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BogdanBurliga
Thepictureisreallyhorrible:afterthebloodbaththatOdysseusandTelem-
achusmaketothehundredandeightsuitors(themajorsubjectofthe
BookXXII),thevengefulheroandhissonturntogivingpaybacktotheslave
handmaidenswho,duringtheruler’slongabsenceinIthaca,becamemistresses
tothethem.Now,thegirlsmustbepunishedand“toforgetAphrodite”(v.444:
ἐKλελάGωνt’Ἀφρoδ(tηc).1Whatstrikesthemostinthisscene,especiallyinthe
terrifyingvengeanceact,istheruthlessnottosaymethodicalmanner,inwhichthe
punishmentiscarriedout.2Itseemsthatthis“mechanicsofdeath”(toquoteLarry
Fulkerson’schillingphrase),3struckalsoAlfredHeubeck,4whorightlysaidofthe
passagethatitdescribes“thestrangeandunwarrantedcruelty.”
InthispaperIshalllookatthisepisodebyaddressingonefundamentalprob-
lemwhich,Ibelieve,thescenebringsalongwith:byexploringhowthepoetde-
scribesthewholeactionjustbeforetheentirepunishmentaswellastheexecution
itself,Iwouldliketoaskwhywassuchdetaileddescriptioninsertedatalland
whatcanittellusabouttheHomericaudience.5Asthequestiontacklesthenotori-
ousproblemofthe“Homericsociety,”Iwillmentionverybrieflyofthestructure
ofthearchaic,aristocraticGreekoikos6andtheimportanceoftheepisodeforthe
evaluatingofthesocialpositionoftheslaves(especiallyfemale)withinthehouse-
hold(boththevexedtopics,indeed).7Butessentially,havingonlymentionedthis
1HomeriOdyssea.Ed.P.VonDerMühll.Basel1962;allthequotationsinthepresentstudy
aretakenfromtheEnglishtranslationbyR.Lattimore:TheOdysseyofHomer.NewYork1975.
2Cf.J.Svenbro:“VengeanceandsociétéenGrćecearchaïque.Aproposdelafindel’Odyssee.”
In:Lavengeance.Étudesd’ethnologie,d’histoireetdephilosophieIII.Eds.R.Verdier,J.-P.Poly.
Paris1984,p.47.
3L.Fulkerson:“EpicWaysofKillingaWoman:GenderandTransgressioninOdyssey22.
4651472.”ClassicalJournal2002,vol.97,p.335.
4J.Russo,M.Fernández-Galiano,A.Heubeck:ACommentaryonHomer’sOdyssey.
VolumeIII,BooksXVII1XXIV.Oxford1992,p.296.
5Cf.theexcellentanalysisbyJ.M.Redfield:NatureandCultureinthe“Iliad.”TheTragedy
ofHector.Durham1London1994,pp.78179.
6SomescholarsdenythatHomericsocietyis“aristocratic,”asthearistocraticethoswasalater
phenomenon1e.g.Ch.G.Starr:TheAristocraticTemperofGreekCivilization.NewYork1
Oxford2002,p.8;cf.alsoM.I.Finley:TheWorldofOdysseus.London1991,p.112;cf.Margalit
Finkelberg’sstatement:“ThereislittledoubtthattheIliadoriginatedintheculturalandpolitical
milieuofaristocraticchiefdomswhichprecededtheformationofthecity-state”(“HomerasaFoun-
dationText.”In:Homer,theBible,andBeyond.LiteraryandReligiousCanonsintheAncientWorld.
Eds.M.Finkelberg,G.Stroumsa.Leiden1Boston2003,pp.87188).
7WhetherHomer’sIthacawasoikos,seeA.W.H.Adkins:FromtheManytotheOne.London
1970,pp.28129;W.Donlan,C.G.Thomas:“TheVillageCommunityofAncientGreece:Neo-
lithic,BronzeandDarkAges.”StudiMiceneiedEgeo-Anatolici1993,vol.31;W.Donlan:“The
Pre-StateCommunityinGreece.”SymbolaeOsloenses1989,vol.64,pp.7ff.;Idem,“Chiefand
FollowersinPre-StateGreece.”In:FromPoliticalEconomytoAnthropology:SituatingEconomic
LifeinPastSocieties.Eds.C.A.M.Duncan,D.W.Tandy.Montreal1994,p.36;W.Donlan:“Ho-
mericEconomy.”In:ANewCompaniontoHomer.Eds.I.Morris,B.Powell.Leiden1Boston1
Köln1997,p.652;alsoV.D.Hanson:TheOtherGreeks.AgrarianRootsofGreekCivilization.
