Odysseus: A Life

By Charles Rowan Beye

Book Overview

From an acclaimed classicist comes a witty, unusual, and fascinating 'biography' of Homer's fictional Bronze Age hero, Odysseus Everyone knows something about Odysseus: how he defeated the Trojans in a surprise attack with a massive wooden horse, wandered the Mediterranean seas for years trying to get home, confronted the Cyclops, and killed the suitors of his faithful wife Penelope back at his Ithaca palace. Odysseus turns up everywhere: Homer's epics The Iliad and The Odyssey, Tennyson's poem 'Ulysses' (the Roman name for Odysseus), Constantine Cavafy's Ithaca, and more. Even the Coen brothers based a film, O Brother Where Art Thou, on his voyage. But no one has chronicled Odysseus' life from start to finish -- until now. In this entertaining 'biography, ' Charles Beye fills out the story of this extraordinary figure, at the same time portraying Odysseus' evolution through the course of a strange and adventuresome life, at times so remote, at times so immediate in the contemporary perspective.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401300243
• ISBN13: 9781401300241
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 18 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Postsecondary to Grade 12

Customer Reviews

The "real" Odysseus

What I loved about Odysseus: A Life is that it indulges a desire to identify with this mythological character as if he were a person while simultaneously reminding one of the fundamentally Modern limits of this kind of identification. Along the way, Beye elaborates a breathtaking overview of Classical culture, vividly informed by his passionate knowledge of the literature. It is a highly enjoyable read, told with great irony and wit.

Red Hot

I knew when I read "Odysseus: A Life" that Charles Beye is no ordinary or academic academic. Once voted "Red Hot Prof" by the students at Stanford University, Beye is wonderfully skilled at blending his vivid imagination and his mastery of ancient Homeric poem, myth, and history. He re-creates the epic hero as a man you can't help but find fascinating and irresistibly appealing. This book is utterly satisfying!

Fun for Everyone

The great thing about this book is that everyone can learn from it. Whether you are a junior high school student just embarking upon your own odyssey in the world of the classics, or a retired person trying to get back into the world of literature, or even a scholar with a good knowledge of Homer and his poems, Beye's book serves the useful function of creating a multi-dimensional character out of all of the available souces, not just a single one. In other words, Beye brings to life someone who is a mythic figure and endows him with a full set of human characteristics that allows us to recognize him as both an ancient hero and a contemporary. This is an enjoyable but also provocative and worthwhile reading and educational experience.

Odysseus Redux

As someone who knows the ODYSSEY as well as a non-classicist can, before I bought this book, I asked myself: what is there to say, to add to what we have learned over the centuries about this great hero, and who would dare to try? Knowing other books by Beye, and having had the pleasure of hearing him talk in public forums, I should have known better than to ask. There is plenty to more to say simply because we know so little about Odysseus. The basic unanswered questions--who, what, where, when, and why--abound in any thoughtful reader's mind. He gives us his take on Odysseus' life from birth right up to the time that he leaves for his battles and wanderingss. Of course, much of this is speculation, but it's inspired and fascinating speculation, founded on Beye's vast knowledge of Homer and his times. Beye not only tackles these issues with thoroughness, and dazzling wit, but also contributes substantial psychological insights, some based solidly on how the ancients thought about their heroes, and others based on our modern notions. Women, who play such a major role in Odysseus's exploits, are also given new meaning in this book. Beyond psychology, we learn a variety of things about ancient Greece, things Homer does not give us: its look, smell, ways of building its structures and boats, eating habits, sexual customs, and more. Beye manages a very difficult balancing act: preserving the role of the distinguished scholar that he his with making Odysseus seem not only heroic, but human. He does that both with integrity and humor, reasons enough for anyone interested in the subject to read this book. And for those who haven't read the ODYSSEY, this perfect introduction will surely encourage them to turn to the classic once they've finished Beye's book. In my view, this is an thoroughly delightful, informative, and captivating book.

Odysseus Redux

As someone who knows the ODYSSEY as well as a non-classicist can, before I bought this book, I asked myself: what is there to say, to add to what we have learned over the centuries about this great hero, and who would dare to try? Knowing other books by Beye, and having had the pleasure of hearing him talk in public forums, I should have known better than to ask. But why a new "life" of the great hero? Simply because there is plenty to more to say about him than we know. The basic unanswered questions--who, what, where, when, and why--abound in any thoughtful reader's mind. He gives us his take on Odysseus' life from birth right up to the time that he leaves for his battles and wanderingss. Of course, much of this is speculation, but it's inspired and fascinating speculation, founded on Beye's vast knowledge of Homer and his times. Beye not only tackles these issues with thoroughness, and dazzling wit, but also contributes substantial psychological insights, some based solidly on how the ancients thought about their heroes, and others based on our modern notions. Women, who play such a major role in Odysseus's exploits, are also given new meaning in this book. Beyond psychology, we learn a variety of things about ancient Greece, things Homer does not give us: its look, smell, ways of building its structures and boats, eating habits, sexual customs, and more. Beye manages a very difficult balancing act: preserving the role of the distinguished scholar that he his with making Odysseus seem not only heroic, but human. He does that both with integrity and humor, reasons enough for anyone interested in the subject to read this book. And for those who haven't read the ODYSSEY, this perfect introduction will surely encourage them to turn to the classic once they've finished Beye's book. In my view, this is an thoroughly delightful, informative, and captivating book.