S1: Welcome to the Hillsdale College Online Courses podcast. I'm Jeremiah
S1: Regan and.
S2: I'm Juan Davalos. We're back with the Odyssey lecture number six, Circe.
S1: This is an interesting one. And before we started recording,
S1: we were debating what's the most important theme of this
S1: book and therefore this lecture. What's your position?
S2: Yeah. I was thinking that the idea of leadership, we
S2: have Odysseus distrusting his man and they almost make it
S2: back to Ithaca. They can see the fires coming out
S2: of the island. But because of his distrust of his men,
S2: essentially he falls.
S1: He's exhausted and can't pilot the ship any longer. And
S1: then his men, even though they're right on the border
S1: of home, go. Well, before we get there, we better
S1: get our share of the loot.
S2: Yeah, they distrust him. So there's a distrust going both ways,
S2: and it ends in disaster. So that, to me, gives
S2: you a little bit of a lesson on leadership. As in,
S2: you can't have a team and where the leader distrusts
S2: the team or the team distrusts the leader, it's just
S2: not going to work.
S1: The other major event and the other theme of this
S1: book is the disastrous experience on Cersei's island, where Odysseus
S1: and his men tarry for a year, living like animals.
S1: Aristotle will later write that men are made for more
S1: than the pleasures of grazing and procreation like cattle. Odysseus
S1: and his men live like cattle for a while, and
S1: have to reconcile with that and decide to pull themselves
S1: away from it.
S2: What Homer does in this scene is, first, Cersei turns
S2: them into actual pigs, and then Odysseus actually, you know,
S2: gets her to turn them back into men, but then
S2: they actually turn into pigs and live like pigs for
S2: over a year.
S1: That's right. So we have this great moment of cunning
S1: and excellence from Odysseus. He's also being pious because the
S1: gods have given him advice and he follows it. He
S1: is very assiduous in taking instruction from the gods. But then,
S1: after the apparent danger has passed, they fall into temptation
S1: and lose a year. And maybe this is what's great
S1: about Homer. We don't have to decide whether the leadership
S1: message or the temptation message is more important. They're both great,
S1: and that's the richness that you experience when you read Homer.
S2: And if you're enjoying the course, you should watch it.
S2: I think it's one of the most beautiful sets that
S2: the online courses team has built, has put together. It's
S2: the special effects that go into the lectures are also incredible.
S2: It's just a beautiful course. And when I say that,
S2: I mean not just obviously the message and what we're
S2: learning from it, but it's visually stunning and beautiful and
S2: therefore you should go watch it. Go to hillsdale.edu/course. That's
S2: hillsdale.edu/course and take a look for yourself.
S1: It doesn't hurt that Professor Whalen's a good looking guy.
S1: So let's turn to him for lecture six of the Odyssey. Circe.
S3: In our last lecture, we discussed the first adventures that
S3: Odysseus narrates to King Alcinous and the Phaeacians after he
S3: departed from Troy. This included his visit to the land
S3: of the Lotus Eaters, as well as his encounter with
S3: the Cyclops Polyphemus. In this lecture we will discuss books
S3: ten and the beginning of book 11, as Odysseus continues
S3: his narration of his journey. Now thus far, Odysseus little
S3: fleet of 12 ships has suffered some losses, as they
S3: did in their encounter with the Cicones, but they've remained
S3: largely intact. In the current book, however, in book ten,
S3: Odysseus narrates how he loses almost his entire command. He
S3: suffers catastrophic losses, and we see growing tensions between Odysseus
S3: and his men. This raises several important questions for us
S3: as readers. What do these losses reveal to us about Odysseus?
S3: What do we think of him as a leader? What
S3: do we think of him as a man. What do
S3: we think of him in terms of heroism as a hero? Relatedly,
S3: this raises questions regarding the source or the cause of
S3: Odysseus suffering and of his losses. If we recall, at
S3: the very beginning of the Odyssey, Zeus opened. The first
S3: spoken words of the work are. Zeus complaint that men
S3: blame the gods for sufferings that they bring on themselves. Well,
S3: with the losses and sufferings that we see with Odysseus here,
S3: who's responsible? Is it the gods? Is it chance? Is
S3: it Odysseus? Or is it his men? How responsible is Odysseus?
S3: Here at the beginning of book ten, Odysseus narrates to
S3: us about his coming to the island of the king Aeolus.
S3: He narrates. We reached the Aeolian island, the home of
S3: Aeolus Hippothous son, beloved by the gods who never die.
S3: A great floating island. It was. And round it all
S3: huge ramparts. Rise of indestructible bronze and sheer rock cliffs
S3: shoot up from sea to sky. The king had sired
S3: 12 children within his halls. Six daughters and six sons
S3: in the lusty prime of youth. So he gave his
S3: daughters as wives to his six sons, seated beside their
S3: dear father and doting mother. With delicacies aplenty spread before them,
S3: they feast on forever. All day long the halls breathed
S3: the savour of roasted meats and echo round to the
S3: low moan of blowing pipes. And all night long, each
S3: one by his faithful mate. They sleep under soft piled
S3: rugs on corded bedsteads. This is a strange, otherworldly island
S3: and continues to help support and bolster the sense of
S3: the sort of fairy tale or fable like realm that
S3: Odysseus has entered. We have the sense that the island
S3: here is is free floating. That is, it's not actually
S3: an island sitting on the Earth's crust, but it's floating
S3: around in the Mediterranean. And if it's free floating, that
S3: also means that it can't be navigated to. You couldn't
S3: mark it on a map. We are in unnavigable waters
S3: here in a strange fairy tale like land, and it's
S3: also entirely self-contained. It has these impregnable walls around it,
S3: these sheer cliffs, and then the self-contained nature is also
S3: reflected in the the strange, incestuous marriages of the children
S3: of King Aeolus. Here we've entered a different self-contained fairy
S3: tale like world. Now King Aeolus is hospitable to Odysseus.
S3: He welcomes him and his men. He feasts them, and
S3: then finally he sends them on their way with a
S3: sack containing the four winds, and those winds then drive
S3: Odysseus fleet almost to Ithaca. They come just within sight
S3: of Ithaca. When disaster happens, Odysseus tells us. Nine whole
S3: days we sailed nine nights non-stop. On the 10th our
S3: own land Hove into sight. At last we were so
S3: close we could see men tending fires. But now an
S3: enticing sleep came on me. Bone weary from working the
S3: vessel's sheet myself. No letup. Never trusting the ropes to
S3: any other mate. The faster to journey back to native land.
S3: But the crews began to mutter among themselves. Sure. I
S3: was hauling troves of gold and silver home the gifts
S3: of open hearted Aeolus Hippothous son. The old story. One
S3: man glanced at another, grumbling, look at our captain's luck.
S3: So loved by the world, so prized at every landfall,
S3: every port of call, heaps of lovely plunder. He hauls
S3: home from Troy. While we who went through slogging just
S3: as hard. We go home empty handed. Now this. Aeolus
S3: loads him down with treasure. Favouritism. Friend to friend. Hurry!
S3: Let's see what loot is in that sack. How much
S3: gold and silver. Break it open now! A fatal plan,
S3: but one my shipmates. Over. They loosed the sack and
S3: all the winds burst out. And a sudden squall struck
S3: and swept us back to sea, wailing in tears far
S3: from our own native land. And I woke up with
S3: a start, my spirit churning. Should I leap over the
S3: side and drown at once. Or grit my teeth and
S3: bear it. Stay among the living. I bore it all.
S3: Held firm. Hiding my face, clinging tight to the decks.
S3: It's important in this episode to note that Odysseus and
S3: his fleet got within sight of Ithaca. They were right there.
S3: They have almost accomplished their homecoming, and then they're driven
S3: back all the way to the island of King Aeolus
S3: because of a breakdown in the order and the relationship
S3: between the leader and the men in his command. That is,
S3: Odysseus does not trust his men to man the ship.
S3: And so he. As he describes, he stayed awake for
S3: nine straight days and so finally fell asleep right when
S3: they were in sight of Ithaca. That then gave his
S3: men the opportunity to open the sack and let the
S3: winds escape. Similarly, Odysseus men don't trust him. They don't
S3: know what it is that Odysseus has in the sack.
S3: And they they resent him. They think he's got spoils
S3: that he hasn't shared with them. The discontent and resentment
S3: of Odysseus men here leads them to open this magical
S3: sac that contains the wind that is driving Odysseus and
S3: his fleet to Ithaca. They think that it's full of treasure,
S3: and they want to divvy it up, or at least
S3: inspect it for themselves. And so we see here the
S3: leader not trusting his men and the men not trusting
S3: the leader. And this is an insuperable barrier for their homecoming.
S3: Now the winds drive Odysseus and his fleet back to
S3: King Aeolus island. But Aeolus, when he sees Odysseus returned
S3: after what he had given him, says this is a
S3: sign that the gods must dislike Odysseus, that Odysseus must
S3: be cursed. This is the first sign for Odysseus that
S3: perhaps Polyphemus prayer to Poseidon will bear fruit that. In fact,
S3: perhaps Odysseus is cursed, that the easy trip home is lost,
S3: and that he is going to have to go through
S3: many years and many trials and much suffering before he
S3: can reach home. Now, this dispiriting episode where we see
S3: disorder between Odysseus and his men is immediately followed by
S3: a catastrophe. Odysseus and his fleet of 12 ships sail
S3: to another island, the island of the Laestrygonians. These are
S3: unknown to Odysseus and his men, but it turns out
S3: that they are very violent and hostile giants. Now the
S3: Laestrygonians island is shaped in a way that. There's a
S3: large cove where 11 of Odysseus ships enter and Odysseus,
S3: with his ship, stays outside of that cove. Now when
S3: Odysseus men encounter the Laestrygonians, they are hostile giants, and
S3: they come out and they surround the fleet that's anchored
S3: there in the cove, and they hurl rocks down on it,
S3: and they sink all of the 11 ships there, and
S3: only Odysseus and his ship are able to sail away.
S3: Now the king of the Laestrygonians, his name is Antiphates,
S3: which means anti renown or anti fame. And this is
S3: reflected in this episode where Odysseus nearly loses everything by
S3: encountering anti renown or anti fame. We have to wonder
S3: and we're encouraged by the text. Wonder what renown could
S3: a leader have who loses the men he leads? Homer's
S3: narration here is quite simple and brief. It's very straightforward,
S3: and Odysseus just suddenly loses almost all of the men
S3: in his command. And so we should see this destruction
S3: and loss as related, as a sort of consequence to
S3: the political and military disorder, that the breakdown that occurred
S3: when they had Aeolus winds. We can note here what
S3: seems to be a confluence of the sources of man's suffering.
S3: Both gods and men cause problems and suffering for humankind
S3: and to survive, to get home, to have a successful nostos,
S3: Odysseus must account for both hostility and problems provoked by
S3: the gods, as well as hostility and problems provoked by
S3: even his own men, even his subordinates. That is the
S3: source of suffering, of trials, of difficulties for mankind come
S3: from both the divine and from the human. Now, after
S3: this loss of his fleet, Odysseus and his single remaining
S3: ship come to the island of. Aeaea. This is an
S3: island belonging to Cersei, and her epithet, as Homer gives
S3: it to us as Circe, the nymph with the lovely braids.
S3: It's an island thick with vegetation, and from a distance,
S3: as they are there on the side of the island,
S3: and mourning the loss of the rest of the fleet,
S3: Odysseus sees. Rising from the middle of the island, some
S3: smoke coming up in the midst of this force, and
S3: so he decides to divide his men into two platoons,
S3: and they draw lots to see who will go and
S3: explore and see if if there's a friendly or civilized
S3: people here. Now, as an interesting counterpoint to the episode
S3: with the Cyclops, where Odysseus had led his men into
S3: the cave, here the other platoon gets the draw of
S3: the lots. And so Odysseus sits on his ship and
S3: waits as his other men enter the island and explore
S3: to find the source of the smoke. Odysseus tells us.
S3: Deep in the wooded glens, they came on Cersei's palace,
S3: built of dressed stone on a cleared rise of land,
S3: mountain wolves and lions were roaming around the grounds. She'd
S3: bewitched them herself. She gave them magic drugs, but they
S3: wouldn't attack my men. They just came pawing up around them, fawning,
S3: swishing their long tails, eager as hounds that fawn around
S3: their master. Coming home from a feast. Who always brings
S3: back scraps to calm them down. So they came nuzzling
S3: round my men. Lions, wolves with big, powerful claws. And
S3: the men cringed in fear at the sight of those strange,
S3: ferocious beasts. But still they paused at her doors, the
S3: nymph with lovely braids, Cersei. And deep inside they heard
S3: her singing, lifting her spellbinding voice as she glided back
S3: and forth at her great immortal loom, her enchanting web
S3: a shimmering glory only goddesses can weave. Polity's captain of
S3: armies took command. The closest, most devoted man I had friends.
S3: There's someone inside plying a great loom. And how she
S3: sings enthralling. The whole house is echoing to her song
S3: Goddess or woman. Let's call out to her now. So
S3: he urged, and the men called out and hailed her.
S3: She opened her gleaming doors at once and stepped forth,
S3: inviting them all. In and in they went, all innocence.
S3: Only Eurylochus stayed behind. He sensed a trap. She ushered
S3: them in to sit on high backed chairs. Then she
S3: mixed them a potion cheese, barley and pale honey mold
S3: in Pramnian wine and into the brew she stirred her
S3: wicked drugs to wipe from their memories any thought of home.
S3: Once they'd drained the bottles, she filled. Suddenly she struck
S3: with her wand, drove them into her pigsties, all of
S3: them bristling into swine with grunts, snouts, even their bodies. Yes,
S3: and only the men's minds stayed steadfast as before. So
S3: off they went to their pens, sobbing, squealing as Cersei
S3: flung them acorns, Cornel, nuts and mast, common fodder for
S3: hogs that root and roll in mud back. Eurylochus ran
S3: to our swift ship. So Eurylochus tells Odysseus what has
S3: happened to his men, and after losing his entire fleet,
S3: Odysseus has now suddenly lost half of his remaining crew.
S3: But as a sign of Odysseus commitment to his men,
S3: despite Eurylochus saying we should simply sail away, there's this
S3: powerful witch here. Odysseus is determined to rescue them. And
S3: so he makes his way inland alone to find his
S3: men and save them. Now, as he makes his way
S3: through the woods on the island to Cersei's house, the
S3: god Hermes appears to Odysseus, and he gives him very
S3: special help and particular advice on how to deal with Cersei,
S3: this witch. Hermes says, but wait, I can save you.
S3: Free you from that great danger. Look, here is a
S3: potent drug. Take it to Cersei's halls. Its power alone
S3: will shield you from the fatal day. Let me tell
S3: you of all the witch's subtle craft. She'll mix you
S3: a potion. Lace the brew with drugs. But she'll be
S3: powerless to bewitch you. Even so, this magic herb I
S3: give will fight her spells. Now here's your plan of action,
S3: step by step. The moment Cersei strikes with her long,
S3: thin wand, you draw your sharp sword sheathed at your
S3: hip and rush her fast as if to run her through.
S3: She'll cower in fear and coax you to her bed.
S3: But don't refuse the goddess's bed. Not then, not if
S3: she's to release your friends and treat you well yourself.
S3: But have her swear. The binding oath of the blessed
S3: gods shall never plot some new intrigue to harm you.
S3: Once you lie there naked, never unman you strip away
S3: your courage. This advice Odysseus follows to a T and
S3: it's all successful. He withstands Cersei's charms. He then charges
S3: at Cersei with his sword. She coaxes him to bed.
S3: He sleeps with her, and then he forces her to
S3: turn his men back into the human form, to change
S3: them from pigs back into men. Now, having saved his men,
S3: we might expect that Odysseus would get back on the
S3: ship and try to make his way home. But he
S3: makes another mistake here with Cersei. And it's a very
S3: important one for our narrative, as Odysseus tells us. So
S3: she enticed in one our battle hardened spirits over. And
S3: there we sat at ease, day in, day out, till
S3: a year had run its course, feasting on sides of
S3: meat and draughts of heady wine. But then, when the
S3: year was gone and the seasons wheeled by and the
S3: months waned and the long days came round again, My
S3: loyal comrades took me aside and prodded. Captain, this is madness.
S3: High time you thought of your own home at last.
S3: If it really is your fate to make it back alive.
S3: And reach your well-built house in native land. They're urging.
S3: Brought my stubborn spirit around. It's amazing here that Odysseus
S3: will spend a year with Cersei, simply feasting with her
S3: and sleeping with her, forgetting entirely about his home. And
S3: this stands as a nice counterpoint to the land of
S3: the lotus Eaters at the land of the lotus Eaters.
S3: Odysseus was the one who saved his men, who remembered
S3: home and brought them back onto the ship and forced
S3: them to sail on. Here it's Odysseus's men who save him,
S3: who remind him of his home and say it's madness
S3: to spend our time here. This episode also shows us
S3: two distinct sorts of threats. Cersei literally turned Odysseus's men
S3: into pigs with her magic, But on a deeper level, metaphorically,
S3: Cersei turns Odysseus himself into a pig. He spends a
S3: year there forgetting about home, not thinking of his obligations,
S3: of his wife, of his family, of his order, and
S3: instead simply feasting and sleeping with Cersei. Now, it's quite interesting,
S3: with this sort of threat, the threat of becoming a
S3: metaphorical or intellectual pig, that it's Odysseus's men who help
S3: save him from this state of forgetfulness. That is, I
S3: think Homer is suggesting on a wider level that our
S3: fellow men can help ennoble us and bring us to
S3: a higher level than simply mere sensual existence. Man is
S3: not meant to simply live satisfying his appetites. Odysseus's men
S3: help bring him out of that state and to a
S3: higher plane. Now after this, Odysseus approaches Cersei and says,
S3: we must go. And Cersei agrees to let them go.
S3: She's not trying to hold Odysseus as Calypso will. But
S3: she tells him that first he must go on a
S3: different journey. She says. Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, old campaigner.
S3: Stay on no more in my house against your will.
S3: But first, another journey calls. You must travel down to
S3: the house of death and the awesome one Persephone. There
S3: to consult the ghost of Tiresias, seer of Thebes, the
S3: great blind prophet whose mind remains unshaken even in death.
S3: Persephone has given him wisdom, everlasting vision to Him and
S3: him alone. The rest of the dead are empty, flitting shades.
S3: So she said, and crushed the heart inside of me.
S3: Odysseus here is told by Cersei that he must go
S3: to the land of the underworld. He has to consult
S3: Tiresias to find out how to appease Poseidon's anger. Cersei
S3: goes on to give Odysseus detailed instructions on how to
S3: get to the land of the dead and what he
S3: should do when they're to get the spirit of Tiresias
S3: to come and speak to him, she says. But once
S3: your vessel has cut across the ocean River, you will
S3: raise a desolate coast and Persephone's grove, her tall black poplars,
S3: willows whose fruit dies young. Beat your vessel hard by
S3: the ocean's churning shore. And make your own way down
S3: to the moldering house of death. And there into Akron
S3: the flood of grief. Two rivers flow. The torrent river
S3: of fire. The wailing river of tears that branches off
S3: from Styx. The stream of hate and a stark crag looms.
S3: Where the two rivers thunder down and meet. Once there,
S3: go forward, hero! Do as I say. Now dig a
S3: trench of about a forearm's depth and length. And around
S3: it pour libations out to all the dead, first with
S3: milk and honey, and then with mellow. Wine, then water
S3: third and last. And sprinkle glistening barley over it all
S3: and vow again and again to all the dead, to
S3: the drifting, listless spirits of their ghosts. That once you
S3: return to Ithaca, you will slaughter a barren heifer in
S3: your halls the best you have, and load a pyre
S3: with treasures. And to Tiresias alone, apart, you will offer
S3: a sleek black ram, the pride of all your herds.
S3: And once your prayers have invoked the nation of the
S3: dead in their dim glory. Slaughter a ram and a black.
S3: You turning both their heads towards Erebus. But turn your
S3: head away. Looking toward the ocean River. Suddenly. Then the
S3: countless shades of the dead and gone will surge around
S3: you there. But order your men at once to flay
S3: the sheep that lie before you, killed by your ruthless blade.
S3: And burn them both. And then say prayers to the gods,
S3: to the Almighty God of death and dread Persephone. But
S3: you draw your sharp sword from beside your hip. Sit
S3: down on alert there, and never let the ghosts of
S3: the shambling, shiftless dead come near that blood till you
S3: have questioned Tiresias yourself. Soon, soon the great seer will
S3: appear before you. Captain of armies. He will tell you
S3: the way to go. The stages of your voyage. How
S3: you can cross the swarming sea and reach home at last. Now,
S3: one of the interesting things about the order of the
S3: episodes here is that after Odysseus has become a metaphorical animal,
S3: a metaphorical pig living without thought of home, without thought
S3: of nostos a homecoming, or of kleos of human glory,
S3: without even a thought of his identity. After having descended
S3: into such an existence, a return to the human realm
S3: requires passage through the land of the dead. We can
S3: think of this, in fact, as after having descended to
S3: mere animal existence, Odysseus must go through the land of
S3: the dead to come back to life. We're going to
S3: have a trip to life through death. And it is
S3: that voyage will see in our next lecture.
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