The Education of EverymanrnThe Meaning of the Odysseyrnby William F. WyattrnClassical professors looked forward with a mixture of eagernessrnand anxiety to the recent $40 million version of thernOdyssey on NBC. Would the production reveal Homer, orrnwould the Hollywoodification of his poem so distort the plotrnthat we would be spending the remainder of our careers disabusingrnstudents and others of false impressions? And wouldrnthe audience even be sufficiently interested by the story to consultrnthe original?rnI am no critic of television, and cannot answer this last question.rnThere are liberties taken with Homer’s story, and mattersrnrelated by Homer outside the poem are brought into the production.rnThe Cyclops Polyphemus was horrible, but perhapsrnnot horrible enough; Circe was enchanting, but perhaps notrnenchanting enough; Kalypso was sexy and seductive, but perhapsrnnot sufficiently so—the conception at these points wasrnthat of an R-rated film, but the execution was that of a show tornbe aired on network television. There were many good things,rnof course. Aeolus was innovative and good, remarking thatrnOdysseus, unlike most mortals, was able to learn from experience,rnsomething of which Homer would have approved. FromrnOdysseus himself we learn that he is proud and arrogant, andrnthat Poseidon is angry with him for his self-sufficiency and inadequaterngratitude to the gods for destroying Troy: here Homerrnwould have demurred. These are the only two characteristicsrnwe can assign to Odysseus, save his—intermittent but implacablern—desire to return to Penelope.rnPenelope in turn is faithful to the memory of her husband,rnWilliam F. Wyatt is a professor of classics at Brown University.rnand her young son Telemachus is eager to become a man andrnemulate his long-absent father. Both have to contend with arnbunch of unruly suitors who want Odysseus’ property and hisrnwife, even if thev have to kill the boy to get these prizes. Thernend result of the television version—though not of the Homericrn—is that after Telemachus and Odysseus have taken revengernon the suitors, Penelope satisfactorily and romantically falls intornOdysseus’ arms. The television Odyssey is an adventure talernwith a romantic ending, and an enjoyable one.rnWhat, then, of Homer’s Odyssey? What is it really about?rnWhat themes docs it contain that are deserving of our attention?rnBefore answering that question we must refer to the Iliad,rnthe other great ancient Greek epic. For the Odyssey presupposesrnthe Iliad, follows it, and in a very real sense completes it.rnOdysseus is the last warrior back from Trov, and it is his returnrnthat signals the end of the Trojan adventure. The first questionrnthe Odyssey answers, then, is: When did the Trojan adventurernend? Answer: when Odysseus finally took up his rightful positionrnas chief man on Ithaca.rnThe Iliad is a poem of war and heroic endeavor. The mainrncharacters are mighty warriors, bloodthirsty, successful in theirrnwork, rich as a result of the booty they acquire. Their lives—inrnmany instances short—are devoted to heroic (i.e., warlike) activities,rnand their primary concern is with honor, not survival.rnHonor is attained by battle, and brings respect among one’srnfriends, fear in the enemy, and riches with which to rewardrnone’s followers and support one’s self. Life is apt to be short,rnbut it can be glorious.rnAchilles sums up the heroic life in the Iliad when he reportsrnSEPTEMBER 1997/19rnrnrn