The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer's Odyssey - Paperback

by Edith Hall (Author)

Whether they focus on the bewitching song of the Sirens, his cunning escape from the cave of the terrifying one-eyed Cyclops, or the vengeful slaying of the suitors of his beautiful wife Penelope, the stirring adventures of Ulysses/Odysseus are amongst the most durable in human culture. The picaresque return of the wandering pirate-king is one of the most popular texts of all time, crossing East-West divides and inspiring poets and fimmakers wordwide. But why, over three thousand years, has the Odyssey's appeal proved so remarkably resilient and longlasting? Edith Hall explains the enduring fascination of Homer's epic in terms of its extraordinary susceptibility to adaptation. Not only has the story reflected a myriad of different agendas, but - from the tragedies of classical Athens to modern detective fiction, film, travelogue and opera - it has seemed perhaps uniquely fertile in generating new artistic forms. Cultural texts as diverse as Joyce's Ulysses, Suzanne Vega's Calypso, Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, the Coen Brothers' O Brother Where Art Thou?,
Daniel Vigne's Le Retour de Martin Guerre and Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain all show that Odysseus is truly a versatile hero. His travels across the wine-dark Aegean are journeys not just into the mind of one of the most brilliantly creative of all the ancient Greek writers. They are as much a voyage beyond the limits of a narrative which can plausibly lay claim to being the quintessential global phenomenon

Front Jacket

From the bewitching song of the Sirens, to the cave of the one-eyed Cyclops, to his final revenge against the treacherous suitors of his wife Penelope, the adventures of Ulysses/Odysseus are among the most durable stories in human history. The travels and travails of Homer's resourceful hero have thrilled countless generations of listeners and readers, who for almost three millennia have breathlessly followed his voyage home from the "ringing plains of windy Troy" to the island of Ithaca. But why has the appeal of the Odyssey proved so remarkably resilient and long-lasting?

Edith Hall explains our enduring fascination with this epic tale in terms of its extraordinary openness to adaptation and reinterpretation. Not only has the narrative been read to reflect a wide range of intellectual and aesthetic agendas, but it has been perhaps uniquely fertile in generating new artistic forms. Creative responses to the Odyssey have included the tragedies of classical Athens and the burlesque of Aristophanes as well as more recent genres such as travelogue, science fiction, the novel, opera, film, children's books, and detective stories. Hall traces fifteen key themes in the Odyssey to illuminate the innumerable ways it has affected the cultural imagination, showing how works as diverse as Joyce's Ulysses, Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, Suzanne Vega's Calypso, the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Daniel Vigne's Le Retour de Martin Guerre, and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey demonstrate that Odysseus is truly a versatile hero. The travels of Homer's charismatic wayfarer across the waters of the wine-dark Aegean are journeys not just into the mind of one of themost inspiring of poets; they are equally a voyage around the boundaries of a narrative which, perhaps more than any other, can lay claim to being the quintessential global phenomenon.

Author Biography

Edith Hall is Professor of Classics at King's College London. She is the author, co-author and editor of many books in the field - including the Penguin Classics' translation of Sophocles' Antigone, Oedipus the King and Electra - and regularly contributes to TV, radio and professional theatre.