Dec 28, 2009

The Odyssey | Topics for Further Study

In the "lying speech" to his wife in Book 19, Odysseus says to Penelope (speaking of himself in the third person):"Odysseus would have been home long ago, but he felt in his spirit that it would be better to go all about the world collecting possessions." Consider carefully Odysseus's character, as portrayed by Homer in the poem so far. Do you think he was motivated only by greed? Why or why not? The Greek word chremata, which can be translated as "possessions," can...