Ithaka Bound

Forcing Odysseus to Leave Home

I was surprised to learn that one of the main heroes of the Trojan war, and the protagonist of the Odyssey, pulled out every stop in the book to avoid having to leave home and join the fight.

When Helen was abducted by Paris, her husband, Menalaus, asked Helen’s old suitors to help bring her back to Sparta and to make the Trojans pay for their affront.  Odysseus was obligated by an oath to help, but an oracle had prophesied that if Odysseus left home, his journey back would be long-delayed.  To avoid this fate, Odysseus pretended to be insane.  He attached a donkey and an ox to his plow and began to sow his fields with salt.  His ruse was uncovered only when his infant son, Telemachus, was placed in front of the plow and Odysseus veered to avoid hurting him.

Human beings will put themselves through all sorts of ruses to avoid doing what they know they should do.  I’ve certainly done it

I’ve been visiting my family in the midwest for the past few weeks and I noticed that one of my family members was sowing his fields with salt and had a donkey attached to his plow.   So I put a Telemachus in front of him.  And I keep putting a Telemachus in front of him.

It sucks being the person to uncover the ruse and make life difficult for someone you love.  I’d much, much rather be with the others — wondering what the hell Odyssesus was doing but letting him go along on his way.  Maybe I’m too medddlesome but I hate to see a life wasted.

What would have happened, I wonder, if Odyssesus had succeeded in his ruse?  Would he have been just another long-forgotten king of Ithaka?  Would he have secured his place in history through some other adventure or act of bravery?

History has shown that the stories of ancient Greece all have some basis in fact.  What do you suppose really kept Odysseus wandering for ten years after the fall of Troy?  Who were the sirens,  Calypso, and the Cyclops?

All interesting questions, and I hope to be able to answer at least one in my lifetime.  For now, I need to find another Telemachus.

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