Book VIII--Songs of the Harper
|Summary|Characters & Their Lessons|Literary Devices|Symbolism|Connections|Links & References|
Summary
Odysseus and Alkinoos make their way down to the assembly grounds to announce the arrival of Odysseus. Athena disguises herself as the crier of Alkinoos, Pontonoos, and tells all of the Phaeacians to go to the assembly grounds to meet this great stranger that Alkinoos has taken in as a guest. Athena grants Odysseus good fortune, so that he might win over the Phaeacians and finally be given an escort home. When Odysseus asks Alkinos if he could help him get home, Alkinoos is only too happy to oblige. He orders the Phaeacians to gather a crew and prepare a ship quickly. While this is being taken care of, a feast is arranged. Alkinoos calls the great bard Achilles’ great battle. The song moves Odysseus to tears, and since Alkinoos wants this to be a happy event, he decides that it’s time to start the pentathlon.
The pentathlon consists of five events: foot racing, wrestling, broad jump, throwing, and boxing. The mariners all rise to the occasion, showing off their great talents. When asked to compete, Odysseus first declines. The mariners will have none of this, however. Seareach, one of the competitors, taunts Odysseus, saying that he doesn’t look like an athlete anyway. Of course, once the challenge is laid down, Odysseus must show them that he is indeed an athlete. He throws a discus that lands a great distance beyond the discuses of all of the other competitors, thus winning the contest.
Once the pentathlon ends, King Alkinoos decides that it is time to show Odysseus their skill in dancing. As the Phaeacians dance, Demodokos sings his second song: the Song of Ares and Aphrodite. After the singing and dancing has died down, Alkinoos calls for gifts to be given to the great stranger. He was given cloaks and gold among many other things. Seareach, who had earlier insulted him, gives him the special gift of a bronze sword that had a hilt made of silver. Odysseus stores these away, and prepares for the feast that night.
At the feat, Odysseus compliments Demodokos on his singing, and pleads with him to sing a song about the Trojan horse. As this is played, Odysseus cries once again. Alkinoos sees this, and in an attempt to change the subject, asks Odysseus to tell of his journey and homeland. This is where Odysseus will begin to tell his tale to the King and the Phaeacians.
Extra Summaries--MythWeb|BookRags|SparkNotes
Characters & Their Lessons
Character: Odysseus
Description:When Odysseus, the king of Ithaka, decides not to compete in the athletic games he shows a semblance of humbleness. Unfortunately, when Seareach taunts Odysseus his ego resurfaces, and he takes on the challenge.
Lesson: Odysseus is smart enough to learn not to give away his true identity right away. He doesn’t want to let on to who he really is until he is sure of his safety in the situation. Possibly the most important thing that Odysseus learns is how to be a real person. When Odysseus was caught crying during Demodocus’ story, it showed that he was a real person who had feelings. Up until that point he had been putting on the cover of being indestructible and superior. Odysseus also learned how to be generous when he gave Demodocus a portion of his meal.
Character: Alcinous
Description: Alcinous is the very hospitable and noble king of the Phaeacians. He welcomed Odysseus into his palace, and treated him as a guest of honor. He was generous with his gifts to Odysseus, despite the fact that he didn’t know who he really was. He is the portrait of the ideal ruler.
Character: Demodocus
Description: The blind bard is a very well respected story teller among the Phaecians.
Character: Seareach
Description: He is very egotistic and competitive, sort of like the typical Odysseus. He knows how to get on Odysseus’ nerves. He won the wrsetling match.
Character: Prince Laodamas
Description: He is the noble and athletic son of Alcinous. He is merely looking for good competition when he asks Odysseus to join in the athletic games. He won the boxing match.
Character: Athena
Description: She takes full advantage of the fact that Odysseus is now under her care. She helps him in human form, as well as by making his appearance more youthful.
Character: Nausicaa
Description:The daughter of Alcinous; she wants Odysseus to remember that it was her that saved him.
Character:Arete
Description: She encompasses the portrayal of the ideal queen, one who is noble, kind, and caring. It makes sense that she and her husband are ideal rulers, because they are well connected with the gods.
Character:Prince Klytoneus
Description: Another son of King Alcinous. He won the quarter-mile run.
Still confused on characters? Click
here or
here for more information.
Literary Devices
WAIT! I forget what a literary device is!
Fictional Poetry
The
Odyssey is a work of fictional poetry.
Protagonist
The protagonist is Odysseus.
Antagonist
The main antagonist is Poseidon.
Main Character/Hero
Odysseus is also considered the main character and the hero of the story.
Flashback
Book VIII comes right before Odysseus begins a flashback to the story of his journey.
Setting
The setting of book eight is the palace of the Phaecians.
Theme/Motif
One reccurring
theme or motif in the
Odyssey is loyalty. In book VIII Odysseus has to earn the loyalty of the Phaecians so he can gain help to get home.
Theme
Another theme is the hospitality in Greek culture; the Phaecians generously help Odysseus even though he was a stranger to them.
Theme
Parting gifts are also an important theme in this book, because they each symbolize something.
Symbolism
Boat
A
boat represents a journey or adventure. Ex: Odysseus’ journey home and journey of life lessons.
Sea
The
sea represents a journey through life. Ex: The lessons Odysseus learns throughout his travels.
Gold
Gold represents superiority. Ex: Odysseus believes that he is superior to others.
Sword
A
sword represents protection, power, authority, strength and courage. Ex: Those are all qualities that Odysseus possesses.
Wine
Wine represents the blood of death. Ex: Foreshadowing of events to come for the suitors.
Food
Food usually represents good hospitality, but in the Odyssey food usually goes hand in hand with bad things to come. Ex: After the feast at the Phaecians, and Odysseus’ story, the Phaecians boat is turned to stone by Poseidon.
Dancing
The intricate dancing of the Phaeacians was not just something that was thrown into the story to spice it up. Dancing is traditionally a very precise art. It portrays a story, and is very peaceful. The Phaeacians talent at dancing was meant to symbolize the kind of people they are. They are people who are at peace, and have a very ordered way of life. Dance is generally thought of as a happy thing, and the Phaeacians are also a very happy people.
Songs of Demodocus
The purpose of the three songs sung by Demodokos was to bring in the bits of history from
The Iliad required to fully understand The
Odyssey without completely filling the book up with things already written in The
Iliad.
Connections
Japanese Mythology
Tsuki-Yomi (the moon) was born from the right eye of Izanagi; just like Athena was born out of Zeus’ head.
Norse Mythology
The Norse god of the sea,
Aegir, was very similar to Poseidon. He had a very bad temper, and was also usually depicted carrying a trident.
Running
Marion Jones is an amazing Olympic track star. In the
Odyssey Odysseus is considered one of the best athletes in the area, especially at track and field and archery. Odysseus and Marion are alike because they both excel at track and field, and they are both very controversial figures. They are both controversial because they are loved by some people, and hated by others. In the news today, Marion Jones decided not to race this season because of all the controversy surrounding her drug tests. All the drama has caused her to be mentally and physically drained. This relates to Odysseus’ situation where he doesn’t want to compete in the athletic games, because he has other things on his mind. Odysseus was also mentally and physically drained from his long journey. Both Marion and Odysseus went on draining physical and spiritual journeys. Marion’s physical journey was all the training that she did to be an Olympic athlete. Her spiritual journey was all the drama and controversy that she had to suffer through. Odysseus’s physical journey consisted of all his stops on his way home. His spiritual journey consisted of all the lessons he learned throughout his travels.
Comparison to Your Life
If this were to take place now, in 2007, Odysseus would probably be a middle-aged man who just got back from a long tour in Iraq or Afghanistan. He’d be weary from his journey, and longing to be reunited with his family. Instead of there being a bard, it would probably be a DJ or just a friend of the host who has good CDs to play. That friend or DJ would play that one heart-wrenching song. Maybe it’s the song that was played at the man’s wedding…he and his wife’s song. Maybe it sounds so much like him that he can’t stand it. Maybe it reminds him of what he’s missing. The tears would fall from his eyes, and he’s wipe them on his sleeve. The host would see though, and decide that they should go outside and throw a football or baseball around.
He wouldn’t want to play, but would eventually be coerced into joining in. Needless to say, he’d run circles around everyone else at the party. Once they were all tired, they’d go back inside to eat some more. While the man still feels like crying as those sad songs play, he is at ease during the dinner. He knows that he’ll be going home soon to his family. He’ll get to see his wife again, and hold his little girl…
No matter when this takes place, or what kind of technology there is, the message is the same.
Odysseus is a weary hero, just like anyone else you know. The point of this book is to show the completely ordinary side of Odysseus. Where you generally don’t see anyone from around here gouging out the eyes of cyclopses or facing the mighty Scylla, you do see the pain that Odysseus feels when he hears the songs of Demodokos. Sometimes, when reading The Odyssey, it’s difficult to understand why things happen. Often times, while you can’t see it right out, everything that happens can be related to your life. The Odyssey is about life and the journey you must go on….just a bit more exaggerated (that’s why it’s an epic poem, right?) Odysseus hasn’t seen his son even once in his life. Even though you know this must be pretty hard, you’re just shooting in the dark because it seems so farfetched to you. Thinking of it in less dramatic, but still related ways that you have experienced helps you achieve a better understanding. This is the best way of going about reading not just this book, but the entire Odyssey. Picture yourself in Odysseus’ shoes!
Links & References
What's a Bard?
Bards were entertainers back in Ancient Greece. They were poets or singers. Their job entailed memorizing an insanely large amount of information and reciting it on cue whenever they were asked to. The word ‘bard’ came from the ‘bardos’ which means: to raise one’s voice in praise. They prayed to Muse, the daughter of Zeus, before every poem they recited so that she would help them to remember all of the words in their poem. Another way this was achieved was by using metaphors, repeated phrases, and a distinct rhythm.
A very popular type of poem recited by bards was epic poetry, as exhibited in this book. The bards were very important to society because they were those who mainly passed on the poems through oral tradition. Without these poems chunks of people’s history would’ve been forgotten, as it was not being recorded back then. In different cultures, they served different purposes, and they have evolved over time.
Still confused by book VIII? Here's a list of what to look for.
- Alkinoos’ response to Odysseus’ request
- The speed with which the black ship is prepared
- The different elements of the gathering: the song/storytelling of the bard; athletic games; feasting.
- The effect the song sung by Demodocus has upon Odysseus.
- The games.
- The challenge of Seareach
- Odysseus’ response to the challenge.
- The dancing.
- The gifts presented Odysseus by the Lords of Phaiakia after the dancing
Click
here for a timed quiz on the
Odyssey, or
here for a list of links to help you with the Odyssey, or
here for a list of study questions to guide you, or
here for a map of Odysseus' travels.
This Section By:
Chiara S., Devin M., Jess F.
