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battle, Chris Hedges, classics, conflict, epic poetry, Greek, home, Homer, Iraq War, literature, Military, New York Times, Odysseus, poetry, PTSD, Speak Memory, Stanley Lombardo, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Trojan War, Vladimir Nabokov, War, Western Civilization, Writing
SPEAK, MEMORY—
Of the cunning hero,
The wanderer, blown off course time and again
After he plundered Troy’s sacred heights.
Speak
Of all the cities he saw, the minds he grasped,
The suffering deep in his heart at sea
As he struggled to survive and bring his men home
But could not save them, hard as he tried—
The fools—destroyed by their own recklessness
When they ate the cattle of Hyperion the Sun,
And that god snuffed out their day of return.
Of all these things
Speak, Immortal One,
And tell the tale once more in our time.
By now, all the others who had fought at Troy—
At least those who had survived the war and the sea—
Were safely back home. Only Odysseus
Still longed to return to his home and his wife.
__________
Book I, Lines 1-18 of Homer’s Odyssey (Stanley Lombardo’s translation).
These lines were composed in the 8th century BCE. Other than the Iliad, the work which these words set off is the oldest extant work of Western literature.
As a reminder to those who’ve forgotten their 10th grade English curriculum, the Iliad is the story of the final few weeks of the Trojan War. The Odyssey is the decade-long tale of its hero, Odysseus, as he returns home to his wife and son in Ithaca, where he is king. Odysseus is noted for his brilliance, perseverance, and cunning; he devised the Trojan horse, the winning ruse which, after ten years of warfare, led the Greeks to “plunder Troy’s sacred heights”.
The larger narrative of the Iliad and Odyssey is an immortal one, vibrating with harsh and immediate lessons for our own age. Philosophically, it relates the pitfalls of pride, the capriciousness of fate, the pulls of romantic love, and the truth of Oscar Wilde’s great dictum to be careful what you wish for — you may get it. On a practical level, however, it tells of war’s horrors and pities, its moments for heroism and glory, and the fact that, oftentimes, the settling of the dust marks only half the battle, because it’s the return home that often proves most perilous. It was true in the day of Patroclus, and true in the age of PTSD. As Chris Hedges noted, in his New York Times review of the Lombardo translation, “every recruit headed into war would be well advised to read the Iliad, just as every soldier returning home would be served by reading the Odyssey.”
Some brief notes about SPEAK MEMORY:
The opening words are essential. Homer’s poems would not have been codified on tablets or parchment; instead they were orated to an audience and set to some form of rhythmic music, such as the slow beat of a griot’s drum. For this reason, it’s important to try to hear his words spoken, either by yourself or by a performer such as Stanley Lombardo, who penned the above translation and reads them in the video below.
“Speak Memory” is also crucial because although we don’t know whether Homer was an actual person, folklore tells us that he was real and that he was also blind. So the “memory” part was something he would have only been able to express through his tongue. What’s more, like Shakespeare, he may never have existed; like Milton, he may never have actually seen the works over which we now pore.
Third, “Speak Memory” is notable because it is also the title of Vladimir Nabokov’s memoir. In a strong field, one of the most compelling titles I know of for an autobiography.
Watch Lombardo perform this portion of the Odyssey, as well as an extended discussion about the work, here:
navigator1965 said:
As I began reading, I thought to myself, “Gads, but this Benjamin fellow is a bloody magnificent writer!” Then I realized it was Homer. I’m afraid my public school experience never touched upon classics such as this; Shakespeare and early anti-communist science fiction writers were as good as it got.
However, as a young man I did have a wonderful spell with the Easton Press’s 100 Greatest Books program, and I was fortunate enough to have read both the Iliad and the Odyssey because of this. I still recall the epic wrestling match between Odysseus and Ajax.
Another superb post. The video appears to be quite interesting too. Thank you.
jrbenjamin said:
Feel free to confuse me with Homer all you want. I don’t mind.
Watch the video sometime. Christopher Hitchens is in it, and Lombardo is excellent too, but the other members of the panel are so-so. Still, if it’s a subject that engages you, it’s at least worth having on in the background next time you’re going for a run or doing some housework. May as well be learning — especially about a subject as rich and as crucial as the Odyssey.
Love some of your poems, by the way.
navigator1965 said:
Always learning, always thinking. I suspect it’s INTJ regarding Briggs-Myers in my case. It so enriches life and enthrals the mind.
Watched the first five minutes of the video. It will definitely be worth the watch.
Thanks for your kind words on the poetry. Most of it came during my darkest days, over a 12 -18 month period five or so years ago. I haven’t written many poems since. Perhaps I can get back to doing so. It’s almost a gift to have a perceptive reader.
cindy knoke said:
These books do remain from the 8th grade as such a powerful and engrossing experience. I’ve gone back to them since, but the impact was made early on. Great tutorial!
jrbenjamin said:
That’s so true. In the video which I’ve posted here, one panelist remarks that he can’t remember when he first encountered The Odyssey, because the themes it involves are so natural and so human that he felt as if he had always understood them.
Like Shakespeare or the Bible, the messages, moral conundrums, and mortal longings that the story conveys are so eternal. You encounter them, I encounter them, and all who read Homer do.
Thank you for reading and commenting — I also appreciate the compliment.
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