This thesis will look at the use of the description of setting as a means to enhance and define character in the apologos of the Odyssey. The approach to this study will be two-fold. First, the descriptions of the various locales in the poem help establish a first impression of the characters that dwell within them. Second, and more importantly, the characters’ reaction and response to that setting further defines their character-traits, revealing their inner self to the audience. While this phenomenon is most commonly found with characters in their own setting, it can also be quite informative for characters in a foreign setting. The main type of description on which I will focus is that generally found at the beginning of each respective episode. These descriptions are marked by a break in the narrative and set the scene for the remainder of the episode. I consider only descriptions longer than the formulaic noun-adjective combinations or the epithets found throughout the poem. While the latter two types are important, I will mention them only in comparison with the former type. In Chapter Three I will focus on this relationship between description and character with regard to the Cyclopes and Phaeacians, although other scenes will be mentioned. In Chapter Four I will focus on the Lotus-Eaters, Sirens, Calypso, Circe, the Nymphs on Ithaca, and the realm of the afterlife. / Thesis (Master, Classics) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-09 07:45:38.062

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This thesis argues that the defining characteristic of intra-familial relationships in both the Iliad and the Odyssey is inequality. Homeric relationship pairs that are presented positively are strongly marked by an uneven distribution of power and authority, and when family members do not subscribe to this ideology, the result is a dysfunctional relationship that is condemned by the poet and used as a negative paradigm for his characters. Moreover, the inequality favoured by the epics proceeds according to strict role-based rules with little scope for innovation according to personality, meaning that determination of authority is simple in the majority of cases. Wives are expected to submit themselves to their husbands, sons to their fathers, and less powerful brothers to their more dominant siblings. This rigid hierarchy does create the potential for problems in some general categories of relationship, and relations between mothers and sons in particular are strained in both epics, both because of the shifting power dynamic between them caused by the son’s increasing maturity and independence from his mother and her world, and because of Homeric epic’s persistent conjunction of motherhood with death. This category of familial relationships is portrayed in the epics as doomed to failure, but others are able to be depicted positively through adhering to the inequality that is portrayed in the epics as both natural and laudable. / I will also argue that this systemic pattern of inequality can be understood as equivalent to the Homeric concept of homophrosyne (“like-mindedness”), a term which, despite its appearance of equality, in fact refers to a persistent inequality. Accordingly, for a Homeric relationship to be portrayed as successful, one partner must submit to the other, adapting themselves to the other’s outlook and aims, and subordinating their own ideals and desires. Through this, they are able to become “like-minded” with their partners, achieving something like the homophrosyne recommended for husbands and wives in the Odyssey.

Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 2003. / Thesis advisor: Jane Fried. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Student Development in Higher Education." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-83). Also available via the World Wide Web.

The study proposes that oral-traditonnal cultures, or cultures with a high degree of orality, use similar processes to hide political or social subversion in text. To test this hypothesis, the author examines three texts from three highly oral cultures: a tractate of the Babylonian Talmud, Homer's Odyssey and Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent. The author finds that in all three texts subversion is concealed according to what she defines as the three principles of disguise: articulation, by which a text hides secondary meaning through its use of diction and syntax; construction, by which a text incorporates hidden transcripts or meaning within its narrative or textual structure; and diversion, by which a text directs the audience away from subversive meaning by focusing attention on other elements. All three principles of disguise exploit the relationship between the written text and the oral-traditional environment in which the text was used. The three-principle model of disguise enables us to set in comparative perspective relationships between the processes of communication and resistance in diverse cultures, and offers significant opportunities for comparative study. The author concludes that texts from diverse cultures may be employed similarly as extensions of oral tradition, especially when there is a need to conceal particular ideas from a dominant hegemony, and that reading these texts "against the grain" for evidence of subsurface subversion promises a deeper insight into both the function of text as a tool of resistance and the dynamics of human power relationships. / Graduate

This report examines different approaches to the performance of the Odyssey. The first approach focuses on the internal evidence of the Odyssey, looking at how the Homer’s poems define the singer as a type. The second approach analyzes a selection of sources from the classical period that attests to the performance of the Odyssey. The third approach uses material evidence as a means to reconstruct the music of performance. The internal evidence provides a consistent model for performance that can be correlated with external context. This model can then be used to show how the Odyssey makes use of its own performance. These approaches demonstrate that the material of the poem provides the most compelling account of performance of the Odyssey. The Odyssey presents a consistent model of performance that describes the performer, the manner of performance, and makes use of performance in its own poetry. / text

Thesis advisor: Dayton Haskin / Homer's Odyssey is a foundational work for the western cultural and literary tradition. It has been translated into English many times over, which reflects a certain enduring relevance of the work and its characters. This thesis examines twelve or so English translations of the Odyssey, from those of Alexander Pope and George Chapman to the modern works of Robert Fagles and Robert Fitzgerald, in their interpretations of specific moments where the hero interacts with Nausikaa, Kalypso, Athena, and Penélopê. Traditionally, although the women of the Odyssey are considered to be active and relevant to Odysseus' journey, they also pose considerable danger to his quest for Ithaka. However, by juxtaposing and comparing various translations from different time periods, we enrich our understanding of the astounding agency these women demonstrate in facilitating the hero's return. As opposed to mere tools that Odysseus utilizes as a means to an end, these women actively interfere in his journey to ensure his safety and bring to fruition the ultimate goal of restoring order on Ithaka. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: English. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

M.A. / In this dissertation I have explored the ways in which Margaret Atwood, in her novella The Penelopiad, reflect and re-interprets the Penelope of Homer’s Odyssey. The method I am using to explore and form character profiles is in accordance with modern literary theories on character. I have studied how Penelope’s speech, actions, interactions with others, thoughts and other elements of contrast and archetype aid in forming her character profile in Homer and Atwood. The character of Penelope in the Odyssey has been treated differently over the years by scholars and my aim is to discuss how Atwood enters into this critique. She enters into this critique with her fictional re-representation of Penelope in The Penelopiad. I have concluded that The Penelopiad is a feminist response to Homer’s Odyssey. In Homer Penelope emerges as a virtuous, yet complex and powerful character who is regarded by later Greek tradition as the epitome of a respectable and faithful wife. The purpose of Atwood’s Penelope is to counter the Homeric tradition that portrays her as loyal and obedient. Atwood keeps close to Homeric events and story-line in her re-reading, however she subverts the archetype of the ‘Good Wife’. She portrays Penelope’s familiar Homeric behaviour as motivated from a self-serving perspective and a manner in which to gain power and preserve her reputation in the patriarchal society. In this way Atwood exposes the female suppression that is inherent in patriarchal society, as well as the duplicitous behaviour that is necessary to survive the system.

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