Allusions in the Odyssey - What makes a hero a hero?

Allusions in the Odyssey “Why cover the same ground again? ... It goes against my grain to repeat a tale told once, and told so clearly.” -Homer, The Odyssey

What is an allusion?  An allusion is a reference  within a literary work,  to another work of fiction,  a film,  a piece of art,

 or even a real event.

Why do writers use allusions?  serves as a kind of shorthand,  provide greater context or meaning to the situation  Gives a richer understanding of the work

 a kind of hypertext 

links the reader to another tradition or literary history being written about.

 sampling other works, the way DJs sample other songs.  Shows appreciation for the other work

How effective are a allusions?  If the reader, viewer, listener understands the reference, the allusion can be very effective, kind of like an inside joke.  If the reader, viewer or listener doesn’t understand the allusion, it may be confusing or lost on

How do you increase your understanding of allusions  Read  Watch smart television and movies  Listen to intelligent conversation

Most students are aware of the allusions in the Percy Jackson books and movies •In The Battle of the Labyrinth, a girl in trapped on an island just as Odysseus is trapped on Calypso’s island But there are many other allusions to the Odyssey in popular fiction •Atlas and Calypso also appear in Tad William’s Otherworld Series

In popular literature Discworld Novels

An inept wizard named Rincewind bumps into an ancient ancestor who has ended a siege with the help of a large wooden horse. The ancestor is a bit worried about getting home after the war has ended. "Oh you get home all right," says Rincewind airily, "there are whole stories about you getting home." Rincewind meets his deceased ancestor in Hell.

The Starcrossed Novels

A trilogy that starts with a modern-day version of the relationship that started the Trojan War (a beautiful girls swept away by someone) A teenaged girl is in the role of Helen of Troy

Raised by Wolves

A werewolf series that contains many allusions to events from the Odyssey including the Trojan Horse

Other literature 

James Joyce's Ulysses (1922)



Some of the tales of Sinbad the Sailor from One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights)



Nikos Kazantzakis’s The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, a 33,333 line epic poem which continues Odysseus's journeys past the point of his arrival in Ithaca.



Charles Frazier’s 1997 novel Cold Mountain about a confederate war deserter returning home



Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad retells the story from Penelope’s point of view



A part of Thomas Wolfe's novel Of Time and the River is entitled Telemachus



R L Fanthorpe's novel Negative Minus contains the names of the Odyssey’s characters spelled backwards (for example "Suessydo", "Ecric" and "Acahti").



Dan Simmons’ Ilium and Olympos are science fiction adaptations of the Iliad and Odyssey with robots and posthumans. * Dr. Jonathan Shay's Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming" (2002) uses Odysseus as metaphor to focus on the veteran’s experience upon returning from war



There are many other pieces of literature including plays and poems that reference The Odyssey

Allusions to the Odyssey in modern as well as classical music

Allusions to the Odyssey in Popular Music 

The American metal band Symphony X made a 24 minute long musical version of the poem titles “The Odyssey” 

To the one that I love, my journey has begun When our eyes meet once more there will be peace The taste of your lips the warmth of your touch again, forever, two souls as one Seems like forever that my eyes have been denied Home - I'm dreaming of the home I've been twenty years away from all I ever knew to return would make my dream come true Seasons of sorrow have stolen all my years I miss the rolling hills of Ithaca I've been through battles and cried a sea of tears but the tide is changing, and with it all my fears Seems like forever that my eyes have been denied Home - I'm dreaming of the home I've been twenty years away from all I ever knew to return would make my dream come true Behold the sea and winds of Jove We set sail guided by the stars above The ports of Troy escape our view a cold and stormy fate awaits our rendezvous Onward we ride, into the raging fury Setting our course by the moon and sun We forge ahead seeking glory Yet the journey has just begun .



The Steely Dan Song “Home at Last” on the Aia album features an unnamed Odysseus as narrator

.

The Steely Dan Song “Home at Last” on the Aia album features an unnamed Odysseus as narrator 

I know this super highway This bright familiar sun I guess that I'm the lucky one Who wrote that tired sea song Set on this peaceful shore You think you've heard this one before Well the danger on the rocks is surely past Still I remain tied to the mast Could it be that I have found my home at last Home at last She serves the smooth retsina She keeps me safe and warm It's just the calm before the storm Call in my reservation So long hey thanks my friend I guess I'll try my luck again Well the danger on the rocks is surely past Still I remain tied to the mast Could it be that I have found my home at last Home at last

Other Songs  John Denver’s “Calypso” about a ship named Calypso  Suzanne Vega’s “Calypso” about a woman forced to let a man she loves go  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds “More News from Nowhere” summarizing the story of Odysseus and Calypso

Movies and Television Fire and Ice – Vol. VI of The Game of Thrones

Contains a character named Cerci Frey, who is as much a temptress as Circe is to Odysseus

Other Allusions to the Odyssey In Books and Films

John Irving’s Cider House Rules The main character, Homer, returns home to the orphanage where he grew up to a doctor who waits for his return.

There are many references to the Odyssey In Movies  In Pirates of the Carribean, the goddess Calypso, once in love with Davy Jones, becomes trapped in human form and assumes the name Tia Dalma

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou  The beginning of the film, "O Muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story…..  characters in the film share names with similar characters in the Odyssey: 

Ulysses, the Latin form of the Greek name Odysseus, is the first name of the film's protagonist, Ulysses Everett McGill.



Menelaus 'Pappy' O'Daniel, who pardons the Soggy Bottom Boys at the end of the film, shares his first name with the King of Sparta who fought alongside Odysseus at Troy.



Homer Stokes, who shares his first name with the author of the classical text.



Everett’s wife is named Penny, a shortened version of Penelope, is the name of Everett’s wife.



Washer women try to seduce the hero like The Sirens try to seduce the Heros



A character named Vernon tries to marry Penny just as the suitors wait to marry Penelope.



A blind railroad hobo parallels Tiresius, the blind ghost prophet.

The Odyssey is even alluded to in video games  In the Twisted Metal games, the name Calypso is given to a male character who grants one wish which often backfires to other characters

 “2001: a Space Odyssey,” with the nominal hero surviving by himself after several trials, including the outer space equivalent of a shipwreck.

Allusions Can Be Funny!  http://www.mediaite.com/tv/snls-sexy-sirens-seduceancient-greek-heroes-with-bland-90s-girl-rock/

Saturday Night Live re-imagined the Sirens using the exact opposite of seductive music used to lure Odysseus and his heroic crew: bland ’90s chick rock.

So ….  Allusions increase our enjoyment of many art forms, but you can only enjoy literary allusions

IF You are familiar with….

LITERATURE!