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| Teiresias and Odysseus in the Underworld |
- "Again, … we come up against the difference between the Homeric attitude and our own toward the world of what for us are mental events. Our way of thinking perhaps distinguishes more clearly and consciously between that [mental] realm and the physical [realm], but our appreciation tends to suffer in consequence as mental events become more and more a figment, something we willfully create rather than a part of our environment. We must never forget that for Homer a thought or a dream is just as real as smoke or a shadow, and that they all exist in the same world." (Dimock, 134-135)
- Elpenor, the most recently killed, when he got drunk and forgot that he was on the roof of the palace and walked off it without a ladder, Elpenor appears to Odysseus still somewhat vital. Odysseus and his men had forgotten to bury him in their haste. Although, it has been noted, Elpenor is nearly the most unheroic character in Homeric epic, here Elpenor asks for, and will receive, a burial and remembrance as an oarsman of Odysseus's boat.
- Odysseus meets the renowned Theban prophet to receive instructions. Teiresias gives him several warnings: to curb his and his men's wild desire when they come to the Cattle of the Sun; to keep his mind focused on returning home. But Teiresias's last instruction is the most puzzling: to carry an oar inland until he meets people who are so far from the sea, they don't have salt (i.e., from the salty sea) and don't know what an oar is. There, Odysseus should plant his oar in the ground and sacrifice to the god of the sea who has caused so much trouble for Odysseus. At last, Poseidon will be propitiated. Odysseus can then go home and live the rest of his days in peace. So, Odysseus receives from Teiresias a picture of his whole future, as seen from the beyond.
- We know that Odysseus has been telling his story for the last three books to the court of the Phaeacians and primarily to win Queen Arete's support of his trip home. She finally is won over after she hears Odysseus tell of his mother's love and how his mother has renown because of her son's. Queen Arete orders yet more gifts be given to Odysseus.
- The second half of this book involves a parade of great Greeks visiting with Odysseus: Agamemnon, Achilles, Ajax, and Heracles. How do you think Odysseus compares with these four. Although when they lived, each seemed superior in some ways to Odysseus eventhough Odysseus was highly regarded for some abilities, where does his standing now rank now that we can see them all with an "eternal eye"? What specific evidence from the text can you cite to support your position? [Discuss Ody Bk11 Q01]
- "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." --George Patton