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Little Things Mean a Lot: Odysseus' Scar and Eurycleia's Memory
- Author(s):
- Jeffrey Beneker (see profile)
- Date:
- 2016
- Subject(s):
- Homer
- Item Type:
- Book chapter
- Permanent URL:
- http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/18fy-vd69
- Abstract:
- In this essay, I argue that in Odyssey 19, when Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus despite his disguise, she does so not simply because she sees the scar but because she has shared with Odysseus a meaningful experience in the past. The recollection of this experience plays a central role in the larger scheme of disguise and recognition that is fundamental to the second half of the Odyssey, serving especially to re-establish the master-servant relationship that is necessary for the recovery of Odysseus’ identity. This connection to the larger plot and to other recognition scenes, I argue, is critical to for reading the full meaning of the vivid but unspoken recollection shared between Odysseus and Eurycleia.
- Metadata:
- xml
- Published as:
- Book section Show details
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Pub. Date:
- 2016
- Book Title:
- Resemblance and Reality in Greek Thought: Essays in Honor of Peter M. Smith
- Editor(s):
- A. Park
- Page Range:
- 31 - 45
- Status:
- Published
- Last Updated:
- 4 years ago
- License:
- All Rights Reserved
- Share this:
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