The Odyssey by Homer
This post is part of my journey through the classic texts of Western civilization.
"So nothing is as sweet as a man's own country, his own parents, even though he's settled down in some luxurious house, off in a foreign land and far from those who bore him."
- Odysseus, Odyssey book IX
Though most of Homer's Odyssey follows Odysseus' journey and the obstacles he faces, the central focus is undoubtedly the actual destination of that journey—home. Every man has a deep desire to live in a place that truly feels like home. We are not meant to be wandering nomads; in fact, one of Cain's punishments from the LORD was exactly that, that he would be "a fugitive and a vagabond."
Odysseus does end up making it back home, and one would have to think that his time away from Ithaca made him love his homeland even more. I never loved my childhood home of seventeen years more than I did the day that my family and I left it for good. I would have taken those paint-cracked walls and scratched wooden floors over a new and pristine mansion in a heartbeat.
Odyssey strikes at something that is at the very core of the human experience and longing. We are not mere physical and material specimens who simply need a place to lodge for shelter's sake. There is a transcendent aspect to place, an attachment and bonding to a physical space that makes it "ours" even if said physical space is materially no different from the one right next to it. It is why families, particularly those with history in a place, do not simply uproot and move somewhere else that is more economically and materially beneficial to them. It is why Odysseus risked death for the opportunity to return to Ithaca after ten years, for Ithaca is his home.
Of course, place cannot be severed from people—the people you meet and know are a contributing factor to that transcendental meaning that a place takes on. One of the most striking moments to me was one that was a very brief one that comes later on in the epic. Odysseus has just arrived back in Ithaca, unrecognizable due to a disguise, and a man named Philoitios is inquiring about who this stranger is.
"Who is this stranger... newly arrived to visit this house of ours? From what people does he claim origin? Where is his ancestral place and the land of his fathers?"
- Philoitios, Odyssey book XX
Consider for a moment when we moderns meet a stranger—what do we tend to inquire about? When we want to know who a man is, what do we ask for? His name, place of residence, and perhaps what he does. Noticeably, aside from his name, the other two things are things that are variable, for a man can certainly move or change his vocation.
But what does Philoitios inquire about Odysseus? His family, people, place of origin—in fact, Odysseus' name is not even asked for. For in many ways, a man's kin and place is more integral and inseparably tied to who he is more than what one calls that man. In fact, when we do see somebody referred to by his name, we frequently see him referred to as the son of somebody (e.g. "Odysseus, son of Laertes") as an indication that with this man comes attached a whole family and lineage.
People do not think this way today. Bonds such as family and place are seen as "arbitrary" (after all, one did not choose these things). Yet, man still remains a social animal, and so associations that were before rooted in one's own people and place naturally shift to associations strictly based around common ideological views, interests, etc. Family Thanksgiving gatherings are replaced with "Friendsgiving" ones. "I am Odysseus of Itacha, son of Laertes" has been replaced with "My name is [first name only], and my hobbies are..." "My people" is no longer your own family and your actual physical neighbors but instead are those who habitate the same corner of the Internet as you, though you have never physically met.
I suggest that the classic way of thinking is one we must recover. Instead of regarding things we did not choose as irrelevant and arbitrary, we ought to recognize that God in His providence has placed us in our particular place with our particular family and people, and it is natural and proper to identify with and order our lives around these things.
I can imagine how Odysseus might speak of Ithaca if one were to ask him about it; he might describe the green pastures, the esoteric smell in the air, the traditions and customs that his people engage in. Who among us can speak about our own homeland in such a way that a listener would walk away thinking, "this is a man who loves his home and people"?
For many of us, we do not have that kind of history. It is up to us to cement ourselves in a place and create a generational legacy. Odyssey gives us a fine vision for doing so. It is the longing for such a home that drives us to find (or perhaps create) it, much like how Odysseus' longing for Ithaca fueled him to face Scylla and Charybdis head on.
That is my hope and exhortation for many in that situation, including myself. Do not wander for long. Find your place, dig your trenches, and build. If you know what it is like to wander, do not pass that burden onto your children.
I will plant a tree one day that will grow big and far outlive me. Then when my great-grandchildren are playing in it, they can recall its history in the family line. It will be a tangible monument that binds together the living, their dead ancestors who came before them, and their future posterity to come.