I have to
go meta on Perseus one more time. We tie Perseus, Hestia, and Prometheus
together one more time, and connect them all to Odysseus. I know, I know, it
doesn’t seem like a good fit. Odysseus is not exactly known for restraint and
wisdom, especially after mouthing off to Polyphemus. And it’s not like he was
the poster child of monogamy when he’s shtupping Circe and Calypso.
Nevertheless,
he did do a couple of things very right when it comes to this whole thing. One,
Penelope is very much the epitome of what a Greek woman should be. Not just
feminine, but she runs the entire kingdom and raises her son during the 20
years that Odysseus is gone. Odysseus loves and trusts her enough to be that
center of the household while he’s gone. Warfare to the ancient Greeks was
similar to going off to work. Sure, it’s extended, but part of defending your
way of life is attacking those who don’t have the same values (at least it was
justification enough in the Ancient world).
Next, we
see Odysseus as the instrument for taking down that godless Polyphemus. He is
in a cave, with no hearth, and has no respect for any of the gods, including
(and especially) Hestia. Again, that’s a no-no. You don’t do that. No, he
doesn’t mention her by name, but the refusal to be civilized in a house with a
proper hearth is a slap in her face, and a slap to all the other gods.
To be
civilized, people needed to live in a proper home with a hearth and to worship
the gods in the proper, respectful way. To not do these things was to be a
barbarian, like the cyclopes that Odysseus confronts.
If Perseus
is the example of a defender of women and the Greek way of life, Odysseus is
the example of what happens to those who reject that way of life. Odysseus
himself was in danger of that because he was gone too long, the house was left
without its defender. Yes, he schooled people on what it was to defy Greek
civilization, but the extent to which he did so almost undid his own house.
In the end,
Odysseus is restored to his home and pursues a life similar to that of Perseus.
Odysseus no longer went off adventuring and to war. He remained on Ithaca to
pursue a quiet life with his wife and son, completing a restoration of family
values.
I don’t
think it’s an accident that Perseus and Odysseus are two examples of Greek
heroes who get to keep the girl and live happily ever after. A perusal of all
the other Greek heroes who met bad ends tells us that they pursued something
different than these values, many of them disrespecting their wives, especially
in their own homes.