I've read The Odyssey three times this year, over five or six times in my life, and that's not nearly enough. People have read it and talked about it for over three thousand years, across 150 generations. It's that good and important. But why?
It's a tale about a flawed hero, a man of intellect and action and excellence in many things who faces nearly endless obstacles to the one thing he wants the most—simply to get home to the wife, son, father, and friends he loves. But everything seems to stand in his way. Any of us who have ever faced adversity, especially repeated difficulties that threaten to end our dreams and extinguish our hopes, can find inspiration in this doggedly determined human being. He's sometimes punished by the gods, and at other times favored by them.
To give you a flavor of who he is, I've copied every major description of him in the Robert Fagles translation. There are some repetitions, because of the epic's background in oral recitation, but what's chosen to be repeated says a lot about how the character of Odysseus is viewed by the bard. It's quite a list of terms, many of which appear in apposition to his name in the telling of the tale. But I thought it would be useful and illuminating to give you them all. May he inspire us all. So here we go.
Cursed by fate
luckless man
longs to die
one who excels all men in wisdom
never at a loss
the most unlucky mortal man ever born
one who outperformed all men of his time
the godlike man
cunning
More than all other men, that man was born for pain
no one there could hope to rival Odysseus, not for sheer cunning
at every twist of strategy he excelled us all
brave Odysseus
No one, no Achaean, labored hard as Odysseus labored or achieved so much
the crafty one
that fearless Odysseus
More than all other men, that man was born for pain
Never an unfair word, never an unfair action
Never an outrage done to any man alive
who excelled the Argives in every strength
that luckless man
that godlike man
long-enduring
a spirit tempered to endure
Man of misery
Long-enduring
weighed down with troubles
the man of many struggles
seasoned, worldly-wise
long-suffering
long-enduring
raider of cities
seasoned man of war
most cursed man alive
unlucky friend
man of twists and turns
born for exploits
master of exploits
man of pain
the unluckiest man alive
the man of countless exploits
mastermind of war
man of tactics
cunning
famed for exploits
luckless man
equipped with the gods’ own wisdom
who had suffered twenty years of torment
sick at heart
man of misery
foxy, ingenious, neer tired ot tricks and twists
far the best at tactics, spinning yarns
the cool tactician
so winning, so worldly-wise, so self-possessed
kind
the man for all occasions
raider of cities
full of tactics
no one could touch the man at plots or battles
man of exploits
a brave man in war and a deep mind in counsel
the great raider of cities
strong, enduring Odysseus
the one who knew the world
master of many exploits
the man of many trials
master of craft
a man who’s had his share of sorrows
the master improviser
the great master of subtlety
the man of craft
sly profit-turning
There was a man, or was he all a dream?
The Son of Pain
man of exploits
man of exploits
the unluckiest man alive
Impossible man!
great and strong as a god
mastermind in action
master of craft and battle
the wily fighter
the wily captain
mastermind of war
master of tactics
raider of cities
the crafty rascal
long-enduring
the best on earth, they say, when it comes to mapping tactics
the most understanding man alive raider of cities
the soul of cunning
long -suffering great Odysseus
Happy Odysseus
mastermind
long-enduring
the most unlucky man
Man of strife
luckless man
master of exploits
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