BERNARD FREYDBERGcompanions, especially from the slaughter of forbidden cattle, and to
accomplish this he must “keep [his] mind on homecoming [novsto~]”
(11.110). Odysseus, of course, follows the prophet’s directives, which are
fulfi lled.
In the Meno, the image of the mythical prophet directing Odys-
seus is likened to the one who knows what virtue is, and so can instruct
others by means of this knowledge. But Tiresias’ prophetic talent comes
to him only after he has been blinded by Athena, whom he glimpsed
(quite by accident) bathing naked, and who compensates him for the
blindness she has caused by giving him this gift and also a staff by which
to walk about.
Tiresias’ sight is always accompanied by the self-recognition that he
cannot see. It also belongs to Tiresias’ sight that no one else in Hades has
it—it was “acquired” by him alone, through the entreaties of his mother,
as a result of his own deed. In the dialogue, Plato has the Homeric im-
age function as a paradigm for a search that each living human being
must take up for himself or herself alone. Since it is not given to us to see
originals (such as virtue kaqΔ auJto;) whole and pure, just as Tiresias was
barred upon penalty of his sight from seeing a goddess naked, it is our
task to keep our spirit in check and to be mindful of those matters that
matter most to human habitation on earth and in our povlei~, that is, in
our homes.^15 This means for us to be mindful of our ignorance about
these matters, and to continue the questioning that will bring us ever
nearer to virtue in the very search for it.
Thus, Plato uses the Homeric image Socrates would ban from the
education of young soldiers in another dialogue as a vicarious image
for the one who would seek virtue sincerely. In the mouth of Socrates
speaking it to the uncomprehending Meno, we are given an oblique but
unmistakable glimpse of how this image should function in our philo-
sophical lives.
Another such cross-dialogical instance occurs with Odyssey 17.4 8 5:
For the gods take on all sorts of transformations, appearing as strang-
ers from elsewhere, and thus they range at large through the cities,
watching to see which men keep the laws, and which are violent.The suitor Antinoös has just struck the “vagabond” who he and his col-
leagues do not know is Odysseus, and the suitors scold Antinoös, since
the vagabond may turn out to be a god in disguise and so wreak ven-
geance upon them.
This passage would be expunged from the poetry intended for
the education of the young soldiers, because it is useful to the city for