The Timeless Relevance of the Odysseus Myth

Cartoon shows and video games like Samurai Jack and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time trilogy, have in large part been inspired by the Odysseus myth- the hero who is morally upright, must return home in a bid to save it in the nick of time from an evil fate. 

The alternative is dire, the quest is challenging but the journey is even more perilous. The order is restored but at an almighty cost.

In Homer's The Odyssey, (soon to be adapted for the screen by the master of unconventional auteurs, Mr. Christopher Nolan), we witness the classic narrative of the hero's journey, quite literally unfolding before us. Our hero in question, the mighty king Odysseus of Ithaca, is not morally upright in the true sense, he being a military commander is inventive and manipulative where required, yet all being fair in love and war i.e. the epic battle of Troy, he must soon make that terrible voyage home to his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, through tumultuous waters, having incurred the wrath of the sea god, Poseidon. Not only that, he has to deal with a gigantic one-eyed monster i.e. the Cyclops Polyphemus, hold his own against the snares of the melodious Sirens and the charms of a powerful sorceress Circe, as well as the manifold dangers of the bleak Underworld, all the while shouldering the responsibility of leading his entourage to safety throughout it all. It is a timeless tale, retold through generations.

The significance of the tale is not in the mythical undertones of men defying gods (although, we see that the overarching themes of defiance and deviance seem now to be relentlessly popularized by contemporary pop culture standards) or the thrill of conquest in the face of insurmountable odds. It is not even in the formal considerations: the plot beginning in medias res (right in the middle of the action) or the non-linear storytelling (which usually takes the fancy of aforementioned director in the vast majority of his cinematic oeuvre). 

For me, personally, the material is particularly relevant owing to the dire state of social affairs today, whether they be in real life or on the virtual, online space.

In today's world, with rapid progress in the political ideology of feminism, and the vast responses to its growth hastening its radicalization, the sensational portrayal of the socially deviant and psychologically complex yet over-the-top narcissistic patriarch, has all but exacerbated with its finding unusual favor among activist groups. Netflix productions such as Season 5 of YOU, and the most recent The Beast In Me not barring other possible exceptions, possess a common thread: mentally challenged men who have grown to wield enormous power are ultimately shown the door to justice by a collective of courageous women bearing the scars of trauma having been inflicted upon them over time by the machinations of such troublesome individuals. Some of these women will have inadvertently catalyzed this problematic male's rise to power as well. While these portrayals do have a political tinge to them, they establish an impromptu social acceptability of the otherwise chastised scourge of toxic masculinity to prevail. After all, there is a latent desirability in wickedness, with a potential to guarantee some semblance of companionship in a dystopian world where true connection is fast becoming reliant on strategic maneuverability around the sexes as opposed to genuine understanding between them. Adding fuel to the fire, the new version of domestic bliss is a kind of folie a deux-where the woman has to endure a man who will have openly embraced his inner beast by a certain point, becoming difficult and overbearing, not even attempting to adhere to the script of social conformity. Correspondingly, the man through word or action, would also have made the insinuation that his significant other is no different than himself, if anything, a duplicitous social climber, who kept up the charade as long as it suited her needs, performing the role of silent accomplice without question as he in turn built the perfect life only for her. The inherent tragedy is in the inexplicable irony of both partners crossing the point of no return without realizing it, yet it is the man who bears the brunt of weighty consequences because justice has struck the gavel on being politically correct.  

This grandiose feminist fantasy is empowering for women as it comes with its own false promise of apotheosis. It spreads fast online, as a yarn consciously spun, taking as its threads: the compromised states of the female post-traumatic lived experience and the myriad stimulations that keep old wounds fresh. In addition, the process of making goddesses instead makes witches and sirens, as women are systemically conditioned on how to manipulate femininity rather than embody it. The Kardashians, as the first proper brand of the offbeat, quirky and shallow female influencer, are a fine example who perpetuate as well as portray this lie (interestingly enough, Kim Kardashian was actually cast as a sorceress in a new season of the popular horror series American Horror Story as well). This glamorous transformation comes at the cost of crippling the man, who in his disenfranchisement, turns to a manosphere he does not fully understand. He is most likely to turn into an Andrew Tate, before stumbling upon a David Goggins and realizing the extent of his misfortune. However, by that time, considerable damage may have been done mentally, even if there has been physical growth.

I digress. Given the aforesaid extensive verbiage as nothing but groundwork, it is high time I return to my original point which was why the Odysseus myth is timeless, and why it is most likely being adapted for the silver screen as well. 

In Odysseus, we find the perfect example of the kind of man that is the embodiment of aspirational, genuine masculinity. He upholds chastity as much as humanly possible, resists the temptations of transgression, but it is in Penelope, that we understand the model of femininity that makes a real woman, with this brand of true empowerment not hinging upon male impotency and isn't shrewd or manipulative. Besieged by a host of suitors all vying for her hand in marriage assuming her husband's likely demise at sea, she unwaveringly stands firm with regards to loyalty and faithfulness as she awaits his return home, despite experiencing human emotions of uncertainty and fear. Had she acquired the sensibilities of what devolves a real woman to her baser self, she would have succumbed to mounting reservations and consented to compliance. Like Odysseus himself, she is also possessed with a great degree of ingenue, as she craftily navigates her precarious predicament.  

Later narratives would come to distort the Odysseus myth: exalting skill in favor of ambition, rather than in favor of virtue, as Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's iconic play, quite famously questions her husband's merits as a man, who also has returned home from a great war, at his reluctance to murder his best friend, the innocent king Duncan (sleeping in Macbeth's lodgings) to attain power. Macbeth, himself feeling aggrieved and slighted by the king's earlier choice to appoint his son over his greatest warrior, as heir to the throne, does the opposite of Odysseus: submit. It is then that readers bear witness to a narrative sacrilege of epic proportions: the glorification of bloody murder and the subsequent (and rather well-deserved) descent into madness happen through meticulous verbosity in the form of the classic "Is this a dagger which I see before me?" and "We have scorched the snake, not killed it" soliloquies, respectively. Power is undoubtedly attained, however with this skewed version of Odysseus left considerably compromised. Yet this is the 'tragic hero' that we and forthcoming generations must dissect and romanticize, one left to wallow in the more than comfortable liminal space of flaw and defeatism that in lieu with artistic principles, 'passively reflects the nuanced complexity of our social setup'; nay, actively (and complicitly) hammers new reality in shape as renowned epic theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht would have us know.     

While some accounts do narrate Odysseus's possible infidelity and conception of a child outside of wedlock, we can set those aside and concentrate on the larger picture available to us: that both man and woman present timeless archetypes of the kind of men and women we need more of: men who can forge their own destiny by conquering circumstances and themselves, and the women who are courageous enough to wait upon them. 

The social landscape of the world is fraught with myriad complications: the fluidity of once rigid social constructs including and not limited to gender and identity, the increased leaning towards complacent attitudes cultivating emasculation compounded by the corresponding rigidity of rejection, the deep void in communication lengthening by technological innovation among numerous others: no different than vast seas beset with a violent storm that could capsize anything standing firm over it. The corresponding lack of collective faith in an otherwise loving God has led Him to indulge in rage instead. Every man must now find his way home, wading through treacherous circumstance. The wicked sirens and the sorceresses are all there, embracing the newfound powers that make them desirable. The dead seem more or less disappointed. No Tiresias may be sought for counsel, meanwhile Hades inches ever closer to the surface. The songs are louder than ever, the illusory shimmers all the more real. The weak give in, with their carcasses strung around for entertainment. Only the strong survive. They must choose to make their way home.     

The link to the trailer for Christopher Nolan's cinematic retelling of The Odyssey can be found below:

https://youtu.be/ajf_2LMRhFw?si=lyBQbK8eP5zZDLFq.