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Book XXIV In Homer's Odyssey

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Many have argued that the ending of Homer’s Odyssey does not in fact end with book XXIV, but rather, Homer originally ends in book XXIII when Odysseus and Penelope go to bed together. Those who believe this statement say that the rest of book XXIII and book XXIV were later added by someone other than Homer. The notion that the book ends before the end of book XXIV is completely preposterous. First, book XXIV is where Larities is reunited with his son, Odysseus. This reunion is something that the reader needs to see happen to tie up that loose end. Odysseus is reunited with Telemachus and Penelope and Odysseus knows what happens with his mother, so Odysseus must also meet his father again. Additionally, in Book XXIV, is where the parents of
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After Telemachus and his father share a reunion, he leads his father to his house. Upon arrival, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar and finds that the house has been taken over by sires trying to court his wife as a result of his actions. After completing Athena’s task, Odysseus reveals himself to his wife. However, Odysseus finds it very difficult to convince his wife that he has truly come back. When Odysseus reveals something no one else knows, Penelope runs to him and throws her arms around him.

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The pathos and ethos of cultures is often discernable in literary narratives as expressions of the sentiment of approval or disapproval. Thus, the impact of literary narratives on cultures cannot be understated; the arts do impact and influence culture in both positive and negative ways. This is not a new phenomenon and can be observed in cultures as early as 6 Century B.C. and can be traced throughout human history. An example of this can be seen in Homer’s Odyssey, in which there are certain characters within the narrative that portray what is known as “arete.” Arete is viewed as a desirable character trait which some define as the display of perseverance, quick-wittedness, prowess, valor, etc.

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Their father-son relationship is the most important of all throughout the Odysseus and this is proven time and again throughout the entire body of work. Their relationship is not only important to the story itself but to the themes as well. Family is the fundamental principle that not only they have but that the entire family has. Penelope is especially worried for her son as he is not at home and the suitors have planned to kill him on the sea before he can reach home. Xenia has also been passed down to Telemachus even though Odysseus wasn’t there.

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Although they do not necessarily know each other, because of the years they were apart, the undeniably heavy emotion this greeting brought out of both men reveals the gravity of the situation and the strength of a father-son bond. Another important relationship is between Laertes and Odysseus. Odysseus and Laertes reunite after the suitors have been killed. Laertes is extremely happy because he saw his “son and grandson” and they “vie[d] for courage” (Homer 461). Odysseus and Telémachus brought honor back to their family because they displayed their strength and gallantry when they killed the suitors.

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While many would argue that the human species officially embarked on the journey to “conquer” nature at the inception of the Industrial Revolution, with men bending nature to suit their purposes on an unprecedented scale, the seeds of such sentiments to surpass nature with created culture had been planted hundreds of thousands of years ago. With a casual overview of human history, one can see that the idea of bending elements of nature to human will rose as early as hundreds of thousands of years ago, perhaps when homo erectus first started cooking food with fire. The idea of the cultural death, the burning of one’s body to prevent one from being consumed by the elements of nature that occupies a most illustrious position in the Homeric world, can be dated back to roughly 20,000 years ago (Lake Mungo remains), the currently earliest recorded act of cremating the dead. Homer frequently juxtaposes aspects of nature and culture in his work. In the Odyssey, Homer juxtaposes the society of Cyclops with the civilized human society, demonstrating the stark differences between a naturalistic and a cultural society.

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Telemachus learns and appreciates the ways of his father, and so decides to follow the story of Orestes, and kill the suitors to take back his father’s home (3.52). Lastly, in book 4, Telemachus visits Menelaus in Sparta. In this part of the journey, we learn more details of the Trojan War, and also that Odysseus is still alive but captured by Calypso (4.71). Menelaus continues, talking of tales about Odysseus’ bravery and cunningness, educating Telemachus about the heroism is father had, which he believes he should also

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