Pack Creek Ranch, San Juan County, Utah
Simply said: very warm and very green. The edge of early summer.
HOMER
Historians note that in 125 AD the Roman Emperor Hadrian went all the way to Delphi, consulted the famous Oracle and asked:
“Who was Homer? – Where was he born? Who were his parents?”
Apparently, the Oracle’s answer was ambiguous.
Even the Oracle did not know for certain.
Several thousand years later, as a student in a course in ancient history that required the reading of the Odyssey, I asked the same questions. And got the same ambiguous answers.
So, I read the poem – was bored stiff – and resolved never to read it again. What did I understand at age 18?
This new translation by Emily Wilson was given to me as a gift. Dr. Wilson’s credentials are impeccable – many awards, such as a McCarther genius prize, a Guggenheim, and praise from both the academic community and the popular press.
Wanting to be open-minded, I read it.
Here’s what I learned:
The scholarly consensus is that the long-held common notion that Homer was a blind Greek poet is wrong.
Broad bands of research indicate that the deep source of the stories lay in the oral tradition of storytelling existing well before written alphabets. At some unknown time, the stories were collected by persons unknown into an Ur-text, which became the basis for all the many hundreds of translations that followed.
Translations beget translations depending on the culture and values in which they were made.
Though the story is rich with the interaction between the Greek pantheons of Gods and mortals, no claim has ever been made that the Odyssey is divinely inspired.
Whatever it’s sources, it was written by human beings, not as literal history but out of the capacity for imagination and myth-making unique to people just like us.
Just like us.
The plot lines of contemporary films, TV shows, Science Fiction, and novels are still the same as those of the adventures of the characters in the Odyssey. Love, conflict, the journey home, and our ideas of the place of the gods in our lives. The ongoing human story.
And that thought points at the history, opinions, and translations of the Bible. Who wrote it? Is it history or myth?
Well…..That’s a journal posting for another time.
Meanwhile, consider the Odyssey.
Footnote:
There are several fine videos on YouTube containing interviews with Emily Wilson, public readings, and lectures as well. Wikipedia has an excellent summary of her life accomplishments.
Take a look.