SoA Forums

History => Ancient and Medieval History => Topic started by: Imperial Dave on February 18, 2025, 05:33:49 AM

Title: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Imperial Dave on February 18, 2025, 05:33:49 AM
https://greekreporter.com/2025/02/18/homers-odyssey-real-events/

Topical with the film on the horizon so I've asked the Greek Reporter bot for their take on the subject.... :)
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Justin Swanton on February 18, 2025, 06:12:21 AM
I have a lot of Doubt about the Odyssey, a lot of Doubt about Homer, a lot of Doubt about me - do I really exist or am I merely a projection of the Cosmic Mind?  :o
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Imperial Dave on February 18, 2025, 07:37:36 AM
 ::)
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Keraunos on February 18, 2025, 10:04:48 AM
How odd. I see.  ::)
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Justin Swanton on February 18, 2025, 10:34:46 AM
An' 'e 'ad another adventure 'fore that. Can you believe it?
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Erpingham on February 18, 2025, 11:06:45 AM
Curiously, I'm sure we had a slightly more detailed version of an article on this on the forum only a couple of weeks ago.  Unfortunately, because the search is still not working for me, I can't find the link  :(

The basic bones of the Odyssey story seemed quite plausible to me given the era.  A man goes off to a distant war.  War ends and he sets off home.  He has a series of mishaps which delay his progress but eventually he makes it back home to discover he has been given up for dead and ne'er-do-wells have taken advantage of the situation. He sorts it and everyone lives happily ever after.  Unfortunately, this doesn't make much of an epic poem and some elaboration is required.
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Imperial Dave on February 18, 2025, 01:23:34 PM
yep, same here. I was trying to search for it before posting this one!
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Duncan Head on February 18, 2025, 01:55:49 PM
Possibly this one - https://greekreporter.com/2025/01/20/places-odysseus-journey-homer-odyssey/ - which is actually linked to from the latest article.
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Erpingham on February 18, 2025, 02:02:48 PM
That's the one.  Thanks Duncan. I note the same author involved.  Quick turn round on recycling your previous reports, that.  :)

Add : Our earlier short discussion here

http://soa.org.uk/sm/index.php?topic=8864.0
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Imperial Dave on February 18, 2025, 02:04:59 PM
i thought I'd done it but honestly couldnt remember hence the (failed) search....

maybe there's an AI bot that can do this for me...?  :-[
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Cantabrigian on February 18, 2025, 02:17:05 PM
Quote from: Imperial Dave on February 18, 2025, 02:04:59 PMi thought I'd done it but honestly couldnt remember hence the (failed) search....

maybe there's an AI bot that can do this for me...?  :-[

There probably is one that could search for stories that might be of interest to the forum...
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Keraunos on February 18, 2025, 02:31:27 PM
Forget the bots.  Read Robin Lane Fox's 'The Travelling Heroes : Greeks and their Myths in the Epic Age of Homer'.
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Imperial Dave on February 18, 2025, 02:56:43 PM
Ahhh...much better. I like Robin Lane Fox books  :)
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Nick Harbud on February 19, 2025, 01:43:39 PM
Quote from: Keraunos on February 18, 2025, 02:31:27 PMForget the bots.  Read Robin Lane Fox's 'The Travelling Heroes : Greeks and their Myths in the Epic Age of Homer'.

Or even Michael Woods "In search of the Trojan Wars"
Title: Re: The Odyssey - pure fiction?
Post by: Nick Harbud on February 19, 2025, 01:51:16 PM
Quote from: Erpingham on February 18, 2025, 11:06:45 AMThe basic bones of the Odyssey story seemed quite plausible to me given the era.  A man goes off to a distant war.  War ends and he sets off home.  He has a series of mishaps which delay his progress but eventually he makes it back home to discover he has been given up for dead and ne'er-do-wells have taken advantage of the situation. He sorts it and everyone lives happily ever after.  Unfortunately, this doesn't make much of an epic poem and some elaboration is required.

Hmmm, I once worked with a guy who went though a particularly messy divorce, as a result of which he left UK for foreign parts and, to a large extent, disappeared from view.  Some 20 years later, he returned and discovered that his ex-wife had declared him legally dead and was now living happily in his former house. 

The story has a sort of happy ending.  He made his live presence known to the authorities who immediately recognised his title to the house, leading to him serving an eviction notice and a demand for rent arrears on his ex-wife.

:-X