44 pages • 1 hour read
Rosemary SutcliffThe Wanderings of Odysseus
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1995A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Homecoming
The motif of Odysseus’s homecoming is at the heart of the story. Odysseus longs to return to his home, the island of Ithaca, and his resolve does not wane despite the numerous hardships he faces along the way. The motif of homecoming was an important one for the Greek heroes who fought at Troy. After the Trojan War, the Greeks needed to make the voyage back home to Greece. Some heroes, like Nestor, completed this voyage quickly and safely; others, like Odysseus and Menelaus, wandered for many years before finally reaching their homes. Some of the heroes who fought at Troy also needed to overcome further dangers once their completed their journeys. Odysseus, for example, has to kill his wife’s suitors, and only after accomplishing this is his homecoming complete. Some heroes were less successful—Agamemnon (whom Odysseus meets in the Land of the Dead) is killed by his wife and her lover when he reaches his home. The motif of Odysseus’s homecoming thus exists within a larger background of the mythic homecomings of each hero who fought at Troy. At the same time, Odysseus’s homecoming also presents its own unique aspects, including Odysseus’s use of cunning to get out of scrapes, the support he receives from Athene, and the loyalty of his family back home.
Hospitality
Throughout the story of Odysseus’s wanderings, hospitality emerges as perhaps the most important symbol that differentiates the civilized world from the uncivilized. When Odysseus first meets the Cyclops, he asks him to present them with “the kindness and hospitality that men show to way-weary guests beneath their roof” (12), but the Cyclops only scoffs at this request, aligning himself with the lawless, uncivilized world in which hospitality is not practiced. Odysseus encounters similar lapses in hospitality in the other strange lands, especially the island of the man-eating giants who destroy most of his ships. The suitors, insofar as they represent a threat to the law and order of Ithaca and thus to civilization more broadly, are also inhospitable, treating the “beggar” Odysseus very cruelly. On the other hand, the generous hospitality shown to Odysseus by the Phaeacians or the swineherd Eumaeus highlights Rosemary Sutcliff’s narrative pattern of equating hospitality with civility.
Lies and Deceit
Lies and deceit form another motif central to the story of Odysseus’s wanderings and to the character of Odysseus himself. Odysseus is known for his cunning—“not for nothing did men call him Odysseus the Resourceful” (7)—and often uses lies and deceit to his advantage. For instance, Odysseus almost always lies about his identity when he encounters a stranger or even an old acquaintance, unsure whether or not they are trustworthy. This is “the cleverness of Odysseus” (78) that Athene laughs at when Odysseus tries to lie to her about his identity. On many occasions, Odysseus’s skill at hiding his true identity serves him well, as when he tells the Cyclops that his name is “Nobody” or when he comes home to Ithaca in disguise. But sometimes it is less clear what purpose Odysseus’s lies and deceit serve, as when he lies to his father Laertes about his identity.
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