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9. The Moralities of the Odyssey

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The Greek Concept of Justice
This chapter is in the book The Greek Concept of Justice
9 The Moralities of the Odyssey In the confrontation between Agamemnon and Achilles, the mythos pits a man of rank and power against a man of dynamic personal energy. The collision is not between virtue and vice, right and wrong, and the resultant feud (the eris, or neikos~) is therefore resolvable. Nor is there any discernible moral difference between Achilles and Hector, even though confrontation in their case is not soluble except by the extinction of one party. The Iliad may intend to suggest that the Achaeans have some moral advantage over the Trojans,1 but the listener has difficulty remembering this as the two sides maneuver, negotiate, or do battle. Moral Polarization The Odyssey in this respect is markedly different. The legalities of the poem, described in the previous chapter, prove ineffective precisely because the party of the first part is upright, and the party of the second part is not, and between two such no procedure of adjustment is possi-ble. The characters grouped round the house of Odysseus (aside from traitors), consisting of wife, son, and servants, political supporters, and finally Odysseus himself, are consistently represented or represent them-selves as protesting against wrongs which are inflicted upon them. Their opponents, the suitors, with equal consistency are represented as the 150

9 The Moralities of the Odyssey In the confrontation between Agamemnon and Achilles, the mythos pits a man of rank and power against a man of dynamic personal energy. The collision is not between virtue and vice, right and wrong, and the resultant feud (the eris, or neikos~) is therefore resolvable. Nor is there any discernible moral difference between Achilles and Hector, even though confrontation in their case is not soluble except by the extinction of one party. The Iliad may intend to suggest that the Achaeans have some moral advantage over the Trojans,1 but the listener has difficulty remembering this as the two sides maneuver, negotiate, or do battle. Moral Polarization The Odyssey in this respect is markedly different. The legalities of the poem, described in the previous chapter, prove ineffective precisely because the party of the first part is upright, and the party of the second part is not, and between two such no procedure of adjustment is possi-ble. The characters grouped round the house of Odysseus (aside from traitors), consisting of wife, son, and servants, political supporters, and finally Odysseus himself, are consistently represented or represent them-selves as protesting against wrongs which are inflicted upon them. Their opponents, the suitors, with equal consistency are represented as the 150

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Foreword vii
  3. Contents ix
  4. Prologue 1
  5. 1. From Homer to Plato, The Contours of the Problem 4
  6. 2. The Function of Epic in Preliterate Societies 15
  7. 3. The Psychology of Rhythmic Memorization 38
  8. 4. The Society Reported by Homer 55
  9. 5. Some Elements of the Homeric Fantasy 88
  10. 6. The Method and Manner of Homeric Storage 106
  11. 7. The Justice of the Iliad 123
  12. 8. The Legalities of the Odyssey 139
  13. 9. The Moralities of the Odyssey 150
  14. 10. The Justice of the Odyssey 179
  15. 11. The Justice of Hesiod, An Essay in Detection 193
  16. 12. The Spoken and the Written Word 218
  17. 13. The Early History of the Verb “to Be” 233
  18. 14. The Justice of Solon 249
  19. 15. The Justice of the Pre-Socratics 263
  20. 16. The Justice of Aeschylus 272
  21. 17. The Justice of Herodotus 296
  22. 18. The Justice of Plato 308
  23. 19. A Philosophy of the Written Word 324
  24. Epilogue 335
  25. Notes, Works Cited, Index
  26. Notes 343
  27. Works Cited 367
  28. Index 375
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https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674183513.c11

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Foreword vii
  3. Contents ix
  4. Prologue 1
  5. 1. From Homer to Plato, The Contours of the Problem 4
  6. 2. The Function of Epic in Preliterate Societies 15
  7. 3. The Psychology of Rhythmic Memorization 38
  8. 4. The Society Reported by Homer 55
  9. 5. Some Elements of the Homeric Fantasy 88
  10. 6. The Method and Manner of Homeric Storage 106
  11. 7. The Justice of the Iliad 123
  12. 8. The Legalities of the Odyssey 139
  13. 9. The Moralities of the Odyssey 150
  14. 10. The Justice of the Odyssey 179
  15. 11. The Justice of Hesiod, An Essay in Detection 193
  16. 12. The Spoken and the Written Word 218
  17. 13. The Early History of the Verb “to Be” 233
  18. 14. The Justice of Solon 249
  19. 15. The Justice of the Pre-Socratics 263
  20. 16. The Justice of Aeschylus 272
  21. 17. The Justice of Herodotus 296
  22. 18. The Justice of Plato 308
  23. 19. A Philosophy of the Written Word 324
  24. Epilogue 335
  25. Notes, Works Cited, Index
  26. Notes 343
  27. Works Cited 367
  28. Index 375
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