The Homeric Marriage

Justin Stone November 27, 2012 MLS-540M

Who could move my bed? Impossible task, even for some skilled craftsman unless a god came down in person, quick to lend a hand, lifted out with ease and moved it elsewhere. Not a man on earth, not even at peak strength, would find it easy to prise it up and shift it, no, a great sign, a hallmark lies in its construction. I know, I built it myself no one else There was a branching olive-tree inside our court, strong and vigorous, and girth it was like a pillar.. Around it I built my bedroom, finished off the walls with good tight stonework, roofed it over soundly and added doors, hung well and snugly wedged. Then I lopped the leafy crown of the olive, clean-cutting the stump bare from the roots up, planting it round with a bronze smoothing-adze I had the skill I shaped it plumb to the line to make my bedpost, bored the holes it needed with an auger. Working from there I built my bed, start to finish, I gave it ivory inlays, gold and sliver fittings, wove the straps across it, oxhide gleaming red. There is our secret sign, I tell you, our life story! - Homer, The Odyssey Ch23 Lines 185-202

The great Greek epic The Odyssey is a fascinating look into ancient Mediterranean culture. It is popular scholarly opinion

that free women are treated only slightly better than slaves during this time. However, this view of ancient culture is not Furthermore, he uses Odysseuss

evident in Homers tale.

marriage with Penelope to illustrate a healthy and happy marriage. Before Homer reunites the hero with his wife, he

examines two other marriages, Menelaus and Helen along with Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When comparing these marriages to

Odysseus and Penelope, it becomes clear that the hero is speaking about more than his bed in his speech found in the twenty-third chapter. a healthy marriage. From the very beginning of the passage, Homer illuminates the mighty structure of the beda symbol of marriage. The Homer is illustrating, through metaphor,

opening lines of the description communicate how hard it would be for any man to move the bed. Odysseus deems this fact a

great sign and expresses that a hallmark lies in its construction. (Hom. Od. 23.188) The first marriage depicted in Menelauss

The Odyssey is in contrast to this ideal.

dysfunctional marriage with Helen is the very reason why the war at Troy commencedHelen is all too easily picked up and carried away by another man.

Nonetheless, Homers metaphorical observation is not a criticism of Helens loyalty, but an assessment of Menelauss inability to build a successful marriage. As Odysseus speaks of

his bed, I built it myself, no one else, he is also referring to his marriage. (Hom. Od. 23.188) This statement additionally shows another key difference between the two marriages. Menelaus does not acquire his bride on his own, but through the assistance of Odysseus. The ancient audience is already aware

of the story of how Odysseus devises a plan to help Menelaus win Helen and, in doing so, procures Penelope for himself. To follow, the strength of Odysseuss bed is a metaphor for the importance of trust in a marriage. A great olive tree, a

literary symbol for stability and commitment, is used as a bedpost. Penelopes love and support for her husband is so

great that Menelaus calls her self-possessed Penelope. (Hom. Od. 4.110) In contrast, Helen does not show commitment to After Helen tells a story of her

Menelaus in such a manner.

involvement to aid the Greeks in the Trojan War, her tale is revealed as a lie through Menelauss conveying of the same account. He exposes her wavering loyalty, pointing out how she (Hom.

seeks only what is most advantageous to her presently. Od. 4.235-289)

Helen then leaves as she entered into the story, To Menelaus, Helen is It is clear in the

in a parade of treasures and other women. nothing more than one of his many trophies.

fourth chapter of The Odyssey that Homer blames Menelauss indifference for his countless misfortunes. Accordingly, trust is also a major dysfunction in the second marriage Homer examines; Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Odysseus is shocked to find the great king of Argos in Hades in the eleventh chapter of the epic tale. Agamemnon has been

murdered by his wife and her lover, Aegisthus, upon returning from ten years of war in Troy. He is so distrusting of women

that he gives Odysseus particular advice, so even your own wife never indulge her too far. Never reveal the whole truth,

whatever you may know; just tell her part of it, be sure to hide the rest. (Hom. Od. 11.440) However, even the great Agamemnon

knows that Odysseuss marriage is different from his own as he proclaims, Not that you, Odysseus, will be murdered by your wife. Shes much too steady, her feelings run too deep. (Hom. Odysseuss marriage is like the olive tree, strong To prove this, Odysseus ignores Agamemnons counsel,

Od. 11.444) and loyal.

And the great Odysseus told his wife of all the pains he had dealt out to other men and all the hardships hed endured himselfhis story first to last. (Hom. Od. 23.305) Trust is not the only difficulty in Agamemnons marriage, nonetheless. The metaphor of Odysseuss bed also describes how

he protects it, Around it I built my bedroom, finished off the walls with good tight stonework, roofed it over soundly and

added doors, hung well and snugly wedged. (Hom. Od. 23.190) Odysseus makes every effort in his marriage to fend off the dangers of the world. On the other hand, Agamemnon is known to

be the king of kings and often places politics before his family. Moreover, Agamemnons most egregious offense, and ultimately the trigger for his murder, frames the untimely death of his daughter with apathy toward his family. On his way to

Troy, Agamemnon boasts that he is a greater hunter than the goddess Artemis. Artemis punishes Agamemnon by stopping the The goddess tells

winds that carry the Greek army to Troy.

Agamemnon that she will restore the winds after he sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia. Agamemnon, in a bold lie, tells

Clytemnestra to bring Iphigenia to him so she might be married to the great champion Achilles. Agamemnon has chosen politics On the other hand,

and glory over the life of his daughter.

Odysseus is faced with a similar situation and differs from Agamemnon in many regards. While Agamemnon is eager to journey

to Troy and find his glory, Odysseus wants nothing more than to stay at home with his wife and newborn son. The ancient

audience listening to The Odyssey already knows that Odysseus feigns madness when Agamemnon comes to enlist him for the war against Troy. To disprove Odysseuss insanity, his newborn son Odysseus of course drops the act

is thrown in front of a plow.

and rescues his son.

Regardless of the personal cost, Odysseus Unlike Agamemnon,

is not willing to place his family in danger.

Odysseus sacrifices himself to protect his family. Along with protecting his marriage, Odysseus holds it in high esteem, above everything else. He finishes the creation of

his bed by treating it like a treasure, I gave it ivory inlays, gold and sliver fittings, wove the straps across it, oxhide gleaming red. (Hom. Od. 23.200) the same manner. Odysseus views his marriage in

His desire to return to Penelope is the reason

he suffers through many trials following the Trojan War and continues to battle until he finds home. To illustrate this

point, the goddess Calypso becomes angry with Odysseus when he denies her offer of immortality if he will only stay with her. She asks Odysseus why he would choose a mortal woman over an ageless, beautiful goddess. He replies:

Ah great goddess, worldly Odysseus answered, Dont be angry with me, please. All that you say is true, how well I know. Look at my wise Penelope. She falls short of you, your beauty, stature. She is mortal after all and you, you never age or die Nevertheless I long I pine, all my days to travel home and see the dawn of my return. And if a god will wreck me yet again on the wine-dark sea, I can bear that too, with spirit tempered to endure. Much have I suffered, labored long and hard by now in the waves and wars. Add this to the total bring the trail on! (Hom. Od. 5.235-247) It is clear that Odysseus cannot be happy unless he is once again reunited with his wife. He treasures her more than the

glories of war, the promise of immortality, or any other reward.

Not only does Odysseus place his marriage above any honor or position, but he also defines himself through his marriage. His marriage is his honor. Odysseus tells the story of his bed

because Penelope questions whether he really is her husband returned home. guest. She tasks the maid with moving the bed for her

This gesture offends Odysseus greatly and he ends the

metaphor of the bed, Theres our secret sign, I tell you, our life story! Does the bed, my lady, still stand planted firm? I

dont know or has someone chopped away that olive-trunk and hauled our bedstead off? (Hom. Od. 23.202) He is not asking He is

about the status of his bed, but of his marriage. questioning if Penelope has been unfaithful.

Upon realizing

that her husband has indeed returned, she embraces him, he wept as he held the wife he loved, the soul of loyalty, in his arms at last. (Hom. Od. 23.231) To conclude, Homer articulates a very powerful message about the characteristics of a healthy and happy marriage is in his epic The Odyssey. This argument, although unconventional,

is not too modern for the text and is demonstrated through a close reading of the depiction of Odysseuss bed, carefully detailing the suggested metaphor. Upon comparing the three

marriages depicted in the epic, Menelaus and Helen, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and Odysseus and Penelope, to the metaphor, the contrasts and likenesses are too apparent to be merely

coincidental.

Homer proclaims, through the depiction of

Odysseuss bed, that a happy marriage is strong, is built on trust, and should be protected and treasured above all things.

Works Cited Homer. The Odyssey. Ed. and trans. by Robert Fagles (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1997)