A Long and Difficult Journey, or The Odyssey: Crash Course Literature 201

Summary

In this episode of Crash Course Literature, John Green explores the epic tale of 'The Odyssey,' delving into the character of Odysseus, his cunning, and the challenges he faces on his journey home. The video discusses the nature of heroism, the double standards for women in the epic, and the cycle of violence. Green also critiques the patriarchal attitudes towards female sexuality and Odysseus' own moral ambiguities, all while maintaining a humorous and engaging tone.

Takeaways

• 📚 The script is from Crash Course Literature, hosted by John Green, who humorously introduces himself as an English teacher with a casual style.
• 🎥 This is the second season of the literature series, suggesting that there is a first season available for viewers interested in more content.
• 🏰 The script discusses the beginning of literature, specifically referencing 'The Odyssey' by Homer, and introduces the main character, Odysseus, with a humorous take on his actions.
• 🎭 The authorship and historical context of 'The Odyssey' are questioned, with the acknowledgment that Homer's identity and even blindness are uncertain, and the poems were orally composed.
• 📜 The Trojan War, the backdrop of 'The Odyssey', is confirmed by archaeological evidence to have occurred around the 12th century BCE, much earlier than the composition of the epics.
• 📖 The epic poems 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' are defined, with 'The Odyssey' focusing on the hero's journey home after the war, unlike 'The Iliad' which centers on the war itself.
• 🔍 The script provides a brief recap of 'The Iliad', highlighting key events and characters, to set the stage for 'The Odyssey' which takes place after these events.
• 🤔 It raises questions about Odysseus' character, discussing his cunning intelligence (metis), his moral ambiguity, and the challenges he faces in his long journey home.
• 👥 The script touches on the double standards present in the epic, particularly regarding the attitudes towards men and women, and the portrayal of female characters as monsters.
• 💬 John Green critiques the patriarchal norms within the epic, questioning the sexual double standards and the depiction of female sexuality as something to be feared or controlled.
• 🏡 The story concludes with Odysseus' return home, the resolution of the conflict with the suitors, and the intervention of Athena to restore peace, reflecting on the difficulty of ending cycles of violence.

Q & A

Who is the presenter of the Crash Course Literature series?

The presenter of the Crash Course Literature series is John Green.

What is the main theme of the video script provided?

The main theme of the video script is an introduction to 'The Odyssey' by Homer, including its background, the story, and the character of Odysseus.

What is the significance of Odysseus' encounter with the Cyclops in the story?

Odysseus' encounter with the Cyclops demonstrates his cunning intelligence and survival skills, as he tricks the Cyclops by calling himself 'Noman' and blinds him, allowing him and his men to escape.

What is the meaning of the term 'metis' in the context of Odysseus?

In the context of Odysseus, 'metis' refers to his skill or cunning, which is his distinguishing quality and allows him to navigate through various challenges.

What is the double standard for women depicted in 'The Odyssey'?

The double standard for women in 'The Odyssey' is the portrayal of women who engage in multiple sexual relationships as tainted and impure, while men who do the same are seen as studs, reflecting the patriarchal attitudes of the time.

How does the script describe Odysseus' attitude towards women?

The script describes Odysseus' attitude towards women as hypocritical, maintaining a sexual double standard and being concerned with his wife Penelope's chastity while engaging in multiple affairs himself.

What is the significance of the open letter to the patriarchy in the script?

The open letter to the patriarchy in the script serves as a critique of the sexual double standard and the historical treatment of women in society, using the narrative of 'The Odyssey' as a point of reference.

What is the central conflict in 'The Odyssey' after the Trojan War?

The central conflict in 'The Odyssey' after the Trojan War is Odysseus' struggle to return home to Ithaca and the challenges he faces, including the suitors who are trying to marry his wife Penelope in his absence.

How does Athena intervene to bring peace to Ithaca at the end of 'The Odyssey'?

Athena, the goddess of wisdom and a favorite of Odysseus, intervenes by descending from Olympus and putting a stop to the cycle of violence that threatens to consume Ithaca after Odysseus kills the suitors.

What is the main difference between 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' in terms of their themes?

While 'The Iliad' is a poem of war, focusing on glory and renown achieved on the battlefield, 'The Odyssey' is about the aftermath of war, dealing with how to put war behind and the challenges of peacetime.

What does the script suggest about the role of divine intervention in the story of Odysseus?

The script suggests that divine intervention, specifically from Athena, is crucial in preventing a perpetual cycle of violence in Ithaca, highlighting the difficulty humans have in leaving war behind.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Crash Course Literature and Homer's Odyssey

John Green introduces the second season of Crash Course Literature, humorously highlighting his English teacher persona with a sweater and sneakers. He sets the stage for the discussion of Homer's Odyssey, emphasizing the lack of concrete knowledge about Homer himself and the oral tradition of the epics. Green also touches on the historical context of the Trojan War and the subsequent composition of The Iliad and The Odyssey centuries later by Homer. The episode promises to delve into the epic's themes, including Odysseus' heroism, the double standard for women, and the cycle of violence.

05:03

🐙 Odysseus' Character and Encounters in The Odyssey

The second paragraph delves into the character of Odysseus, highlighting his cunning and survival skills, which are central to his heroism in The Odyssey. Green recounts Odysseus' encounter with the Cyclops, showcasing his deceit and ability to manipulate situations to his advantage. Despite his flaws, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero, favored by Athena for his intelligence. The paragraph also critiques the epic's portrayal of women, highlighting the double standard and the misogynistic attitudes prevalent in the narrative. The discussion includes the warning from Agamemnon's ghost about Penelope's potential betrayal and the broader implications of female sexuality in the epic.

10:04

🏡 Homecoming and the Cycle of Violence in The Odyssey

In the final paragraph, Green discusses the themes of homecoming and the struggle to leave behind the violence of war, which are central to The Odyssey. Odysseus' return home and his violent response to the suitors who have invaded his home underscore the difficulty of transitioning from a war-torn life to peace. The paragraph also addresses the aftermath of the suitors' slaughter and the potential for ongoing conflict, which is only averted through divine intervention by Athena. Green concludes by reflecting on the enduring nature of war and its impact on human society, setting the stage for the next episode's discussion on Oedipus.

Keywords

💡Odysseus

Odysseus is the protagonist of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. He is depicted as a hero who embarks on a long and arduous journey home after the Trojan War. His character is complex, embodying both cunning intelligence and moral ambiguity. In the video, Odysseus is described as a man who lies, cheats, and takes a decade to complete a voyage that should have taken weeks, yet he remains a central figure in ancient Greek literature.

💡Homer

Homer is traditionally credited as the author of the epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey. However, the script humorously notes that little is known about him, and there is debate over whether he was even blind. Homer's works are significant as they provide a foundational narrative for Greek mythology and heroism, despite the fact that they were orally composed and later written down.

💡The Odyssey

The Odyssey is an epic poem that follows the journey of Odysseus as he tries to return home after the Trojan War. The video discusses the poem's themes of heroism, cunning, and the struggle to return to a peaceful life after war. It is noted that the events of The Odyssey take place after those of The Iliad, and the poem explores themes of homecoming and the challenges faced by Odysseus along the way.

💡Epic

An epic is defined in the video as a long narrative poem on a serious subject, written in a grand or elevated style, and centered on a larger-than-life hero. The Odyssey and The Iliad are examples of epics, and the video uses the term to highlight the grand scale and heroic nature of the stories told in these poems.

💡Muse

The Muse is a figure in Greek mythology that represents the source of inspiration for poets and artists. In the script, the phrase 'Sing in me, Muse' is used to invoke the Muses, asking them to inspire the telling of Odysseus's story. This invocation is a common feature in epic poetry, setting the stage for the grand narrative to follow.

💡Cyclops

The Cyclops is a one-eyed giant in Greek mythology, encountered by Odysseus in The Odyssey. The video describes Odysseus's cunning encounter with the Cyclops, where he outwits the giant by getting him drunk and then blinding him with a flaming spear. This episode showcases Odysseus's intelligence and resourcefulness, key traits of a hero in the epic tradition.

💡Patriarchy

Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and dominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, and social privilege. The video criticizes the patriarchal attitudes present in The Odyssey, particularly the double standard for sexual behavior between men and women. It highlights how these attitudes contribute to the negative portrayal of female characters in the epic.

💡Penelope

Penelope is the wife of Odysseus and a key character in The Odyssey. She is known for her faithfulness and intelligence, waiting for her husband's return while fending off suitors. The video discusses how Penelope tests Odysseus upon his return, requiring him to prove his identity by revealing the secret of their marriage bed, which underscores her importance in the narrative.

💡Violence

Violence is a recurring theme in The Odyssey, particularly in the context of war and Odysseus's struggle to return home. The video notes that the cycle of violence seems inescapable, with Odysseus's actions leading to further conflict and the potential for endless bloodshed. This theme is explored in relation to the broader human tendency to continue cycles of violence even in times of peace.

💡Athena

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, and a key figure in The Odyssey. She is depicted as favoring Odysseus and aiding him in his journey. The video mentions Athena's intervention in the end, which helps to restore peace after Odysseus's violent actions, highlighting her role as a divine force that can influence the outcome of human affairs.

💡Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. In the video, Odysseus is described as an ancient example of PTSD, struggling to adjust to peacetime after the horrors of war. His violent response to the suitors in his home is attributed to his inability to leave behind the trauma of war, illustrating the lasting impact of conflict on individuals.

Highlights

John Green introduces himself as an English teacher and the host of Crash Course Literature.

The video is part of season two of Crash Course Literature, with season one available for viewing.

The episode begins with a humorous take on the story of Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey.

Homer is introduced as the legendary blind poet, but it's acknowledged that little is known about him.

The Iliad and The Odyssey were composed orally and not written down for centuries.

The Trojan War is confirmed by archaeological evidence to have occurred around the 12th century BCE.

Homer's works are the most famous and only surviving poems about the Trojan War due to the Library of Alexandria's burning.

An epic is defined as a long narrative poem on a serious subject, written in an elevated style, centered on a hero.

The Odyssey's events occur after The Iliad, with a brief recap of The Iliad's plot provided.

Odysseus is depicted as a cunning and smart hero, but also as a problematic character with a flawed moral compass.

The episode discusses Odysseus' encounter with the Cyclops, highlighting his trickery and cunning.

Odysseus' attitude towards women and the epic's double standard is critiqued.

The episode includes an open letter to the patriarchy, criticizing its treatment of women.

The story of Agamemnon is used to illustrate the epic's paranoia about female sexuality.

Penelope's faithfulness is tested not by Odysseus but through her own means of verifying his identity.

The Odyssey is contrasted with The Iliad, focusing on life after war and the difficulty of adjusting to peacetime.

The video concludes with a reflection on the potential endless cycle of violence without divine intervention.

Crash Course is supported by its viewers and subscribers, with a special thanks to contributors mentioned.

Transcripts

Hi, I'm John Green, welcome to Crash Course Literature!

You can tell I'm an English teacher because I'm wearing a sweater, but you tell I'm the kind of English teacher who wants to be your friend because I'm wearing awesome sneakers.

This is actually season two of Crash Course Literature.

If you want to watch season one, you can do so over here.

It's season four of Crash Course Humanities – it might even be like, season 7 or 8 if you count all the science stuff.

Whatever let's just get started!

[Theme Music]

We're going to start at the beginning of literature, or, at least, a beginning of literature.

Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of a man who lets all his shipmates die,

lies to everyone he meets, cheats on his wife with assorted nymphs,

and takes 10 years to complete a voyage that, according to Google Maps, should have taken 2 weeks.

That man is, of course, one of the great heroes of the ancient world.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Odysseus, star of Homer’s The Odyssey.

Did I just say the odd at sea?

That’s a good pun. Not in the original Greek though.

Now everyone knows that you can’t properly enjoy a book until you know a lot about its author,

so before we discuss The Odyssey, we’re going to begin with a biographical sketch of Homer, the legendary blind poet of ancient Greece. What’s that?

Apparently we know nothing about him.

Well, in fact we know that whoever wrote them didn’t actually write them, because they were composed orally.

And was Homer even blind?

Well, there are some verses about blindness in the Homeric Hymns and there’s a blind bard who appears in The Odyssey,

But if authors only wrote about characters who were like themselves, then James Joyce’s

characters would have all had one eye, and I would be an astonishingly handsome seventeen-year-old.

As for the subject of Homer’s poems, archeological evidence tells us that the Trojan War occurred

around the twelfth century BCE, although it probably included far fewer gods and similes than in the epics based on it.

Then again, maybe not; it’s not like we have pictures.

Anyway, Homer composed The Iliad and The Odyssey in the eighth century BCE, so centuries after the events it describes.

And then no one bothered to write them down for another 200 years,

which means that they probably changed a lot as they were passed down via the oral tradition,

and even today there are arguments about which parts are original and which parts are additions.

There were a lot of competing poems about the Trojan War, but Homer’s were by far the most famous,

and they are now the most famous because they were also the only ones to survive the burning of the Library at Alexandria.

So The Iliad and The Odyssey are epic poems, and we define an epic as “a long narrative poem;

on a serious subject; written in a grand or elevated style; centered on a larger-than-life hero.”

By the way, that was an example of dactylic hexameter, just like you see in epic poems.

So the events of The Odyssey take place after those of The Iliad, so let’s have a brief recap Thought Bubble.

So Helen, the wife of Menelaus, runs off with Paris, a Trojan prince; or maybe she’s abducted, it’s not clear.

Anyway, Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon gathers allies and goes to Troy to get her back, but the war drags on for ten years.

At which point everyone is really tired and bored and wants to go home,

until things suddenly get pretty tense because Agamemnon seizes a concubine of Achilles’ and Achilles gets really angry and says he won’t fight anymore.

And things go really badly for the Greeks until Patroclus – Achilles’ best friend and maybe also lover, it’s not clear –

goes into battle in his place and does a pretty awesome job until he’s slain by Hector, the Trojans’ great warrior.

Which forces Achilles to reconcile himself with his own mortality,

and return to the field where he becomes the ultimate death-dealing machine,

slaying hordes of Trojans including Hector, whose body he drags behind his chariot because that’s how Achilles rolls,

until Hector’s father, Priam, comes and begs for his son’s corpse and Achilles relents

and they have dinner together, and then the book ends with the war still going on and nothing really resolved.

And that’s The Iliad.

When The Odyssey opens, it’s 10 years later, and everyone is already back home except for Odysseus.

His son Telemachus and his wife Penelope don’t know if he’s dead or alive, but Homer reveals that he’s on the Isle of Ogygia.

Imprisoned by the nymph Calypso, who’s so hot for Odysseus even though he pends his days laying on the beach and crying that she won’t let him go.

But finally the gods intervene and after a series of adventures and a whole lot of backstory he finally returns home to Ithaca in disguise,

and kills several dozen suitors who have been drinking all of his wine, eating his beeves, annoying his wife and plotting to kill his son.

And it seems like a cycle of violence is just going to continue on, probably forever,

until the goddess Athena who loves Odysseus intervenes and restores peace. The end.

Thanks, Thought Bubble. So, some of the big questions around The Odyssey are Odysseus’ heroic characteristics,

the epic’s double standard for women, and whether you can ever actually stop a cycle of violence.

Odysseus hardly appears in The Iliad and he’s not a particularly great fighter; in fact, he’s a pretty sleazy guy.

He leads a night raid into the enemy camp and kills a bunch of sleeping Trojans.

That’s not particularly glorious.

But it is typical of Odysseus, who will pretty much do whatever it takes to survive.

I mean, his distinguishing quality is metis, which means skill, or cunning.

Odysseus is smart; he’s really smart.

I mean, he’s an incredibly persuasive speaker and he can talk his way out of the stickiest of situations, even ones that involve, like, Cyclopses.

He’s also kind of a monster of self-interest, and if he weren’t so smug and overconfident he might have gotten home in less than, you know, like, a gajllion years.

The best example of this is probably Odysseus’ encounter with the Cyclops.

So Odysseus and his men land on the island of the Cyclops,

and he and several of his guys settle into the Cyclops’ cave, feasting on the delicious goat cheese that the Cyclops has hoarded,

and then, expecting the Cyclops to return and offer them gifts, because that’s what you do when someone breaks into your house.

I mean yes, there was an ancient Greek tradition of hospitality, but that’s taking it pretty far;

and for the record, it’s also pretty much exactly what the suitors are doing in Odysseus’ house, for which he kills them.

So the Cyclops comes home and he’s so thoroughly not psyched about these guys in his cave that

he begins to eat them, and in response Odysseus gets the Cyclops drunk and then blinds him with a flaming spear,

which is fairly easy to do because of course he only has one eye.

Odysseus has given his name as Noman, so when the Cyclops cries out,

“No man is hurting me! No man is killing me!”

the other Cyclopes don’t come to his aide, because you know they think there’s no man hurting him.

It’s a pun. It’s a blindingly good pun.

But then when it seems like Odysseus might get away with it, he can’t tolerate the idea that

“no man” is going to get the credit so he announces his actual name, causing the Cyclops to call down curses on him, which culminates in all of his men being killed.

Just as a rule of thumb, you do not want to be friends with Odysseus, and you also don’t want to be his enemy. Just stay away.

So Odysseus is a trickster and a liar and a pirate and a serial adulterer,

and he’s responsible for the death of a lot of people, and he also has probably the worst sense of direction in all of Greek literature.

But is he a hero? Yes.

To the Greeks, heroism didn’t mean perfection, it meant that you had an extraordinary attribute or ability, and Odysseus definitely does.

It’s not for nothing that he’s the favorite of Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

I mean, she applauds all of his tricks and stratagems, and she encourages us to applaud them too, even though from our contemporary perspective, he’s a pretty shady dude.

Speaking of contemporary perspective, one of Odysseus’ least stellar qualities is his attitude toward women.

He’s really big on this sexual double standard in which the exact same behavior types women as sluts and men as studs.

Actually the whole epic in general is incredibly—wait, why is my desk moving?

Oh, the secret compartment is open. It must be time for the open letter.

What have we got today? Well, it’s Medusa, a representation of woman as a monstrous serpent.

An open letter to the patriarchy: how are you so incredibly resilient?

Also, please explain something to me:

How is it that the only way for someone to become like a good heroic strong man is to have sex with lots of women,

but if a woman has sex with lots of men, she’s like tainted and impure and horrible?

Patriarchy, I don’t want to get too deeply into math but in order for men to have sex with a lot of women, a lot of women have to have sex with men.

That’s it, that’s the only way, patriarchy!

So basically you’re saying that the only way for men to achieve manliness is for women to fail at womanliness!

It’s bad! Actually, it’s evil! I hate you! Best wishes, John Green.

Yeah, so the whole epic is incredibly paranoid about female sexuality.

I mean the story that haunts The Odyssey is that of Agamemnon, the leader of the Achaeans, who returns victorious from the war,

only to be murdered by his wife and her lover.

And then when they meet in the underworld, Agamemnon’s ghost warns Odysseus that he better come home in secret because Penelope might try and have him killed too.

And the misogyny doesn’t end there;

I mean this is a book full of monsters, and, Cyclops aside, a lot of them are female;

like the Sirens who lure men too their deaths, or Scylla, who’s basically an octopus with teeth.

And then of course there’s Charybdis, a hole that sucks men to their doom.

You can explore the Freudian implications of that one over at Crash Course Psychology.

Meanwhile Odysseus sleeps with like every manner of magical lady and nearly marries an island princess,

but he assures us that he was always true to his wife “in his heart.”

Which is nice, but it would be even nicer if he were true to his wife in his pants.

Stan, who is ever the stickler for historical accuracy, would like me to acknowledge that

Odysseus didn’t wear pants because they weren’t a thing in Greece yet, so he wasn’t

true to his wife in like his toga or his loincloth or whatever.

Anyway, even as he’s sleeping around, Odysseus is incredibly concerned with whether or not Penelope is chaste.

If she isn’t, he’ll likely kill her.

After all, he later executes all the housemaids for sleeping with the suitors, and he’s not even married to them.

The epic seems like it’s building to a climactic scene wherein Odysseus is going to test Penelope’s faithfulness,

but instead it’s Penelope who tests Odysseus.

When he reveals himself to her, she doesn’t recognize him.

She forces him to prove himself by speaking the secret of their marriage bed, and only then does she embrace him in one of the most beautiful lines in all of Homer:

“And so she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her husband, her white arms round him pressed as though forever.”

Some ancient commentators believed the poem should end right there like any good romance would,

with Odysseus and Penelope blissfully reunited, but it doesn’t.

See Odysseus and a couple of his friends, with a big assist from Athena, have slaughtered all the suitors,

and the serving maids, and that’s a problem, because this isn’t The Iliad.

They aren’t at war.

The Iliad is a poem of war, and it’s main concern is kleos, which means glory or

renown achieved on the battlefield that guarantees you a kind of immortality because your deeds

are so amazing that everyone’s going to sing about you forever.

Achilles didn’t get to go home. He had two choices:

he could stay and fight and win glory, or he could go home and live a long and quiet life.

In The Iliad, Achilles went for glory.

But The Odyssey is about the alternative.

It’s about what we do after a war, how we put war away.

Odysseus isn’t particularly good at this.

He’s sort of an ancient example of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

He’s been through so much that he doesn’t know how to adjust to peacetime;

his response to young men taking over his dining hall and barbecuing all of his pigs is mass slaughter.

And the slaughter of the suitors leads to their relatives coming to try to slaughter Odysseus, and if Athena hadn’t descended from Olympus, conveniently,

and put a stop to it, pretty soon there would have been no one left on Ithaca alive.

And that’s a sobering final thought:

if it weren’t for divine intervention, the humans in this story might have continued that cycle of violence forever.

The Odyssey is a poem set in peacetime, but it reminds us that humans have never been particularly good at leaving war behind them.

Next week we’ll be discussing another story with lots of sex and violence and Greeks: Oedipus.

Thanks for watching. I’ll see you then.

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