“Then there appeared the soul
of my dead mother, Anticleia, daughter of noble Autolycus: she who was still
alive when I left to sail for sacred Troy. I wept at the sight of her, and my
heart was filled with pity, yet I could not let her approach the blood, despite
my grief, till I had questioned Teiresias.”
Reading
this just made me feel really bad for Odysseus because of the shock he
received. Even I was shocked when out of nowhere his mother is now dead. I cannot the imagine the pain he had to go
through seeing her and denying her to get close to the blood in order to talk
to her. This sounds like it is the worst tragedy you can possibly go through to
me.
“There he lies, burdened with age, grieving, nursing great
sadness in his heart, longing for your return. So too fate brought me to the
grave. It was not the clear-sighted Goddess of the Bow who slew me in the
palace with gentle arrows, nor did I die of some disease, one of those that
often steals the body’s strength, and wastes us wretchedly. No, what robbed me
of my life and its honeyed sweetness was yearning for you, my glorious
Odysseus, for your kindness and your counsels.”
At this point I believe Odysseus has
just about suffered the most on his travel back to his homeland. I mean what
could be worse then having a parent die while you are gone from home? Even
better is talking to your dead parent about their death and how they died in
grievance of your long absence. It just amazes me how strong of a man Odysseus
is and how everything that is thrown at him he handles pretty well. However, I
believe that this one event breaks him inside. I mean who would not be broken
at this point?
Aegisthus it was who engineered my fate,
inviting me to his palace for a feast, murdering me with my accursed wife’s
help, as you might kill an ox in its stall. I died wretchedly, and round me my
companions were slaughtered ruthlessly, like white-tusked swine for a wedding
banquet in the hall of some rich and powerful man, or at a communal meal, or a
great drinking session.
Wow! I thought Odysseus had it bad
with his fate of never getting to his home because of all the obstacles. Now I
look at Agamemnon and see that he had it much worse then Odysseus. I mean what
is worse then coming home to your loved ones then getting back stabbed and
killed. That is a serious unfortunate event for this man.
These words he answered,
swiftly: “Glorious Odysseus: don’t try to reconcile me to my dying. I’d rather
serve as another man’s labourer, as a poor peasant without land, and be alive
on Earth, than be lord of all the lifeless dead.
These to me are the deepest words
that could possibly be spoken by the dead to the living. I mean I can just feel
how much Achilles wants to be alive through his words to Odysseus. It is very
unfortunate on how the story of Achilles ended. I have to say he was probably
one of my favorite characters from the Iliad because of his bravery and skills
at fighting. However, It is pretty impacting on how the spirit responded to the
living. I mean what else can the dead say to the living?
Statue of Achilles Dying
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