Friday, October 21, 2016
Is the Slaughter Justified?
In Book 22 Odysseus with the aid of his son and loyal servants slaughters all the suitors (despite the pleas of mercy from some of them), all the maids, and even the priest Leodes. Are these killings justified? Could he have punished them without killing them? Could he have driven them from the house. Are some of the killings justified, but others not? What about the people they spared (Phemius and Medon) -- what was Telemachus' reasoning? Was it wise or prudent to kill them all?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhile Odysseus’s slaughter of the suitors and the priest Leodes is justified, he had the option to spare the maids. When Odysseus arrives in Ithaca, Athena disguises him as a beggar in order for him to confirm the loyalty in his palace. Out of all the suitors, there are few that do not wish to exert violence upon Telemachus, and Amphinomus is one of them. After Odysseys tries to convince Amphinomus to stop courting Penelope out of pity, Amphinomus
ReplyDelete“[makes] his way back though the hall,
His heart sick with anguish, shaking his head,
Fraught with grave forebodings…” (380. 175-177).
The other suitors explicitly declare their desire to kill Telemachus. However, Amphinomus tries to talk them out of killing them; he has no desire to resort to violence to wed Penelope. Despite this, he still does not stop courting her even after Odysseus’s warning, so it is his own fault that he did not leave to avoid the brutal slaughter. Even though he was burdened with guilt and doubts about the suitors’ wicked plots, he himself does not stop associating himself with them and their schemes. Additionally, Athena already had it planned that Odysseus would kill Amphinomus, and the gods’ have absolute power over humans, so Odysseus would not have spared him anyway. When Leodes begs for mercy, Odysseus kills him after responding, “How hard you must have prayed in my own house/That the heady day of my return would never dawn/My dear wife would be yours, would bear your children!” (449.337-339). Although Leodes claims he tried to restrain the suitors, he still was a suitor above anything else and his ultimate goal was to wed Penelope, Odysseus’s wife. Therefore, his death was justified. Nevertheless, Odysseus’s slaughter of the maids were not. When Odysseus asks Eurycleia who the disloyal maids in the palace were, Eurycleia tells Odysseus, “Some dozen [maids] in all went tramping to their shame/Thumbing their noses at me, at the queen herself!” (452.449-450). Although the maids were disloyal to Odysseus, they did not actually want to kill Telemachus or Odysseus. They did not deserve to die because they were disrespectful to the queen and Eurycleia, but they do deserve a punishment, albeit less extreme, such as banishment from the kingdom. Their job is to serve the king or the people in power which, in this case, was the suitors, so they did not perform direct treason. Additionally, Penelope had no power despite being queen because she was overcome with grief, and as a woman, her role as queen did not mean as much because men were dominant in this society. Although Telemachus was Odysseus’s son, he did not have any power over the suitors. He is also not present in the kingdom because he leaves to find news of Odysseus. It was not the wisest decision to kill all of these people, but because Athena strongly supported it, she had Odysseus’s back. Therefore, she made it safe for him to do such an action since the gods determine the fate of mankind.
Near the end of The Odyssey in book 22, Odysseus came out of disguise as a beggar and began fighting with the suitors with the help of his son Telemachus, two faithful servants, and the goddess Athena. He killed every single one of the suitors and all of the maids that his old nurse, Eurycleia, claimed to be disloyal. It can be said that this mass killing was justified and Odysseus had to right to kill all the people that he did, but at the same time, it might have been unfair for some to have been killed. A few even pleaded for their lives but in vain, as Odysseus was flying into rage. Eurymachus, one of the suitors, blamed everything on Antinous after he was killed by Odysseus’ first arrow, and offered, “Later we’ll recoup / your costs with tax laid down upon the land, / covering all we ate and drank inside your halls.” (22. 57-59) That was probably a lie, however, and he had even been plotting before to ambush Telemachus, so it was right for Odysseus to kill the him and the suitors for attempted murder. However, one of the suitors named Amphinomus spoke out and said that they should not kill prince Telemachus, and Odysseus even talked to him in a friendly manner for a little bit in book 18, but he was killed in the end anyway, by Telemachus himself. They could have killed some of the suitors, but if there were any that were not as threatening, they could have just banished them from Ithaka. Odysseus did spare two people, however, the herald and the bard, but he probably would not have done so if Telemachus had not been in their favor and said that they were innocent. But even if all his other decisions were justified, it was still very harsh to have slaughtered the maids cruelly after making them clean up the hall and the suitors’ bodies. The maids have slept with the suitors, not knowing that Odysseus was alive, and many would most likely be willing to return to their old master to escape death. The epic described “the women crowded in, huddling all together… / wailing convulsively, streaming live warm tears.” (22. 471- 72) That was when the maids were forced to clean up the dining hall while knowing what harsh fate waited for them at the end. Instead of giving the maids “a pitiful, ghastly death,” Odysseus could have also just banished them from the kingdom. Odysseus gave all his enemies a traumatic killing to make sure that no one would oppose him, which is understandable. However, it would not have hurt to have given mercy to a few more people, but even though he killed them, it is not completely unfair. Overall, the slaughter was justified.
ReplyDeleteoh... I thought the maids were crying because they were mourning for the dead suitors....
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteEver since Odysseus was though dead in Troy, suitors have been coming into his kingdom, trying to court Penelope and obtain Odysseus’s kingdom. When Odysseus learned of the suitors trying to court his wife, it was justified for him to kill them. Odysseus did not want an ending like Agamemnon, being immediately slaughtered in his own kingdom because his wife favored another man. Being afraid of the same ending, as long as the suitors were around there was a threat that one of them would backstab him. So, if the suitors were a threat to Odysseus, of course it was justified for him to kill them. Another reason that the killing of the suitors was justified was because they were plotting to kill Odysseus’s son Telemachus. Even though there were two suitors that had no desire to kill Telemachus, they only said that the Gods should decide the time for them to kill him; only putting off Telemachus’s death a little longer. They never even tried to warn Telemachus about his danger. If they did, it would have been a completely different story, and they may have been spared. If a stranger had tried to murder my son, I would have had the desire to kill the stranger in cold blood too. Lastly, even Odysseus knew that killing the suitors was justified because when even when one of the suitors called Eurymachus begged to be spared, “Later we’ll recoup / your costs with tax laid down upon the land, / covering all we ate and drank inside your halls.” (22. 57-59) Odysseus says “No, Eurymachus! Not if you paid me all your father’s wealth- all you possess now, and all that could pour in from the world’s end- no, not even then would I stay my hands from slaughter till all you suitors had paid for your crimes…” (22. 65-68) So, that is why the killing of the suitors were justified. BUT, what about the maids?? Well let’s start off with the definition of a maid. A maid is basically a female servant; and a servant is someone who loyal to, and works for a master. But, obviously when Odysseus left for Troy, the next in power of the kingdom was Penelope. The maids that Eurycleia chose were not only disloyal to Odysseus, but in the book it even stated that they were rude to Telemachus and Penelope. Not only that, they showed that they were even more disloyal to Odysseus by falling in love and sleeping with the suitors. Someone may argue that it was for the maid’s self-benefit in trying to get the biggest profit, but this just further proves their disloyalty, only thinking of themselves instead of their loyalty towards Odysseus. The very suitors that tried to take over Odysseus’s kingdom. Even though they knew that there was a chance Odysseus was still alive, they still decided for their own self benefit, to go onto the suitor’s side. Therefore, must face the consequences of their actions, resulting in their deaths.
ReplyDeleteIn book twenty- two of the Odyssey, the slaughter of the suitors was justified however the slaughter of the “disloyal” maids were not justified. When Odysseus finally returns back in Ithaca from his twenty-year voyage, he has a tremendous task to deal with, the suitors and disloyal workers in his household. Odysseus has to make the decision whether he should kill all the suitors who have been rummaging through his house for countless years, or find punishment elsewhere and spare their lives. The slaughter of the suitors was justified because they had been in Odysseus’s household for years without the slightest consideration to leaving. The suitors are so disrespectful and ignorant they would never leave unless they were killed. Odysseus also must make the decision of what to do with his disloyal maids. Eurycleia, a trustworthy nurse who has been with Odysseus since his birth, advises Odysseus on which maids’ lives he should take. Odysseus trusts Eurycleia when she tells him there are twelve disloyal maids. This does not seem like a reasonable way to decides who should live and who should die. Although Eurycleia has cared for Odysseus since his birth, Odysseus should not believe everything she says. Odysseus was gone from Ithaca for so long, he cannot just come back and immediately trust that Eurycleia is still loyal to him. There is no proof that the “disloyal” maids are truly disloyal to Odysseus. The only proof that Odysseus has is the fact that Eurycleia told him that these twelve maids are disloyal. Odysseus shows his unnecessary brutality towards when the twelve supposedly disloyal maids,
ReplyDelete“The women crowded in, huddling all together… wailing convulsively, streaming live warm tears. First they carried out the bodies of the dead and propped them under the courtyard colonnade, standing them one against another. Odysseus shouted commands himself, moving things along and they kept bearing out the bodies- they were forced” (22.171-177).
This depicts how brutal Odysseus was to servants who he did not know were specifically disloyal.
ReplyDeleteThe slaying of the suitors was justified; however, the slaying of the maids was not neccessary. In book twenty-two of The Odyssey Odysseus finally reveals himself and then fights the suitors. He slaughters all of the suitors. The only people that are spared are the bard and the herald, upon Telemachus’ request, who said that they had not been disloyal. Odysseus however, has every right to kill the suitors. The suitors are talking badly about Odysseus while he is home and they are eating all of his food and consuming his riches. They were plotting yo kill Telemachus. Antinous said,
I’ll waylay him from ambush, board him coming back
In the straits between Ithaca and rocky Same.
This gallant voyage of his to find his father
Will find him wrecked at last (4.754-57).
Telemachus is the son of the king and the men that were plotting to kill the prince, deserve the penalty of death. In contrast, the disloyal maids did not deserve the punishment they were given. The maids have to clean up the dead bodies of the suitors. “The women crowded in, huddling all together… / wailing convulsively, streaming live warm tears. / First they carried out the bodies of the dead” (22. 471-73). This is a gruesome task to punish anyone with. Having to clean up bodies of the dead especially ones that did in such a horrible way, would be a terrifying experience. As a result, the maids were crying and suffering the whole time. This quote shows how brutal and gruesome Odysseus really is. After this traumatic clean up the maids are hanged, “so the women’s heads were trapped in a line, / nooses yanking their necks up, one by one / so all might die a pitiful, ghastly death…” Again, this shows the unnecessary brutality of Odysseus. If he finds it necessary to kill the maids he could do it in a much more reasonable way. It is wrong though to kill these maids, especially in such an awful way. They all think Odysseus is dead, and they have every right to since he has been gone for over about 20 years. As a result, they are doing only what they think is the best thing for their new king. Also, Odysseus does not test the maids at all, like he tests the suitors. He relies only on what his maid Euycleia tells him. The maids do not pose a threat to Odysseus. It is unnecessary for Odysseus to kill the maids because he doesn’t have any proof of what they did wrong and they don’t pose a threat to him or his kingdom.