An Anthropology Lecture- What If the Maids Were Right?
The maids’ anthropology lecture can be seen as the one of the most subversive readings of the tale of Homer’s Odyssey. The maids offer a theory that completely undermines both the canonical and Penelope’s versions of the tale. Although this theory may seem far-fetched, I’ve come across some evidence that may suggest the feasibility of it after all.
Today, I was in my classics lecture looking at Greek pottery, when my professor said something that made my brain go, “ding ding ding!”. Very rarely does that kind of epiphany hit me, and so immediately, I began thinking about the possible implications it may have on my understanding of both The Odyssey and The Penelopiad.
Other than orally, the stories of famous heroes (such as Odysseus or Perseus) are passed on from one generation to the next through visual mediums. As such, these stories are often painted onto friezes or amphoras (containers that resemble large vases). What is particularly interesting however, is the painting of battle scenes onto them. Amphoras often depict Odysseus battling Scylla and Charbydis or Perseus slaying the Gorgon, Medusa. The point of this observation is that many of these mythical monsters had female characteristics attached to them even when the myths did not specify what gender they were. This motif is echoes in other mythological tales, such as Heracles’s Hydra or Oedipus’ Sphinx.
I imagine the maids would ask, “what can we discern from this trend?” The trend supports the idea of males defeating females, and possibly a patriarchal society overthrowing a matriarchal one. Moreover, it has been suggested by scholars that the depiction of young heroes slaying feminine characters acts as a symbolic representation of the coming-of-age of boys. A child’s life is a woman’s domain, as mothers rear children. But as boys reach maturity, they must leave their mothers’ realm and enter manhood. Telemachus’s slaying of the maids may symbolise this transition. Though this does not necessarily implicate the idea of a overthrown matriarchal society, in my opinion, it does reinforce the feasibility of the maids’ theory.
Perhaps the maid’s theory is complete “feminist claptrap”, perhaps it not. It is up to you, the reader, to decide which version of the tale you like. After all, the maids ask us to consider them as no more than”pure symbol”.
An Anthropology Lecture- What If the Maids Were Right?
The maids’ anthropology lecture can be seen as the one of the most subversive readings of the tale of Homer’s Odyssey. The maids offer a theory that completely undermines both the canonical and Penelope’s versions of the tale. Although this theory may seem far-fetched, I’ve come across some evidence that may suggest the feasibility of it after all.
Today, I was in my classics lecture looking at Greek pottery, when my professor said something that made my brain go, “ding ding ding!”. Very rarely does that kind of epiphany hit me, and so immediately, I began thinking about the possible implications it may have on my understanding of both The Odyssey and The Penelopiad.
Other than orally, the stories of famous heroes (such as Odysseus or Perseus) are passed on from one generation to the next through visual mediums. As such, these stories are often painted onto friezes or amphoras (containers that resemble large vases). What is particularly interesting however, is the painting of battle scenes onto them. Amphoras often depict Odysseus battling Scylla and Charbydis or Perseus slaying the Gorgon, Medusa. The point of this observation is that many of these mythical monsters had female characteristics attached to them even when the myths did not specify what gender they were. This motif is echoes in other mythological tales, such as Heracles’s Hydra or Oedipus’ Sphinx.
I imagine the maids would ask, “what can we discern from this trend?” The trend supports the idea of males defeating females, and possibly a patriarchal society overthrowing a matriarchal one. Moreover, it has been suggested by scholars that the depiction of young heroes slaying feminine characters acts as a symbolic representation of the coming-of-age of boys. A child’s life is a woman’s domain, as mothers rear children. But as boys reach maturity, they must leave their mothers’ realm and enter manhood. Telemachus’s slaying of the maids may symbolise this transition. Though this does not necessarily implicate the idea of a overthrown matriarchal society, in my opinion, it does reinforce the feasibility of the maids’ theory.
Perhaps the maid’s theory is complete “feminist claptrap”, perhaps it not. It is up to you, the reader, to decide which version of the tale you like. After all, the maids ask us to consider them as no more than”pure symbol”.
Genesis
The Book of Genesis is nothing new to me.The stories contained within it have been told to me for as long as I can remember, first as a preschooler in Sunday School. and later throughout 13 years of Catholic education. … Continue reading Continue reading
Fear and Trembling
Soren Kiekergaard’s Fear and Trembling instills a sense of curiosity and confusion in me. I find most readers share this opinion, …
Meeting Myths
“Myths are made for the imagination to breathe life into them” (Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, 490) This week, I revisited Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling for Arts One. This text is one that has, in many ways, haunted me … Continue reading Continue reading
Madness
After having watched Apocalypse now (redux version) I couldn’t help but think of the true reality that occurred during the war. Lies most often overwhelmed these soldiers without them even knowing it and deviated them from a path of reality … Continue reading →
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Odyssey
“French Girl – Do you know why you can never step into the same river twice? Willard – Yeah, ’cause it’s always moving.” – Apocalypse Now Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” can be interpreted as a modern update on Homer’s “Odyssey.” Both involve journeys of a protagonist on a body of water. The river takes Willard deeper and deeper […]
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Odyssey
“French Girl – Do you know why you can never step into the same river twice? Willard – Yeah, ’cause it’s always moving.” – Apocalypse Now Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” can be interpreted as a modern update on Homer’s “Odyssey.” Both involve journeys of a protagonist on a body of water. The river takes Willard deeper and deeper […]
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To get lost is to learn the way
The above is a proverb of African origin, though I don’t know where exactly it’s from. I’m writing this at 4AM after much wrestling with no, that’s an unnecessary aside. I will probably get lost while writing this, and that’s… okay. When I began reading Things Fall Apart, what immediately struck me was the prevalence of […] Continue reading
I want to talk about yams.
Among my high school friend group, we have a running joke; whenever there is an awkward silence someone chips in “I want to talk about yams.” (Yes, we’re dorks.) As this joke was established before my time in HK, the only info that I was given about this inside joke was that Lorraine wanted to […]
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