
μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself
ἄναξ –ακτος ὁ: ruler, lord
ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit
εὐρυπυλής –ές: with broad gates
Ἀΐδης –ου ὁ: Hades
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
Ὠρίων –ωνος ὁ: Orīon, the mighty hunter, beloved of Eos
πελώριος –ον: gigantic, colossal, prodigious, monstrous
εἰσνοέω εἰσνοήσω εἰσενόησα εἰσνενόηκα εἰσνενόημαι εἰσενοήθην: to perceive, remark
θήρ θηρός ὁ: wild animal
ὁμοῦ: together, at the same place or time
εἴλω εἰλήσω εἴλησα ––– εἴλημαι εἰλήθην: to roll up, pack, shut in, corral
ἀσφόδελος –η –ον: asphodel, filled with asphodels
λειμών –ῶνος ὁ: grassland, meadow, field
καταφένω ––– κατέπεφνον: to kill, slay
οἰοπόλος –ον: traversed by sheep
ῥόπαλον –ου τό: a club, cudgel 575
παγχάλκεος –ον: all-brazen, all-brass
ἀαγής –ές: unbroken, not to be broken, hard, strong
Τιτυός –οῦ ὁ: Tityus, a giant, the son of Gaea, punished in Hades
Γαίη –ης ἡ: Gaia
ἐρικυδής –ές: very famous, glorious, splendid
δάπεδον –ου τό: surface, pavement, floor
πλέθριον or πέλεθρον –ου τό: wrestling-ground
γύψ γυπός ὁ: a vulture
μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself
ἑκάτερθε: on each side, on either hand
πάρημαι (properly perf. pass. of παρίζω): to be seated beside
ἧπαρ –ατος τό: the liver
κείρω κερῶ ἔκειρα κέκαρκα κέκαρμαι ἐκέρθην: to cut
δέρτρον –ου τό: intestines, bowels
εἴσω (or ἔσω): in, into, inside
δὐω δύσω έδυσα/ἔδυν δέδυκα δέδυμαι εδύθην: plunge in, go into, sink
ἀπαμύνω ἀπαμυνῶ ἀπήμυνα: to keep off, ward off
Λητώ –οῦς ἡ: Leto (Latona), mother of Apollo and Artemis 580
ἑλκέω ἑλκήσω ἥλκωσα: to carry off, abduct
κυδρός –ά –όν: glorious, illustrious, noble
παράκοιτις –ιος ἡ: a wife, spouse
Πυθώδε: to Pytho
καλλίχορος –ον: with beautiful places
Πανοπεύς –έως ὁ: Panopeus, a city in Phocis
μήν: verily, truly, then
Τάνταλος –ου ὁ: Tantalus, son of Zeus, and father of Pelops, a king of Sipylus, who revealed the secrets of the gods, and was punished in Hades
εἰσοράω εἰσόψομαι εἰσεῖδον εἰσεόρακα/εἰσεώρακα/εἰσόπωπα εἰσεόραμαι/εἰσεώραμαι/εἰσῶμμαι εἰσώφθην: to look into, look upon, view, behold
κρατερός –ά –όν: strong, powerful, mighty
ἄλγος –ους τό: pain
λίμνη (λίμνα) –ης ἡ: pool, swamp
προσπλάζω – – – – –: to come near, approach
γένειον –ου τό: chin
στεῦμαι – – – – –: to press forward
διψάω διψήσω ἐδίψησα δεδίψηκα: to be thirsty
ὁσάκις: as many times as, as often as 585
κύπτω κύψω ἔκυψα κέκυφα: to bend forward, stoop down
γέρων –οντος ὁ: old man
μενεαίνω – – – – –: to desire earnestly
τοσάκις: so many times, so often
ἀναβρόχω ἀναβρόξω ἀνέβροξα: to gulp back
γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district
μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure
καταζαίνω καταζανῶ κατήζηνα: to dry up
δένδρον –ου τό: tree
ὑψιπέτηλος –ον: with high foliage, towering
κράς –ατός τό: head, top, highest point
χέω χέω ἔχεα or ἔχευα κέχυκα κέχυμαι ἐχύθην: to pour, shed
καρπός –οῦ ὁ: fruit (of the earth), produce
ὄγχνη –ης ἡ: a pear-tree
ῥοιά –ᾶς ἡ: pomegranate; pomegranate tree (see ῥόα)
μηλέα –ας ἡ: an apple-tree
ἀγλαόκαρπος –ον: bearing beautiful
συκῆ –ῆς ἡ: fig tree 590
γλυκύς γλυκεῖα γλυκύ: sweet, pleasant
ἐλαία –ας ἡ: the olive-tree
τηλεθάω – – – – –: (in the pres. partic.) blooming, flourishing
ὁπότε: when
ἰθύω ἰθύσω ἴθυσα: to reach, go straight, press right on
γέρων –οντος ὁ: old man
μάσσω μάξω ἔμαξα μέμαχα μέμαγμαι ἐμάχθην: to handle, touch
ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind
ῥίπτω ῥίζψω ἔρριψα ἔρριμμαι ἐρρίφθην: to throw, cast, hurl
νέφος –ους τό: a cloud
σκιόεις –εσσα –εν: shady, shadowy
μήν: verily, truly, then
Σίσυφος –ου ὁ: Sisyphus, son of Aeolus, father of Glaucus, and founder of Ephyra (Corinth), renowned for craft and wiles
εἰσοράω εἰσόψομαι εἰσεῖδον εἰσεόρακα/εἰσεώρακα/εἰσόπωπα εἰσεόραμαι/εἰσεώραμαι/εἰσῶμμαι εἰσώφθην: to look into, look upon, view, behold
κρατερός –ά –όν: strong, powerful, mighty
ἄλγος –ους τό: pain
λᾶας –ου ὁ: stone
βαστάζω βαστάσω ἐβάστασα ––– ––– –––: to lift, lift up, raise
πελώριος –ον: gigantic, colossal, prodigious, monstrous
τοι: let me tell you, surely 595
σκηρίπτομαι – – – – –: to support oneself
ἀνύω or ἄνω ἀνύσω ἤνυσα ἤνυκα ἤνυσμαι ἠνύσθην: to accomplish, finish
ὠθέω ὤσω ἔωσα (or ὦσα) ἔωκα ἔωσμαι ἐώσθην: to thrust, push, shove, force onwards
λόφος –ου ὁ: crest, summit
ἄκρον –ου τό: summit, peak, point
ὑπερβάλλω ὑπερβαλῶ ὑπειρέβαλον ὑπερβέβληκα ὑπερβέβλημαι ὑπερεβλήθην: to push over
ἀποστρέφω ἀποστρέψομαι ἀπεστρέψα ἀπέστροφα ἀπέστραμμαι ἀπεστράφην: to turn back, roll back
κραταιίς –ίδος ἡ: mighty force
αὖθις: again, in turn
πέδονδε: to the ground, earthwards
κυλίνδω ἐκύλισα κεκύλισμαι ἐκυλίσθην: to roll, roll along; to wallow
ἀναιδής –ές: shameless
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
ἄψ: back
ὠθέω ὤσω ἔωσα (or ὦσα) ἔωκα ἔωσμαι ἐώσθην: to thrust, push, shove, force onwards
τιταίνω – – – – –: to stretch; to set out
ἱδρώς –ῶτος ὁ/ἡ: sweat
ῥέω ῥυήσομαι ––– ἐρρύηκα ––– ἐρρύην: to flow, run, stream 600
μέλος –ους τό: a limb
κονία –ας ἡ: dust, a cloud of dust
κράς –ατός τό: head, top, highest point
ὄρνυμι ὄρσω ὦρσα ὄρωρα ὀρώρεμαι –––: to stir up, move; (mid.) to rise, get up