Sir: I must protest against Simon Raven's statement (27 September)
that 'for nearly 3,000 years the character of Odysseus has enjoyed the undiminished respect both of learned men and of the public at large.'
The Attic dramatists were by no means always sympathetic to Odysseus. In Euripides's Hecuba he is represented as heartless and inhuman. Sophocles makes him magnanimous in the Ajax but depicts him as cunning and treacherous in the Philoctetes.
If Simon Raven wishes to present the character in an unfavourable light, surely he could have referred not only to these plays but to ancient accounts of Odysseus's underhand revenge on the innocent Palamedes. The story of Palamedes is told by various ancient writers, the best-known version probably being that given by Ovid in Metamorphoses Book 13, where it forms part of a general indictment of Odysseus's character.
Nobody could deny that the Homeric Odysseus is sympathetically treated. But sym- pathetic treatment of a character does not necessarily rely on a 'success story'. Success stories in fact may well rouse more jealousy than admiration.
There seems little to be gained from assessing a mythical personality as if he were a historic character—though the ancients themselves used to compose perorations for and against their legendary figures as a form of forensic exercise. Mr Raven's article seems to be an exercise of this kind. My complaint is that it is badly documented. All damning evidence is neglected and such charges as are levelled against Odysseus seem concerned with very venial sins. Of course, the prosecution is not likely to get much help from Homer. But even here Mr Raven has missed his best opportunity. It is generally agreed that Odysseus disgraces him- self in a manner quite out of his Homeric character in Odyssey Book 22, when he barbar- ously tortures and mutilates the traitor
Melanthius before executing him. This seems more serious than falling asleep on duty or any of the other accusations that Mr Raven has made!
I. G. Warry South Lodge, Waverley Drive, Camberley
Previous page
