What does theoclymenus warn the suitors about

A sound of wailing has been kindled, and your cheeks have been covered in tears; The walls and the handsome rafters have been spattered with blood, And the porch is full of ghosts, and the hall is full of them as well, Ghosts longing to go to Hell, in the gloom beneath; and the Sun, It has disappeared from the sky, and a blighting mist has fallen.

It is linked with the poem as a whole in two ways: by the narratological device of focalization with a twist , and by way of the grand theme of atasthalia. In this essay I will reconsider the role of Theoclymenus, soothsayer mantis of the Odyssey , in the light of current ideas about performance in Homer. A proper understanding of Theoclymenus should lead to a better appreciation of how epic itself depicts the relationship between the performing poet and his audience.

We will also see that, on the sole occasion when that relationship breaks down, the breakdown is condemned in the harshest terms by the Odyssey itself. Let us follow Theoclymenus through the tale. He appears out of nowhere in Book 15 xv , on the run from murder charges, a mantis , heralded by a veritable Homeric fanfare: thirty lines of biographical introduction and genealogy — In any case, a legitimate thirty lines point to a more significant role for Theoclymenus than scholars have yet been able to establish.

Can he meet these high expectations? The answer can be found through careful examination of his three prophecies. After the introductory fanfare, Theoclymenus supplicates Telemachus, receives welcome, and sails back to Ithaca with the young prince, who has just learned the minds and cities of at least a few men and is at last on the road to manhood. It will be worthwhile to go through the context and procedure of this prophecy carefully.

Theoclymenus calls Telemachus over to speak to him privately , and then prophesies. His speech is four lines long. As to the affirmation that a bird of omen has flown past, it is notable that Theoclymenus characterizes the bird to Telemachus in just the same terms as the narrator has done to us: thus Telemachus is evidently unaware of anything unusual until Theoclymenus takes him aside.

Let us review what has happened here. Telemachus counters, not without a hint of self-pity, that this is impossible — and tells him to go to the house of one of his enemies — A bird flies by.

Theoclymenus takes the young man aside and tells him forcefully that a god-sent bird of omen has appeared, and that his lineage is unbeatable. Clearly the whole scene revolves around the question of where Theoclymenus is to stay in Ithaca.

Since the prophecy lies squarely between the initial, shoddy invitation and the subsequent, hospitable invitation, the question is not whether Theoclymenus has made use of his prophetic ability for his own advantage, but how, and why it should be so effective.

In order to answer this riddle, we must explore the relationship of mantic prophecy and archaic epic. These links both with the Homeric and Hesiod poetry of the rhapsodic repertoire and with the representation of epic poetry in Homer via the aoidos Demodocus prompt us to ask what relationship may obtain between a mantis like Theoclymenus inside Homer and manteis outside Homer in Panhellenic culture.

Certainly it is clear, as Nagy has shown, that the representation of epic by epic is subject to a process he terms diachronic skewing Nagy a—24 , whereby the depiction of occasional, lyre-accompanied performances by Demodocus and Phemius belies the attested reality of rhapsodic practice while nonetheless insisting on key elements of real rhapsodic poetry, such as the invocation of the Muse or the subject-matter of nostoi Odyssey i How then does the depiction of Theoclymenus correspond to the reality of prophecy in the archaic period?

The obvious starting point is Delphi. Since Theoclymenus, as an itinerant mantis , thus subsumes both oracular utterance by his very name and oracular performance by his activity in the Odyssey in a historical context of retrojection, we are on firmer ground in considering his role in oracular formulation. One obvious difference between a sports-bar conversation and Homeric performance is that of dignity; another is that of regular meter.

Bakker writes: [The linguist Wallace] Chafe has drawn attention to the capacity of the human mind to be activated not only by sensory input from the immediate environment, but also by what is not in the here and now.

The human mind appears to have a natural inclination to turn away from the physical present and to create a mental here and now, either by producing speech or listening to it.

The obvious sign of this imaging potential in human discourse is the ubiquitous deployment of evidentiality markers and other linguistic devices pertaining to the here and now—the pretence is that what is remembered or imagined is actually seen , and the devices are deployed on the assumption that the listener is willing to play along with the pretence. Here we discover a different sort of reaction to mantic performance than applied in the case of Telemachus, and a second riddle to consider regarding audience response.

She asks him about his trip xvii 44 ; but he fobs her off 46—51 and, remarkably, says that he must go fetch Theoclymenus immediately 52—56 —so strong is his new bond with the soothsayer as a result of the first prophecy. At this point Theoclymenus breaks in suddenly and prophesies. Fortunately we are now more familiar than were ancient scholars with the idea of reperformance. Gregory Nagy has been chiefly responsible for the application of this concept, which lies at the root of oral tradition, to archaic Greek poetics.

Such a mentality. In other words, Homeric poetry presents itself as the same thing each time it is performed, just as the words of heroes and gods that are quoted by the poetry are imagined to be the exact same words on each occasion of each new performance.

Nor would his principal audience, Penelope, be aware of a contradiction with his first prophecy: the occasionality of reperformance triggers the reinterpretation of the bird of omen, but the suitability of the performance itself remains the only criterion of authenticity. He tells Piraeus not to bring his gifts from Menelaus to the palace; he fears that the suitors will steal them if they kill him. Theoclymenus then speaks up and swears that Odysseus is in Ithaca at this very moment. On the way they meet Melanthius, a base subordinate of the suitors, who heaps scorn on Eumaeus and kicks his beggar companion.

Odysseus receives a similar welcome at the palace. The suitors give him food with great reluctance, and Antinous goes out of his way to insult him. When Odysseus answers insult with insult, Antinous gives him a blow with a stool that disgusts even the other suitors.

Report of this cruelty reaches Penelope, who asks to have the beggar brought to her so that she can question him about Odysseus. Eumaeus announces that he must return to his hut and hogs, leaving Odysseus alone with Telemachus and the suitors.

Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth, Our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man. See Important Quotes Explained. Another beggar, Arnaeus nicknamed Irus , saunters into the palace. For a beggar, he is rather brash: he insults Odysseus and challenges him to a boxing match.

He thinks that he will make quick work of the old man, but Athena gives Odysseus extra strength and stature. Irus soon regrets challenging the old man and tries to escape, but by now the suitors have taken notice and are egging on the fight for the sake of their own entertainment. It ends quickly as Odysseus floors Irus and stops just short of killing him. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email.

Skip to content August 9, Rory Glynn. Unbeknownst to her, her long-lost husband is closer than she thinks… Odysseus and Penelope are both having trouble sleeping. Share this: Twitter Facebook.

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My Preferences My Reading List. The Odyssey Homer.