Summary Of Erich Auerbach's Odysseus Scar

In the first chapter of Erich Auerbach’s novel Mimesis titled Odysseus’ Scar, the stylistic properties of the Old Testament and Homer’s The Odyssey are contrasted to show the two foundational styles for ancient epic literature. Auerbach starts the chapter with an analysis of Homer’s use of digression with in book 19 of The Odyssey, when Odysseus’s true identity is discovered by Euryclea, to alleviate suspense within the book. He goes on to discuss how the comparison of the Homeric style with the “equally ancient and equally epic style” (7) of the tale of the sacrifice of Isaac in the old testament demonstrates “the genius of the Homeric style” (7). Auerbach then goes on to discuss how the Bible and Homeric representation of Gods differ in that

The appearance of stability of the Greek patriarchy is seen to be much greater than that of the Biblical nature because the jobs of the classes and sexes are clearly defined within Greek life where the variance in the lives Biblical tribes, due to their nomadic nature, sometimes masks the patriarchy within their society. The realistic depiction of the Greek daily life, while still far removed, is contrasted against the Old testament stories, which lack the peace of daily life. The final comparison between the two texts is how their styles represent the two basic types of ancient epics with the Homeric style being fully externalized, “displaying unmistakable meanings” (23), while the Old Testament has sayings with many meanings that require interpretation. The text finishes by stating that since the Homeric and Old Testament styles are starting points for the analysis, we cannot consider anything that pertains to their