Thursday, December 26, 2024

Casually Completing Classics #13: The Odyssey Books 18-19

 Book 18

Summary: Odysseus wins a bum fight. Penelope "unknowingly" prepares for him. The suitors and maids taunt Ody.

Commentary: "No pith/ was in him, and no nerve, huge as he looked."

A huge guy (for you)

"By god, old Iros is retiros." This is the best translation of this pun out of all the versions I looked at.

Odysseus is not having it with his maids talking shit and fucking the suitors: "you slut; he'll [Telemachus] cut your arms and legs off!"

One of the suitors "shines/ around the noggin like a flashing light,/ having no hair at all to dim his lustre." Sick burn, Homer.

Book 19

Summary: Tele steals hides the weapons. Oddy and Pene talk Oddy's wet nurse recognizes him. Pene plans the axes.

Commentary: Odysseus's prophecy about the geese and eagle is a pretty straight forward prophecy. Eagle kills geese; he kills suitors. It's barely even a metaphor.


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