Which do you think contributes more to the success of the Odyssey, realism or fantasy?

Odysseus comes across many fantastical people in his journey home. He reaches the land of the Lystrogonians who at the surface seem like a civilised country, however, he goes on to discover that they are in fact cannibalistic giants. What started out as a potentially realistic view into another country to be discovered, turned into a fantastical and thrilling fight for their lives. Monsters such as Scylla and Charybdis, and the sirens prove only there to be dangerous. They try and prevent Odysseus from continuing home. They do, however, offer an insight into how Odysseus behaves and reacts to situations of fictional monsters. The monsters prove that Odysseus isn’t only strong against men, but even fantastical creatures which he would have never encountered before. Even Circe and Calypso and first of all presented as being the perfect Ancient Greek woman by singing and weaving when they are first presented in the epic. They seem normal and real but soon show their dangerous and evil intentions of hindering Odysseus. Homer disguises them as to seem real and normal but then throws in a fantastical twist to keep the audience engaged to how what might seem normal, is far from it. As well as this, the Phaecians are completely fantastical and a fictional town. They have such a strong relationship with the gods that the gods do not disguise themselves at all; they turn up in their true forms. They are even related to the Cyclopes who we find out Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon.  Subsequently, from disobeying Poseidon, they get punished extremely harshly (they get turned into rocks for helping Odysseus leave their island) which is all fictional.

Even through hall the different fictional islands he travels through and all the monsters he meets, Greek traditions such as xenia and proper burial rights still apply. The best example of this is Elpenor. He falls off of Circe’s roof and they do not burry him. By book 11, when Odysseus enters the Underworld, Elpenor begs Odysseus to find his body and properly burry him to which Odysseus complies. Similarly, whilst leaving the island of the Cicones, Odysseus and his crew solute the death of 72 men 3 times each as they sail away. The sheer respect to the dead and the lengths that Odysseus goes to respect them is shown throughout the Odyssey no matter where he is. Xenia is a system to respect strangers and there is a specific process to go through before asking the stranger questions (this involves feeding, bathing, clothing and a gift at the end of their stay). Circe awful xenia to Odysseus’ crew as she turns them into pigs however she does, in the end, correct her ways and give Odysseys’ crew a house, food and clothes for a year. The Phaecians do not show xenia to begin with either although they soon correct their ways. Xenia is about respecting Zeus as the gods can physically transform into humans and therefore could test anyone one their xenia. The perfect xenia of Nestor and Menelaus towards Telemachus are clear examples to an Ancient audience oh how to perform xenia. Even characters that don’t show xenia to begin with, end up complying which enables the realism of morals to come across with the ancient audience.  The fantasy creatures and gods (such as Circe and Calypso) show xenia.

The first half of the Odyssey shows a lot of excitement caused by the fantasy events that take place. The second half, once Odysseus lands in Ithaca, realism seems to take over in which Odysseus has to keep his disguises as a beggar and be opened to abuse which comes with it. This endurance of such awful behaviour of the suitors towards him gives, once again, clear morals to an ancient and modern audience of what is happening in Greece and what is viewed as unacceptable – the lack of xenia and curtsey of the suitors. The loyalty of Eumaeus and Eurycleia combined with the accepted trust of Telemachus who has gained his kleos provides entertainment as Odysseus plots to eliminate all 108 suitors using his strength and cunning. This scene is influential to show how badly a beggar would have been treated but the justice that finally came upon the suitors would give hope to an audience of an era, that the hero always wins. Fantasy adds to the entertainment of the Odyssey just as much as the finalism of reality raining back onto Ithaca as order is restored in a violent manner. Morals have not changed that dramatically since Ancient Greece therefore the Odyssey still applies the good morals of respecting everyone as well as the strong loyalty of family which can be valued and relatable throughout time.

As the Odyssey is meant to be a guide book for morals for the Ancient Greeks, the Odyssey will use issues relating to their lifestyle (such as xenia, nostos, kleos and dike). The odyssey allows for real life issues to be twisted into a fantasy form which an ancient audience would respect – if the gods are anthropomorphic and they offer xenia and correct their ways, then so should mortals. Fantasy cannot be the only aspect to an epic which would last through time, the audience has to be able to relate to the issues which arise to the protagonist. The Odyssey portrays humanity, justice, consequences and loyalty whether that be through people such as Penelope and Odysseus, or the jealousy of Calypso and Odysseus. Readers can relate to the topics that arise in the Odyssey. Homer has enabled an epic to complement fantasy and reality into one 10 year journey across the unknown just to get home.