In what ways does Odysseus incarnate the Greek ideal of arete in Homer
The Odyssey? Provide some specific examples.
Hello Tinkgk9,
I have read the Odyssey and I will list some points, based also on a
summary website I list below, where I see Odysseus displays arete.
Before starting, let me define arete. It is more of a quality of
honor, glory and excellence that a hero has, because that hero is the
best that he or she can be. The hero is always at his utmost and is
able to overcome the obstacles and trials before him.
Given that, here are what I observe to be the most obvious events that
display Odysseus' arete:
- Book 7, Odysseus participates in sports at the Phaeacians' court,
and bests many of their athletes. He is proving himself excellent at
the skills he is known for, proving his arete, proving that he is the
best at what he does. Also, while telling his tale, he gains the favor
of Queen Arete. She recognizes the great stature that this fugitive
actually has and is sympathetic toward him. Note also that the poets
sing praises about him, since he is famous, but he does not boast
about it in an out-of-place manner.
- In Book nine, his reference to being 'crafty' can be one aspect of
his arete. His idea of the Trojan Horse reflects his excellence in
strategy. That can also be attributed to his craftiness in blinding
Polyphemus, the Cyclops. It is also shown here that in order to have
arete, the Greek hero must defeat his enemies.
- In book 12, Odysseus keeps on surviving many of the challenges and
trials that claim the lives of all his men, leaving him the only one
to get home. Notice that Odysseus is aware of many pitballs, such as
not touching the cattle on a certain island, that they later got
struck by a thunderbolt for.
- In Book 14, Odysseus plays his beggar role to its fullest, and he is
not identified at all.
- In Book 18, his battle with the antagonistic beggar Iros affirms his
superiority and prefigures his defeat of the suitors.
- In Book 19, he tests Penelope to see if her heart was not for him
anymore, but it still is, so Odysseus is cast as a model husband that
a wife would not leave even for 20 years of absence.
- Book 21 to 22, the contest of stringing the bow. Odysseus succeeds
where the suitors failed, attaching the bowstring to a difficult to
bend bow. And in the usual show of arete, he kills his suitors.
- In Book 24, the suitors' families attack, but Odysseus and his
family fight back and win.
There are more, but I hope you can find with the help of the sources
below and going over the Odyssey again.
Sources:
Explanation of Arete by Richard Hooker
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GLOSSARY/ARETE.HTM
The Humanities Handbook - The Odyssey
http://www.aug.edu/langlitcom/humanitiesHBK/handbook_htm/odyssey_intro.htm
- This has several paragraphs discussing the arete of Odysseus in the
Iliad.
The Wisdom of Achilles - some insights about Iliad and Odyssey by
Alberto Mingardi
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/mingardi1.html
Perseus Tufts - Homer, Odyssey - Odysseus challenged to present his
arete in sports at the court of the Phaeacians
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136&layout=&loc=8.199
Extra Notes for Great Books and Ideas I - Fall Semester 1999 - has
good summaries of the Odyssey and analyses from where you could draw
your understanding of Odysseus' arete in the Odyssey
http://www.chss.montclair.edu/classics/XHNOTES.HTML
Google Search Terms used:
odysseus odyssey arete
odysseus odyssey arete honor
I hope this has been a most helpful answer. If you need anything else,
or have a problem with the answer, do please post a Request for
Clarification and I shall respond as soon as I can. Thank you.
aret (the final letter is Greek eta, as distinguished from the
terminal epsilon of arete, a different, although related, word) is the
Greek term for excellence. In this context it acquires a more
specialized meaning, the equivalent of the Latin virtus, manliness, or
excellence in the combined traits that define the ideal of the Greek
man. While a person may attain excellence in any accomplishment, aret
in this sense encompasses a large number of qualities of character,
mind, and body, among them courage, wisdom, piety, fortitude,
strength, vigor, endurance, self-control, etc.
W. Walter Merry, James Riddell, D. B. Monro, Commentary on the Odyssey
(1886)
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0055
Interestingly enough, the wife of the king of Phaeakia is named Arete,
and is a kind of personification of feminine excellence.
Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities
(1898)
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aid%3Darete
(Ar*™t*™). The wife of Alcino* s (q.v.), king of the Phaeacians, and
the protector of Odysseus (q.v.).
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?layout.refembed=2&layout.refdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062&layout.refcit=id%3Darete&doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2314997&layout.reflookup=%2A%29arh%2Fth&layout.reflang=greek&layout.refwordcount=1
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
arete^
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2314968
Perseus Lookup Tool
Searched selected documents for "a)reth/"
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/vor?lookup=a%29reth%2F&advanced=1&doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0133&doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0135&lang=greek&group=bilevel
virtus
Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%2351109
"[vir] , manliness, manhood, i. e. the sum of all the corporeal or
mental excellences of man, strength, vigor; bravery, courage; aptness,
capacity; worth, excellence, virtue, etc.:"
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