Oooh, This Is So Intriguing! 😮 It’s One Of Those “wait A Minute” Moments That Makes You Stop

Oooh, this is so intriguing! 😮 It’s one of those “wait a minute” moments that makes you stop and think while reading.

It really adds to the wild twists and turns of Homer’s narrative! What might seem like a hiccup in reliability could actually be hinting at something deeper and more complex! Your two theories are both compelling and shed a lot of light on the narrative’s depth.

Odysseus assuming his crew’s motives is again such a human reaction (I know I keep saying this but man) especially given everything he’s been through! The way he projects his own assumptions onto his men adds a whole new layer of psychological depth to his story. It’s like his personal turmoil seeps into his retelling.

And the second option, where Odysseus stays semi-conscious due to his constant alertness, paints such a vivid picture of someone on the brink of exhaustion and vigilance. It’s poetic to imagine him in that half-sleep state, catching snippets of his crew’s conversations and being jolted awake by the winds’ release if that makes sense!

I’m leaning toward the second theory too. It fits the tension and fatigue Odysseus is under, and it makes sense that he’d be in a kind of liminal state between sleep and wakefulness. It’s so fitting with the dramatic intensity of his journey!

I bet that scene would be incredible if you wrote it girl, just like all your other pieces! 😍 It’d be fascinating to dive into Odysseus’s internal experience in such a moment through your perspective. Your take on this is brilliant and would totally make for a captivating addition to your stories!

A small "inconsistency" in Homer and my explanation for it (an Analysis based on Rhapsody/Book 10 of Odyssey)

As we know Odysseus's narration of his past misadventures begins at Rhapsody/Book 9 when he reveals himself to his hosts and we already have a wild ride. In Book 10 we have also the misadventure of Aeolus island (see also my other analysis on this) in which Odysseus guards the sack for 9 days and finally in the 10th he is overcome by fatigue and falls asleep, thus giving his men he opportunity to open the sack. However here's an interesting idea while reading the passage:

"And so, all the same, we sailed for 9 nights and 9 days and on the 10th our homeland already came to sight; we could see the fields and the fires kept lit, for we were so close: then sweet sleep came over me and I fell asleep, for I was all the time at the stern of the ship, for I couldn't give it (here: the sack of Aeolus or the steer) to my comrades, so we would get to our native land faster. However my comrades began talking to each other and believed I had gold and silver bringing home with me as gifts from Aeolus, the great-hearted son of Hippotas, and they spoke thus while looking at one another:"

(Translation by me)

So...what's wrong here, one might ask? Well, Odysseus claims he fell asleep and THEN his comrades began to talk one another (Odysseus even proceeds to give us a sample of their dialog before they open the bag). So...what happens here? How was Odysseus able to tell what was happening if he was asleep? How could he hear what they were saying if he was asleep?

That seems like an interesting inconsistency on Homer's part and, sure enough rises several questions. So, in my opinion we have two possible explanations for this small "plot hole":

Odysseus either lies or asumes on the reason his comrades opened the bag

Odysseus was exhausted and asleep and wakes up in his terror when the winds are released from the sack. He has no idea why his men opened it in the first place which is why when he has to narrate his story to the Phaeacaeans, he has to come up with a reason why they did it and why they denied his authority or why they would get tempted in the first place. The first thing that comes to his mind is curiosity and greed. Seems a possible motive for him so he ASSUMES his men were believing he had gold and silver thus opening the bag to see. He even adds a piece of dialog he ASSUMES they spoke to each other so he might as well lie that he heard them with his own ears but rather he is adding the words to their mouths based on what he wholeheartedly believes happened while he was asleep.

He was always on his guard even after falling asleep from fatigue

The second explanation is that Odysseus was always on his guard; sleeping with always one eye open. He fell asleep from fatigue but his brain kept fighting off the sleep. Probably he got to close his eyes for a few minutes and truly be out of the world for a little but then the whispers that came to his ears, made him half-awake. He was already on the edge all those days so it would make sense that his brain was still alert and adrenaline-injected even if fatigue overcame him for a little. So his men are the ones to ASSUME he is asleep totally so they begin to talk. Perhaps their arguement becomes all the more heated while they believe Odysseus cannot hear. So if Odysseus can hear why not jump off immediately to stop them? I would assume in this scenario he is still half-asleep. He WANTS desperately to wake up but his body is still resisting due to fatigue. He is still dizzy and drowsy but all the more aware. Another possible scenario is that in his drowsy state he thinks he is dreaming. Many times over we believe we are dreaming because we are still between sleep and wake. Odysseus sees from afar a blury image of his men talking and holding the bag but his brain is still trying to wake up and he truly does only when the winds are released from it!

My thoughts:

I believe anyone can pick any of these that suit them best. Both seem equally plausible to my mind. If I were to pick which one I would lean more to (but not completely rejecting the first either) that would be the second.

Odysseus did comment on his companions many times in the poem, including their "bad thoughts" but he doesn't name them "greedy" before (at least not to that extend). He names them careless or unthoughtful but not straight out greedy. Of course he could also be self-projecting since he also is naturally curious but to say that his men would try to rob him in his sleep because they thought he wasn't sharing with them, somehow seems farfetched to assume without the slightest bit of evidence if he truly was out of the world asleep.

However given the state he was in before he fell asleep, himself coming in and out of sleep because of his adrenaline overdose, his worry and his guard being constantly up somehow makes sense. I could imagine while he was totally asleep, his men removed him from the steer and took the bag off him. At that point Odysseus probably didn't understand a thing. However I imagine him slowly waking up, feeling at his side where the bag USED TO BE and still his mind trying to comprehend what's happening. His ears get some distant voices and he tries to force himself to wake up to see more but he cannot. Only to jump fully awake in terrible realization.

I would surely take the dialog he gives to the Phaeacaeans with a small pinch of salt because even if I do support the second scenario more, I would assume Odysseus wouldn't be able to distinguish with undoubtful precision all the words they spoke to each other but he definitely caught the core of them so he fills in the gaps based on what he believes on them.

But what do you guys think? Let me know in the comments and reblogs! ^_^ (also am thinking of writing this scene in the future. Shall I?)