Homer's classic 'The Odyssey' is translated by E.V. Rieu a scholar of Balliol College, Oxford. Odysseus, was the King of Ithaca, an island located in the west of continental Greece. For the ones, who have watched the commercial ‘Troy’ they would be able to recollect him as the one who fights alongside King Agamemnon on the shores of Troy. Perhaps he is the one who patches up King Agamemnon and the great Achilles the war hero of Iliad.
Troy is much of Wolfgang Petersen's (director) exaggeration of the Greek mythology. And the plot has too many incorrect facts. ‘The Odyssey’ is Homer’s after work of Iliad. After dethroning the Trojans the mighty Greek Army led by King Agamemnon returns home with lot of booty and treasures. After a ten year siege in Troy, Odysseus is cursed by the sea god Poseidon and he has to confront ship wrecks, battles and monsters which leads him wandering the seas for another ten years before returning home. “I long to reach my home and see the day of my return. It is my never-failing wish.”
Odysseus faces the wrath of Poseidon for blinding Cyclops, the sea god’s son. While Odysseus encounters endless pain in the sea, his son is at the mercy of the greedy suitors who are ready to dethrone him and marry Penelope in his absence to become the king of Ithaca. Although Penelope hasn’t given up the hope of meeting her husband again, she is pressurized by the suitors to marry the one who offers her the maximum gifts and money. Meanwhile they feast on the livestock of Odysseus.
Penelope devises various strategies to delay her suitors, one of which is to pretend to be weaving a burial shroud for Odysseus father Laertes & claiming she will choose a suitor when she has finished. Every night for three years she undoes the part of the shroud, until one of her unfaithful maid reveals the same to the suitors. The epic tale requires lot of patience from the readers like Odysseus in the seas waiting to get back home. The plot grips up lot of attention and interest on the return of Odysseus to Ithaca. From thereon he deceives the suitors with his beggarly look to get in to the palace. And plans for the ambush of the suitors alongside his son Telemachus and couple of his loyal servants. Meanwhile Penelope announces to the suitors that whoever can string Odysseus bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe heads can have her hand.
Odysseus asks for a chance to string the bow & reveals to attack the suitors. At once they are shocked to see the return of Odysseus as he goes on to slaughter the suitors one by one and marks his return to Ithaca after 20 long years. The classic tale is a pleasing read and E.V. Rieu translation needs a hearty praise. In the first half, there was too much of drag as Odysseus meets obstacles one after one. He loses his crew, ship and is confronted by natural and supernatural forces forged by the gods. Narration of the tale was bit vague. There is no usage of poetic phrases, articulations, metaphors or idioms to describe either the bravery of Odysseus or the beauty of Penelope. I was left dry and wry like a lizard in the desert. Yet there isn’t any exaggeration to admit it as one of world’s most vital tales as quoted by Malcolm Bradbury.
The commercial ‘Troy’ starts with a narration which goes like, “Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity, and so they ask themselves, will our actions echo across centuries, will strangers hear our names long after we are gone and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved?”
If this was the principle behind yesteryear wars and battles, to carve a name for themselves in history and expecting centuries to speak about their braveness and heroism, well some did achieve it. Odysseus victory in Troy along with his allies is a testimony to that. But his war never ended there, as he had to struggle for ten long years before reaching home. And at this point, it was not just bravery and cunningness that mattered. As quoted by Leo Tolstoy the two most powerful warriors is patience and time. And Odysseus was a warrior who was bounded by both the incredible virtues.
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