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| Moral
Values in the Odyssey |
| By Scott
Travin |
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| Editor’s
Note: This issue’s “From the Trenches” article features the
insights of an eighth grader from his study of Homer’s Odyssey. |
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| In The
Odyssey, a strong moral message is hidden under the many layers of deep
and entertaining adventure: CHOOSE WISELY. Although these two words do not
appear to be morally significant, they have a great impact in The Odyssey. |
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| For instance,
the great King Agamemnon may have had his morals slightly confused. Before
setting sail for the Trojan War, Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia,
to ensure favorable winds for his army. What kind of morals must a man have
to sacrifice his daughter for safe passage of a group of soldiers? |
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| After a victorious
campaign in Troy, Agamemnon returns home. One day, Aegisthus, the secret
lover of Clytemnestra, invites King Agamemnon to his palace for a banquet.
While Agamemnon is feasting, his own wife Clytemnestra stabs him to death.
As Agamemnon talks to Odysseus in the Underworld, he describes the bloody
scene. “You, Odysseus, have witnessed the death of many men in single
combat or in the thick of battle, but none with such horror as you would
have felt had you seen us lying there by the wine bowl and the laden tables
in the hall, while the whole floor swam with our blood.” (X, 416-421)
As a result of Agamemnon’s bad choice, his life is cut short. Had he
made the choice not to sacrifice his daughter, Odysseus would not have met
him in the Underworld in Book X. |
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| I believe
that the reason I was able to easily identify a moral message in The
Odyssey is because of my everyday surroundings. Each day when I come
to school, I am reminded to be moral, to be conscious of the effects of
my choices, not only on me, but on those around me as well. As a result
of a strong ethical focus at MKA, being able to identify moral choices and
act ethically has become second nature to me. Small “hidden” messages,
such as those in The Odyssey, are presented to me every day. |
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| Last year,
I was in the seventh grade at MKA. The year was 1999, and the Yankees were
in the World Series. Through my dad’s job, he somehow managed to get
tickets to the last game at Yankee Stadium. I was ecstatic! I love baseball,
especially the Yankees. I was all set to go, and then came the problem.
The game fell on a Thursday, which just happened to be the day that a friend
of mine was coming for a sleepover. That Thursday was a conference day for
our school as well. In his haste, my dad had only gotten two tickets. |
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| This was
my main problem. How could I abandon my friend and just go to the World
Series? There was something deep in my gut telling me that leaving my friend
alone with my mother while I went to the Series was wrong. So, as I sat
and thought about what I should do with my tickets, I remembered a teacher
who had made a great difference in my education. This teacher loved baseball
as well, and I knew he would love to have these tickets. So that’s
what I did. I gave the teacher my behind-the-dugout seats, and I never felt
a second of guilt or self-pity. I knew that I had made the right choice,
and that feeling is better than the feeling I would have had at the baseball
game. In fact, I believe this is the best feeling in the world. |
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| These small
messages, though sometimes seemingly insignificant, have played a major
part in my being able to make smart choices throughout my school years,
and I hope they will be present throughout my life. I wish some of the characters
in The Odyssey could have been educated in the study of ethics as
well as I have been. |
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| One of the
other dead people Odysseus speaks to in Book XI is Achilles, the greatest
warrior of the time and virtually invincible. Achilles could defeat any
enemy and was seen as someone close to a god. When Achilles was young, he
was given a choice of whether he wanted to live a short, glorious life or
a long, yet dreary one. Achilles chose to live a short and glorious life.
As prophesied, Achilles died while fighting in the Trojan War. |
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| When Odysseus
visits Achilles in Hades, Achilles reflects upon his life and the choice
he made. “I would rather work the soil as a serf on hire to some landless,
impoverished peasant than be the king of the lifeless dead.” (XI, 489-491) |
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| I find this
statement to be utterly astonishing. Which life would the average person
choose? Which would I choose? I am honestly not sure. I am certain that
the humbler of the two choices is the servant, who never seeks fame or fortune.
I can most certainly understand this, but doesn’t the glorious and
short life sound more enjoyable? If I were given this choice, I can honestly
say that I have no clue what my answer would be. |
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| Despite many
other strong messages in The Odyssey, I believe that one must always make
choices that benefit other people in the end, not just oneself. If everyone
were to make wise decisions, no one would end up like the fallen heroes
of The Odyssey. |
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| Scott
Travin was an eighth-grader at Montclair-Kimberley Academy in Montclair,
NJ at the time this essay was written. |
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