The Moral Odyssey of Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus - Some Personal Thoughts on "The Odyssey" by Homer

Stephen Alexander Beach 

Is Odysseus a Model King? 

This is a complicated question. He is certainly a Greek hero of the first tier, but that does not necessarily mean that he is perfect or a saint, like the model king described by Penelope in Book 19, "Fame like a flawless king's who dreads the gods, who governs a kingdom vast, proud and strong - who upholds justice, true, and the black earth bears wheat and barley, trees bow down with fruit and the sheep drop lambs and never fail and the sea teems with fish - thanks to his decent, upright rule, and under his sovereign sway the people flourish.". At the same time, though, I think much could be said on behalf of Odysseus as a great king. Penelope, surely, can be considered an unwavering figure in the Odyssey, as she remains faithful and loyal all those years through her deep suffering. She is certainly the model queen. As stated, Odysseus is not necessary a perfect character, and so let's examine both sides of this consideration. 

The Good 

The story makes clear that even as a young king Odysseus was a wise ruler and was like a father to his people, as a good king should be. As evidence of this, look at how Eumaeus, the pig herder, Philoteus, the cow herder, and his old house maids speak of him while he is gone. They express a deep gratitude for Odysseus taking them in, whatever their situation, and treating them like family, giving them many gifts and allowing them a decent life. And for this they have a deep unwavering loyalty and love for him. They pray that he return to them and reestablish his house. Likewise, there are several times during his travels where Odysseus could be a greedy or selfish leader to his men, but he consciously chooses to make sure that each man receives the proper bounty, loot, and food from their spoils and victories. Thirdly, Odysseus surely embodies the qualities of intelligence and physical prowess that a good king would need to manage all the intricacies of a kingdom, there is no doubt on this issue. 

The Bad

But then there are some of the negative sides of Odysseus that show themselves at points. First, it seems that he has a certain type of addiction to the rush of getting his men into hairy situations and then getting them out of them with his cunning mind. This often, though, ends in his crew members being killed. And so there is certain amount of disbelief that must be present with his crew when he keeps getting them into unnecessary trouble, such as going to Polyphemus' cave to "check it out". It comes along with a certain type of negative curiosity which can lead to harm and death. 

With this, it is also clear that Odysseus can come up with convincing lies at the drop of a hat. Whether that is telling a fake cover story to a stranger when it is needed to cover his identity, to manipulating people like pawns in a real life chess game. While this could be viewed by some as either good or bad, certainly it does not always turn out well and does not model the ideal king. Thirdly, he is not faithful to Penelope. While his heart is always with her and faithful to her, his body is not. With both Calypso and Circe, after he gets them to swear an oath not to trick him and to let him get home back to Penelope, he seemingly unforcedly "mounts their bed".  And so it is clear that Odysseus, while being one of the greatest Greek heroes, is not perfect and has his flaws which go into the consequences and pain that he suffers to a degree. 

The Repentant 

When Odysseus comes home as the beggar and has to test out everything in his palace, there is a certain sense where Odysseus begins to admit to the faults. Maybe it is because he sees how his actions have resulted in the complete degradation of his home and the pain it has caused to those that he loves. His mother, after all, passed away from grief over him. His wife and son are being held captive by these island boys, and his home and wealth are being eaten up. And so as the beggar he open says that he could have been home sooner had he not wanted to come home with wealth and treasure, thus staying out traveling the world obtaining it. Likewise, in the false cover story which he makes up as the beggar there is a type of confession to him indulging in violence, something which gets his men and family destroyed. Likewise, after he and Penelope are reunited, he confesses everything to Penelope in their bed, the good, bad, and the ugly. 

Conclusion

And so, just as we are given a bit of backstory to Odysseus' family lineage being known for their gifts of cunning and trickery, so it is a double edged sword, as his name implies, the "son of pain." His craftiness will not only bring him success in life, but it will also breed faults which will cause him pain and suffering just the same. 

The Odyssey of Penelope and Telemachus

Now, just as Odysseus seems to have gone on a moral journey as a person, described above, it is also trye that Penelope, and Telemachus all go through their own Odyssey in the story before it is resolved for them. Telemachus' transformation is very clear in the poem, as he is presented as a young man without a father growing and unsure of how to be a man and stand up the suitors who are plaguing him. Athena helps with that and sending him to Pylos and Argos to seek out his father, and avoiding the plots of death against him, he returns with his father a transformed boy into a man, helping to then strike down the suitors to death. 

Less obvious is the journey that Penelope goes on. She has to traverse the twenty years of being alone and not knowing what happened to her husband, the endless pursuit of the suitors, and the social pressures of the time. At the end of the poem she gives an analogy of being on a boat which is destroyed at sea and in finally receiving her husband home she is like seeing shore again and being saved. This, of course, is a play at describing her, Penelope, as the one who had been lost on a journey and finally coming home.