In ancient scholarship there is some debate about where the Odyssey should end. Famously, a Hellenistic critic named Aristophanes believed that the natural end (or completion) of the Odyssey was the amorous reunion of Odysseus and Penelope in book 23. And, yet, we have a 24th book that has existed at least long enough for that critic to complain!

There are many important movements in the final book including the reunion of Odysseus with his father, the resolution of the open-ended question of Ithacan politics explored in book 2, and an interrogation of the epic’s theme of payback-vs-justice. So much is required of this book that it appears to be almost vaudevillian in its movement from one scene to another. But modern readers largely agree that it makes sense when the epic is considered as a whole. Even still, many find the epic’s end unsettling and unsatisfying. To what extent are the problems in politics and leadership addressed through the epic resolved in its ending? What questions do you leave the epic still pondering?

Readings

Odyssey, book 24

Optional: Odyssey 22-23

Optional: D. Silvermintz, “Politics in the Odyssey.”

Listening for Leadership

Possible Group Activity