“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns, driven time and again off course…”
— Homer, "The Odyssey"
Why do certain stories last through the twists and turns of time?
What power could a millennia-old myth possess that it’s been retold time and again by each successive generation?
Over the past week, I listened to the latest entry in Stephen Fry’s reimagining of the Greek myths — a splendid retelling of Homer’s “The Odyssey.”
Having enjoyed the first three entries of Fry’s reimagining of the Greek myths (“Mythos,” “Heroes” and “Troy” respectively), I was eager to hear his latest in the series.
It did not disappoint.
Not only does Fry’s treatment make the Greek myths more accessible to modern ears, his own distinctive voice and wit breathes new life into stories that one may otherwise associate with a high school reading assignment. Reimagined by Fry, the story of Odysseus’ long and winding journey home reminds one less of homework and more of what is enduringly true, especially when compared to the dizzying pace of modern life’s fleeting fancies.
Personally, reading the news and political headlines each day feels more like homework than anything else in my life at this point – a shallow game of collecting bits of trivia always packed full of falsehoods and hypocrisies to be regurgitated for show as being in “the know” only to be soon forgotten – garbage in, garbage out.
If one reads the news with the intent of earnestly looking for the truth, it would be better not to read the news at all. Instead, read old stories, even if retold anew, that have stood the test of time.
What’s true is rarely what people are saying today, especially in the infernal churn of our new digital age. Virtual reality is, indeed, virtual – leaving too many of us lonely in relation to the real – like the relation of porn to actual love making. At this point, one wonders how many lonely men will leave the imperfect, ill-fated real world behind for some virtual promise of perfection, especially in matters of love.
Who needs a real woman when a bespoke AI girlfriend can anticipate your every need while being anything and everything you may ever want her to be? Haptics and humanoid robots are progressively getting better, not quite real life, but more lifelike by the day! Why not spare yourself the trouble of ever looking for a real woman, young man? Why not just live on a lonely island while saving up your unrealized crypto gains in anticipation for the latest model of some artificially perfect goddess to drop right in your lap?
Funny enough, though it may be abruptly unexpected, the Odyssey has something to say about this modern dilemma – about what truly human, womanly beauty is compared to the promise of inhuman perfection.
Allow me to set the scene.
For seven years, Odysseus is held captive on the island of the immortal nymph and goddess, Calypso, who generously offers him immortality and love if he only agrees to stay with her.
Yet, he denies the goddess’s advances, always longing for his home, Ithaca, and his wife, Penelope.
Eventually, Zeus commands Calypso to let Odysseus go. She, of course, obeys.
Then follows this exchange between our twisted hero and the beautiful goddess over a last meal together, as retold by Fry:
As they ate, the hope and shock inside Odysseus began to reveal themselves in an energy and force that he had not shown since the first weeks of his stay on the island. Calypso watched him with sad amusement.
‘Can leaving me really give you so much joy?’
Odysseus was grateful that his mouth was full, excusing him any speech.
Calypso sighed. ‘I looked at myself in the waters of the stream this morning. And, you know, I thought I saw the face of a beautiful immortal. A face that will never change. Never age.’
Odysseus said nothing.
‘Tell me, how old is your Penelope now?’
‘Just a year short of my own age,’ he mumbled through his mouthful of bread.
Calypso examined her nails. ‘I wonder how she’ll look.’
Odysseus swallowed the bread. A smile spread across his face. ‘Well now, let me see. To the lines etched by the passing of the years, you must add all the cares that have haunted her for more than twenty years. Looking after my mother and father, Laertes and Anticlea, as they grow older and more infirm. Tending to the kingdom. Bringing up my son, Telemachus. Worrying if that wretch of a husband of hers will ever come home. All this will have carved more and deeper lines into her face. She was lovely when she was young. So lovely. But never a beauty that could match yours, Calypso. It was a human beauty, far inferior to the appeal of nymphs.’
Somehow, to Calypso’s ears, the word ‘nymphs’ sounded almost like an insult.
‘Penelope’s youth will have faded by now, for sure,’ Odysseus went on. ‘But it will have transformed into something deeper. She will have the kind of depth of beauty only women have. A woman’s fine grace. Personality. Character. No, you needn’t worry. Penelope could never match a girl like you for youth and beauty. You might even think her ugly. When I see her, I will know that she is Penelope. My wife.’
Why do certain stories endure the twists and turns of time? Despite the passage of thousands of years, which can throw men off course with the promise of this or that something perfect and new, certain stories sometimes capture imperfect things eternally true.
Who knows, young man? Maybe an old adventure retold time and again will inspire something real to venture in you amidst the rapidly changing news.
Joey Clark is a native Alabamian and is currently the host of the radio program News and Views on News Talk 93.1 FM WACV out of Montgomery, AL, M-F 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. His column appears every Tuesday in 1819 News. To contact Joey for media or speaking appearances, as well as any feedback, please email [email protected]. Follow him on X @TheJoeyClark or watch the radio show livestream.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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