1 00:00:04,066 --> 00:00:07,033 In book eleven we're off to the Underworld. 2 00:00:07,052 --> 00:00:12,043 One of the first things, though, that we notice about Homer's underworld is that 3 00:00:12,043 --> 00:00:15,071 he's not really under anywhere. It's far away. 4 00:00:15,071 --> 00:00:20,071 Odysseus and his men go to the place that Circe told him to go. 5 00:00:20,094 --> 00:00:26,026 When they do they dig a trench. And in that trench, they put in some 6 00:00:26,026 --> 00:00:33,000 potions of ram's blood and milk and barley and some things that they are told to put 7 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,056 in. And when they do, up out of the earth come 8 00:00:36,056 --> 00:00:40,032 these shades. So Odysseus does not actually spend time 9 00:00:40,032 --> 00:00:45,003 going down, down, down, a la Dante. And Dante modeled himself, of course, on 10 00:00:45,003 --> 00:00:48,002 Virgil. Things are a little different in that 11 00:00:48,002 --> 00:00:50,654 underworld. For Odysseus it's a faraway place. 12 00:00:50,654 --> 00:00:56,491 Out of contact with you and I, but it's because it's so far away, not because it's 13 00:00:56,491 --> 00:01:00,070 so far down. We've put together some pictures of kind 14 00:01:00,070 --> 00:01:06,034 of sulfurous openings in the earth that might be more reminiscent of what Homer's 15 00:01:06,034 --> 00:01:10,093 underworld is than trying to imagine it as some kind of down cave. 16 00:01:11,011 --> 00:01:14,093 Deep beneath the Earth, down beneath the recesses of things. 17 00:01:14,093 --> 00:01:22,031 Now, in order to get these shades, to, to come out and make, conversation with him, 18 00:01:22,031 --> 00:01:26,090 Odysseus has this bait. And inside of the trough, one of the 19 00:01:26,090 --> 00:01:31,072 ingredients in the bait is blood. And, there's a kind of physics, involved 20 00:01:31,072 --> 00:01:34,088 here, or biology. The shades need to get blood. 21 00:01:35,008 --> 00:01:38,827 And, why would that be? Well, these shades are just human beings 22 00:01:38,827 --> 00:01:43,740 like you and I who have lost all their blood and their substance, and now they're 23 00:01:43,740 --> 00:01:49,010 just kind of floating around disembodied. If they had more blood in them, life would 24 00:01:49,010 --> 00:01:52,876 return to them. Getting the blood in them allows them to 25 00:01:52,876 --> 00:01:56,472 now talk and Odysseus can have conversations with them. 26 00:01:56,472 --> 00:02:01,493 They don't get fully reembodied though, as we learn in that very famous scene of 27 00:02:01,493 --> 00:02:05,542 Odysseus trying to hug his mother; they are insubstantial shades. 28 00:02:05,542 --> 00:02:10,590 Being a shade is not a happy thing to be. The Greeks would much rather be alive than 29 00:02:10,590 --> 00:02:13,511 be dead. Can't quite make a universal law out of 30 00:02:13,511 --> 00:02:18,731 this one, but among the Greeks it's surely true, it's better to be alive than to be 31 00:02:18,731 --> 00:02:21,747 dead. The afterlife for them in Homer's time is 32 00:02:21,747 --> 00:02:25,626 not a place, for the most part where ethical scores are settled. 33 00:02:25,626 --> 00:02:30,548 It's not as though those who have died in this underworld are getting judged and 34 00:02:30,548 --> 00:02:35,446 punished if they've done bad things and rewarded if they've done good things. 35 00:02:35,446 --> 00:02:40,891 Mostly they're all just kind of floating around in this gray area and they would 36 00:02:40,891 --> 00:02:44,080 all much rather be alive. Even the great ones, don't seem to have a 37 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,093 very good life at all. They, they, they would much rather be, be 38 00:02:47,093 --> 00:02:50,028 living. We hear this in this kind of poignant, 39 00:02:50,042 --> 00:02:54,009 piece that we'll close with in thinking about this, about what comes out of 40 00:02:54,009 --> 00:02:57,056 Achilles' mouth, when Odysseus has a chance to talk to him in person. 41 00:02:57,056 --> 00:03:02,000 So, the underworld is not a place where ethical scores are settled. 42 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:07,028 It's a, a holding tank, it's a place you'd rather not be, it's kind of like being at 43 00:03:07,028 --> 00:03:10,094 an eternal layover at an airport. It's not like living. 44 00:03:10,094 --> 00:03:15,089 It's not necessarily actively being punished, but it's just not like living a 45 00:03:15,089 --> 00:03:19,043 rich full life. There are of course a few exceptions to 46 00:03:19,043 --> 00:03:24,018 this rule, about the underworld being a place where ethical scores are not 47 00:03:24,018 --> 00:03:29,033 settled, there's one or two where we see very famous sinners down there that are 48 00:03:29,033 --> 00:03:33,070 getting eternal punishment. People like Tantalus and Sysophis, famous 49 00:03:33,070 --> 00:03:36,053 ones. But they're the exception for the most 50 00:03:36,053 --> 00:03:41,046 part it is not a place where good and bad. Ends just as desserts are being meated 51 00:03:41,046 --> 00:03:43,090 out. Another exception that some of you all 52 00:03:43,090 --> 00:03:46,040 will hear about are the Islands of the Blessed. 53 00:03:46,056 --> 00:03:51,040 This maybe has been something that you've run into in your own engagement with Greek 54 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,032 mythology. It's something that we will see in our, in 55 00:03:54,032 --> 00:03:56,034 our story. Articulated at a few points. 56 00:03:56,050 --> 00:04:00,442 But for the most part this is not a fully worked out idea. 57 00:04:00,442 --> 00:04:06,544 It's a smaller piece of the larger set of ideas about what the afterlife is all 58 00:04:06,544 --> 00:04:10,469 about. Not necessarily all that, wide spread of a 59 00:04:10,469 --> 00:04:14,472 notion. We will talk about that further, further 60 00:04:14,472 --> 00:04:18,289 out of the course. Now when Odyssey puts out its trough, we 61 00:04:18,289 --> 00:04:20,790 do get to see Elpenor poor guy, there he is. 62 00:04:20,790 --> 00:04:24,367 What the heck happened to you, you know where have you been? 63 00:04:24,367 --> 00:04:27,961 And he says, well I'm dead. And Odysseus says, I can't believe it. 64 00:04:27,961 --> 00:04:32,753 And what Elpenor gets to do is give us a full-throated endorsement of the idea that 65 00:04:32,753 --> 00:04:35,981 you should be buried. Elpenor tells Odysseus and his men, 66 00:04:35,981 --> 00:04:40,543 please, bury me, it's what we dead want. And a functionalist would come along again 67 00:04:40,543 --> 00:04:45,671 and read this story and say clearly what Homer is doing here is providing a sense 68 00:04:45,671 --> 00:04:50,121 of legitimacy to the social, cultural, religious custom of burying dead bodies. 69 00:04:50,121 --> 00:04:55,016 Clearly the dead want that it comes out of the mouth of Elpenor himself. 70 00:04:55,039 --> 00:04:58,045 So we run into this, guy. Look at him. 71 00:04:58,045 --> 00:05:05,567 He's kind of, insubstantial as wonderful, decoration on our Greek pottery. 72 00:05:05,567 --> 00:05:10,174 Odysseus has sacrificed the animals. Hermes is there next to him. 73 00:05:10,174 --> 00:05:15,421 Hermes, who has control over souls on their way to the underworld, guiding 74 00:05:15,421 --> 00:05:21,036 Odysseus here and Elpenor who shows up with his hand raised in a gesture saying 75 00:05:21,036 --> 00:05:26,532 oh my gosh Odysseus, if only you had been able to save me, things would have been 76 00:05:26,532 --> 00:05:30,412 much better for me but instead I'm dead. Please bury me. 77 00:05:30,412 --> 00:05:36,666 Then we get, early on, to the point of why we're out in that underworld in the first 78 00:05:36,666 --> 00:05:39,089 place. We get to see this figure Tiresias. 79 00:05:39,089 --> 00:05:43,135 He's the whole reason we're there. Tiresias is Apollo's priest. 80 00:05:43,135 --> 00:05:48,519 He has deep wisdom of not only the future remember being a seer in Ancient Greece is 81 00:05:48,519 --> 00:05:53,079 not just about seeing future events, it's also about seeing the present. 82 00:05:53,079 --> 00:05:58,133 In a way that you and I as typical mortals are not able to see details. 83 00:05:58,133 --> 00:06:03,939 It's also about seeing the past in a way that you and I as typical mortals may not 84 00:06:03,939 --> 00:06:08,675 have a memory about this past. Well, a seer is able to see past, present, 85 00:06:08,675 --> 00:06:13,456 and future, and it's marvelous that they're able to do any of these things. 86 00:06:13,456 --> 00:06:18,487 So when Odysseus goes to Tiresias to ask him some help, Tiresias answers back, 87 00:06:18,487 --> 00:06:21,476 well, there has indeed been a problem, Odysseus. 88 00:06:21,476 --> 00:06:25,679 You have run afoul of Poseidon. It's here that Odysseus gets the message 89 00:06:25,679 --> 00:06:31,622 that it's time for him to make amends. He has to apologize to Poseidon for the 90 00:06:31,622 --> 00:06:36,244 awful thing he did to that guy, Polyphemus, happens to be Poseidon's son 91 00:06:36,244 --> 00:06:41,072 and he gets the orders from Tiresius. The punishment seems to be a little 92 00:06:41,072 --> 00:06:46,025 strange at first what Tiresius says is that you have to take an oar. 93 00:06:46,025 --> 00:06:49,060 So an implement of pulling a boat along the water. 94 00:06:49,060 --> 00:06:54,002 And bring it so far inland that people don't recognize it anymore. 95 00:06:54,002 --> 00:06:58,051 They can't tell what it is. And once you get there plant the oar in 96 00:06:58,051 --> 00:07:03,035 the ground and build a temple to Poseidon. Now why in the world would Tiresias want, 97 00:07:03,050 --> 00:07:06,095 Telodesias that that's what he should do to make Poseidon fell better. 98 00:07:06,095 --> 00:07:08,889 Well gods like to be worshiped. It's true. 99 00:07:08,889 --> 00:07:13,047 The Gods enjoy when we worship them and they like to be worshipped widely. 100 00:07:13,047 --> 00:07:16,019 So Poseidon's temples mostly are nearby the sea. 101 00:07:16,019 --> 00:07:20,023 Those that live near the sea know of Poseidon's powers and worship him. 102 00:07:20,023 --> 00:07:23,063 Those that are inland may or may not have even heard of him. 103 00:07:23,063 --> 00:07:27,083 So what Odysseus is doing here is spreading the theme of, of Poseidon even 104 00:07:27,083 --> 00:07:31,018 beyond areas of the landscape that are effected by the sea. 105 00:07:31,018 --> 00:07:35,251 Getting so far inland that people would mistake his oar for a winnowing fan and 106 00:07:35,251 --> 00:07:38,089 think of it in another word as a, as a farming implement. 107 00:07:39,006 --> 00:07:42,737 It means that Odysseus is far enough inland that it would be a great pleasure 108 00:07:42,737 --> 00:07:46,054 for Poseidon to receive a temple in that spot. 109 00:07:46,054 --> 00:07:51,088 So having gotten those instructions now Odysseus knows what he's supposed to do. 110 00:07:52,007 --> 00:07:55,348 He's got what he needs. But we're not going to leave the 111 00:07:55,348 --> 00:07:59,034 underworld quite yet. There's more stuff for us to learn down 112 00:07:59,034 --> 00:08:01,008 there. We run into others. 113 00:08:01,028 --> 00:08:04,093 Among the dead. They come out, drink some blood and have a 114 00:08:04,093 --> 00:08:09,043 conversation with Odysseus. Odysseus gets to learn from all these dead 115 00:08:09,043 --> 00:08:11,087 people in the past. Some amazing stuff. 116 00:08:12,006 --> 00:08:16,017 He gets to hear about. He sees, he sees not only his mother, he 117 00:08:16,017 --> 00:08:20,098 has a quick conversation with her. It's also quite sad and poignant because 118 00:08:20,098 --> 00:08:23,055 they're unable to embrace. She's dead. 119 00:08:23,055 --> 00:08:28,036 We hear from lots of female heroes and the adventures they've gone through. 120 00:08:28,055 --> 00:08:33,021 Then, at the end of this catalog of, of famous women also, we hear a voice we 121 00:08:33,021 --> 00:08:37,030 haven't heard for a while, Alcinous. We might also be thinking to ourselves, my 122 00:08:37,030 --> 00:08:39,692 goodness. Alcinous down there in the underworld. 123 00:08:39,692 --> 00:08:44,417 Well, this is Homer's way of breaking the flow of the narrative interrupting things 124 00:08:44,417 --> 00:08:47,782 to give us a change of pace. Reminding us that actually hey, guess 125 00:08:47,782 --> 00:08:49,913 what. Remember, you are on the island of Scaria 126 00:08:49,913 --> 00:08:54,045 and Odysseus is telling Alcinous and his people the story. 127 00:08:54,064 --> 00:08:57,059 Odysseus seems to be quiet tired and exhausted. 128 00:08:57,059 --> 00:09:02,008 Alcinous breaks in and says please Odysseus go on and tell us more. 129 00:09:02,008 --> 00:09:06,594 Odysseus then jumps in carries back on with the narrative and starts to tell us 130 00:09:06,594 --> 00:09:09,406 stories about the heroes of the ancient past. 131 00:09:09,406 --> 00:09:14,774 Here I've got a picture of the on the ore that we're going to mistook for a widowing 132 00:09:14,774 --> 00:09:20,321 fan if we bring it far enough inland. Odysseus is going to start to learn some 133 00:09:20,321 --> 00:09:24,369 of the adventures of the great. Male heroes, that he runs into in the 134 00:09:24,369 --> 00:09:27,069 Underworld. He gets to see his dead compatriots. 135 00:09:27,069 --> 00:09:30,511 He sees, Agamemnon. And remember the story of Agamemnon. 136 00:09:30,511 --> 00:09:35,123 We've already seen it repeated to us several times as people are trying to 137 00:09:35,123 --> 00:09:38,583 educate Tiresias. They tell him listen, when Agamemnon was 138 00:09:38,583 --> 00:09:41,865 killed, his son came in and righted things in his house. 139 00:09:41,865 --> 00:09:46,803 Here we get to meet the real Agamemnon. Agamemnon has a, a further message for 140 00:09:46,803 --> 00:09:50,161 Odysseus, which is be careful when you go home. 141 00:09:50,161 --> 00:09:55,683 You're not going to know what happened. You've been gone for a long time and look 142 00:09:55,683 --> 00:09:57,291 at me. My wife killed me. 143 00:09:57,291 --> 00:10:00,240 She took up a relationship with someone else. 144 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:05,045 So when you go home, be cautious. Now this message is not going to be lost 145 00:10:05,045 --> 00:10:08,774 on Odysseus. He's a very clever and cautious man. 146 00:10:08,774 --> 00:10:13,724 Of course, they have a back and forth and talk about well, you know Penelope's a 147 00:10:13,724 --> 00:10:17,611 much better woman than Clytemnestra ever was, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 148 00:10:17,611 --> 00:10:22,372 But still, as this message is going to get locked into Odysseus, and he is going to 149 00:10:22,372 --> 00:10:26,565 be cautious when he gets home. Watch out when you get there. 150 00:10:26,565 --> 00:10:30,037 We're also going to meet this wonderful Greek hero Achilles. 151 00:10:30,037 --> 00:10:33,591 You see him here lying down on the ground. Awful scene. 152 00:10:33,591 --> 00:10:36,796 Achilles does indeed get killed. Does not happen in the Iliad. 153 00:10:36,796 --> 00:10:41,048 Homer, this is the place where he talks about the killing of Achilles. 154 00:10:41,048 --> 00:10:46,092 It doesn't happen in the Iliad. And we get to hear from Achilles this long 155 00:10:46,092 --> 00:10:51,528 poignant conversation with Odysseus, or somewhat long, intense conversation with 156 00:10:51,528 --> 00:10:55,235 Odysseus. That says, you know what all that glory, I 157 00:10:55,235 --> 00:10:59,038 opted for a short glorious life on the battlefield. 158 00:10:59,058 --> 00:11:05,008 Well, I would rather be a slave down here in the Underworld, taking care of other 159 00:11:05,008 --> 00:11:10,005 people in the lowliest social position than try to, be sorry. 160 00:11:10,005 --> 00:11:15,055 I would rather be a slave up there and, and, and still alive, taking care of other 161 00:11:15,055 --> 00:11:21,032 people's, menial tasks, than be the grand person that I am, and be locked down here 162 00:11:21,032 --> 00:11:24,095 among the dead. Kim comes out of Achilles mouth at an 163 00:11:24,095 --> 00:11:30,007 interesting point in the Illiad, just the opposite kind of, kind of sentiment, 164 00:11:30,007 --> 00:11:35,013 saying no that he, he'd rather live a glorious short life, get killed but still 165 00:11:35,013 --> 00:11:41,023 have a great, powerful social standing and become a hero, than to opt for a life of 166 00:11:41,043 --> 00:11:46,075 leisure and being a, being a servant to other people and not having that grand and 167 00:11:46,075 --> 00:11:50,051 glorious life. He seems to reverse himself, here in book 168 00:11:50,051 --> 00:11:54,047 eleven, again, underscoring just how awful it is to be dead. 169 00:11:54,047 --> 00:11:58,053 Well, luckily for us, Odysseus and his men are not dead. 170 00:11:58,076 --> 00:12:03,242 They get to the underworld and getaway. Unlike most of us getting to the 171 00:12:03,242 --> 00:12:08,540 Underworld is something that is sadly easy for fragile organisms such as we are. 172 00:12:08,540 --> 00:12:13,033 Getting out is a trick. Odysseus does indeed get away from this 173 00:12:13,033 --> 00:12:18,190 place and he gets out from here. They are going to have to take care of 174 00:12:18,190 --> 00:12:23,498 some business with their friend Elpenor. Gets some clues for what to do next from 175 00:12:23,498 --> 00:12:29,247 their new friend or their friend of just a year Circe and then from there its going 176 00:12:29,247 --> 00:12:32,017 to be off to the land of the sirens.