Homeric ideals: civilized social living
The end of the Odyssey restores the conditions in which civilized living is again possible.
An idealized version of Homeric civilization is the tranquil world that Odysseus enters
when he arrives in Scherie, the home of the Phaeacians, a rich land whose seafaring
inhabitants know of war only as a subject of song while pursuing the occupations of
peace. They are indirectly contrasted with their old neighbours the Cyclopes (6, 5),
who dwell in caves, do not practise agriculture and are said to be athemistes, that is,
having no respect for themis (custom, law or equity), but who live each a law unto
himself in the primitive state of nature where the individual will is not controlled and
civilized by the social bond. While the response of the Cyclops to a visiting stranger is
that of the savage, the benevolent Phaeacians show respect for the suppliant,
unconditionally welcoming Odysseus without knowing who he is. In their generous
treatment of their visitor, whom they honour with gifts, and in the delicate manners
exhibited in the royal household between king, queen and princess, we see the highest
standards of Homeric civilization. Odysseus reciprocates, himself showing exquisite
manners in his delicate and considerate dealings with the young Nausicaa.
These standards are reflected too in the treatment given to Telemachus as a guest
at Pylos and Sparta, in the simple piety of Nestor and his relationship with his sons,
and in the humanity of Menelaus and his tranquil relationship with Helen, now forgiven.
But the most striking example of moral excellence in the poem is the compassion
shown to Odysseus in disguise as an apparently destitute beggar by Eumaeus,
Telemachus and Penelope. These are the civilized standards by which we are to judge
the shameless behaviour of the suitors, who lack aidos, that quality of restraint that
enforces respect for the laws of hospitality and decency in human relations.
In other respects Scherie represents a world redolent of Greek ideals. The
striking description of its beautiful garden and magnificent palace (a reminder of the
sophisticated monuments of Mycenaean culture) evokes a world of order, harmony
and proportion, a cultivated place of material splendour in which the physical and the
artistic are equally valued. In this setting Homer endows his hero as he sets out for
the palace with a beauty that has come to be regarded as the Greek ideal:
Athena made him seem taller and sturdier than ever and caused the bushy locks
to hang from his head thick as the petals of the hyacinth in bloom. Just as a
craftsman trained by Hephaestus and herself in the secrets of his art takes pains
to put a graceful finish to his work by overlaying silver-ware with gold, she finished
now by endowing his head and shoulders with added beauty. When Odysseus
retired to sit down by himself on the sea-shore, he was radiant with comeliness
and grace.
(6, 229–235)26 THE GREEKS