The Odyssey Book 6

{part one: scenes and characters}
Book 6 begins with Athena going into Princess Nausicaa's dream. In the dream, Athena is disguised as the princess' friend, and she convinces her to go to the river the next day to wash her clothes so that she will look more presentable to the men who are courting her. Athena tells Nausicaa, "You won't stay unwed long. The noblest men in the country court you now, all Phaeacians just like you, Phaeacia-born and raised" (169). Athena's reasoning behind influencing the princess to go down to the river was because she needed someone to find Odysseus, who had just recently washed up on the shore of Phaeacia. At first I was confused as to why, of all the people in Phaeacia, Athena would pick the princess to discover Odysseus. She could have easily gone to some townsman, appeared in his dream, and sent him to the river bank. But then i realized, Athena wanted someone who could give the castaway king the luxury he deserved. If Odysseus were to get help from the princess, then he would get the better accommodations than if he were found/helped by an ordinary townsman. So, the next day Nausicaa is with her hand-maids when she finds Odysseus. Her first instinct is to run away from the strange (naked) man. But, something keeps her from running. It was Athena who made her courageous enough to stay and hear Odysseus out. In this scene, we the readers really see the toll the actions of the gods has taken on this man. He survived years of war, and when he finally is able to go home to his loved ones, he is not able to because of an angry god. He lost his entire crew and was kept against his will on an island for another couple of years. So, when he came upon the young princess, the only thing he wishes for is, "compassion- princess, please!" (174). Of course the princess helps Odysseus, for she sees that he is deserving of whatever kindness she can offer him.
                 <guiding question one> When the princess agrees to help Odysseus, she says to him, "it's Olympian Zeus himself who hands our fortunes out, to each of us in turn, to the good and bad, however Zeus prefers... He gave you pain, it seems. You simply have to bear it" (174). This quote made me think about what Odysseus thinks of the gods, because apparently the Greeks are aware and accepting of the fact that these are not loving gods. It seems that everyone in Ancient Greece believed in the gods and were always wary of doing anything that would disrespect them, but what about Odysseus? He has endured trial after trial from the gods, so why would he care about respecting them? Do you think that, when Odysseus finally makes it back to Ithaca, he will continue to have unwavering faith in the gods? Or, will he be too badly scarred by what they did to him and turn away from them completely?


{part two: illuminate the text}
LITERARY DEVICES:
     Imagery: When Odysseus is left alone to bathe and get dressed, it is described that Athena uses her powers to make him look more appealing to the young girls' eyes. Athena made the king appear taller than he previously was, made him look more muscular, made his hair look thick and healthy, and finally, she "lavished splendor" on him. I'm not sure what splendor is exactly, but from the text I can guess that is it sort of this god-like glow. When the girls saw him after his transformation, Nausicaa said, "at first he seemed appalling, i must say- now he seems like a god who rules the skies up there! Ah, if only a man like that were called my husband, lived right here, pleased to stay forever..." (176).
     Irony: I might be looking too far into this, but I thought it was a little bit ironic when Princess Nausicaa left Odysseus in the grove while she went into town. I thought this because, here is Odysseus who was an exile being help captive by Calypso. While he was with the goddess, he was virtually alone. But, he was able to seek freedom, and the first people who come to help him have to hide him from the town, making him an exile once again. I know that they are just doing this because it would be easier on everyone to escape the questions from the townspeople, but it did seem a little ironic to me that they had to keep Odysseus a secret.
TRANSLATOR NOTES:
Due to the fact that book six is relatively short when compared to the other books we have already read, there was not a lot in the translator's notes section. But, one thing did stick out to me. When Odysseus said, "Should he fling his arms around her knees, the young beauty, plead for help" (173) I was a little confused. Why would he want to throw his arms around her knees? According to the translator's notes, though, this was the position of the suppliant (beggar, beseecher). This gesture was supposed to convey the helplessness and dependence of the person kneeling on the ground. So, when Odysseus considered doing this, it was because he wanted to show the princess that he was in desperate need of help and that he could not do anything without her assistance.
EPIC MACHINERY:
    epithets: Princess Nausicaa's hand maids are referred to frequently as "girls with lovely braids", which made me think of the previous book. In book five, the goddess Calypso was always described as having lovely braids. So, maybe because the girls are now being defined the same way, it is supposed to convey that the girls are so pretty, they can be compared to gods. Another thing I noticed about epithets in this book was a change in how a new morning was described. It was previously described (many times) as, "When young Dawn with her rose-red fingers shone once more", but in this book it said, "Dawn soon rose on her splendid throne" (170). A change in how something is being described (something that has been described the same way for most of the book) could mean a significant change in events. Maybe the change was supposed to show Odysseus' change in luck because he was found later that day.
       <guiding question two> Why do you think it was necessary that Athena alter Odysseus' appearance so that he seemed more attractive to the girls? Was to help him advance in his journey in anyway by alter perceptions of him? Or was it just because Athena thought he deserved to look like himself when meeting the royal family of Phaeacia, especially after all he had been through?


{part three: making connections}
 THEMES: The themes of book 6 are generosity and trust. When Odysseus stumbled upon the girls, he thought for sure he would scare them away. For he was a large, battered man covered in brine from the sea and completely naked. He would have scared all of them away if it were not for some help from Athena. The maids all scattered from the sight of him, but Nausicaa had god-given strength, so she stayed and heard his story. She showed a great amount of trust when she decided to help him. For all she knew, he could have been a crazy person who made up the whole story to get closer to her. She also showed generosity when she said, "seeing you've reached our city and our land, you'll never lack for clothing or any other gift" (174).
CONNECTIONS: One thing I thought of when thinking of the themes of generosity and trust was the movie The Blind Side. It is based on a true story and it is about when a wealthy family takes in an underprivileged kid. They give him a place to stay without ever really knowing anything about him. It works out for the best because, in the end, the parents adopt him and he becomes an official part of the family.
         <guiding question> If you were to come up on a person who, like Odysseus, looked like they were in some trouble and could use help, what would you do? Would you run away because they might be a threat? Would you offer your house as a place to stay? Or, would you find some middle ground?