Linguistic, Mycenaean, and Iliadic Traditions Behind Penelope's Recognition of Odysseus

Author(s): Edwin D. Floyd

Source: College Literature, Vol. 38, No. 2, Early Recognition in Homer's Odussey (Spring 2011),
pp. 131-158
Published by: College Literature
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Linguistic,

Mycenaean,

Traditions

Behind

Recognition

and lliadic

Penelope's

of Odysseus1

Edwin D. Floyd

Introduction
is best etyOdyssey18.163, achreton
as
derived
fromachri
mologized being
At "until". There is therebyan explicit
indicationthatPenelope is "biding her time"
when she appears before the Suitors.
Subsequently,at 19.250, 23.94-95, 23.206,
and 24.346, there are four referencesto
recognition.
Againstthe perspectiveof Linear
B, a Bronze Age writing system,"read"
emergesas a potentiallydefiningnuance for
* "recognize" in these
formsof anagign6*sko
passages.One of the four,23.94-95, has regularlybeen consideredfroma perspectiveof
the verb
; however,agn6*saske,
non-recognition
form which supposedly indicates this, is
reasonunparalleledin Homer. It is therefore
able to consider reading aggn6*saske
, viz., a
*.
form, with apocope, of anagigno*sko
the
of
Corroborating importance Mycenaean

EdwinD. Floydteaches
Classics
at theUniversity
ofPittsburgh.
His mainresearch
interest
is the
ofGreek
"pre-history"
- theimportance
literature
of
bothan Indo-European
anda
background
Mycenaean
for
authors
suchas
understanding
HomerandPindar.

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132 College
Literature
38.2[Spring
2011]
Greek forthe Odysseyare various Iliad parallels,especiallythe ivorysimile
associatedwith the wounding of Menelaos at II 4.139-147; this resonates
both with various Knossos tabletswhich combine ivoryand crimsonand
with Od. 23.200-201, describinghow Odysseus'sand Penelope's bed was
of recognitionand sugdecorated.Finally,book 24 roundsout the treatment
gests an identificationof Aktoris,who had been mentioned at 23.228, as
Dolios' wife.
1.TheMeaning
atOd.18.163.
ofachreton
At 18.163, Penelope laughsachreion
just beforespeaking(164-68) of her
intentionto appear before the Suitors.Achreton
, which appears also at H.
used
is
a
neuter
Formsof the word
2.269, prettyclearly
adverbially.
adjective
also occur at Hesiod, Worksand Days, 403 and in various laterpassages,in
as a compound of a- (negativeprefix)with
most of which an interpretation
needful
chrios(Homeric chreios)
matter,businessmatter,debt" seems
"need,
and "helpless"are represen"useless,""unprofitable,"
likely;correspondingly,
tativeof the definitionsofferedby LSJ (Liddell-Scott-Jones)
forachrelos.
At Od. 18.163, though,"uselessly"seemsout of place. Instead,something
like"anticipatoryglee,"mentionedby Hewitt (1927-28, 441) and citedwith
apparentapprobationby Levine (1983, 174), seems better.Such a nuance
would fitmuch betterwith our hearingor readingthe situationin termsof
Penelope's realizing,fromthe Stranger'sactionsin book 17 (cf.Vlahos'sdiscussion) thathe is reallyOdysseus,who has finallyretunedhome.
But how could such a nuance for achreton
be etymologically
justified?
As faras I know,the suggestionhas not been previouslymade,but I submit
thatthereis a connectionof thisword with dchri"until".The only complication would be the phonological developmentof -i- to -ef-,and forthisa
good parallelis providedby theplace-nameAmpheia.Pausanias(second cen, at 4.5.9, lines3 and 7, describesAmpheia
ofGreece
turyCE), in his Description
as lyingon the borderbetween Laconia and Messenia. Consequently,a derivationof the name fromamphi"around / on both sides" and a corresponding meaningon the orderof "BorderTown" seems plausible.With a comwill mean "waiting
"until,"the adjectiveachretos
parablederivationfromdchri
until/ bidingone's time."
There is,to be sure,an alternativederivativedmphion
fromamphi
, with a
sense of "garment,clothing"(i.e., somethingthat is around its wearer).In
view of (1) the existenceof thisformand (2) the fairlyubiquitousconflation
of -ei- and -i- in post-ClassicalGreek,it mightbe thoughtthatPausanias's
Ampheia is some sort of mistakefor a more "correct"Amphia.The genuineness of the spellingwith the diphthong,though,is supportedby the

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Edwin
D.Floyd133
appearance of Ampheiain a list of formationsin -ei- given by the ancient
, 277.20.
grammarianHerodian,deprosodiacatholica
2. Other
Usesofachreios.
matterto explain the pervasivepostIt is also a fairlystraightforward
as "useless."In Homer,thereare fouroccurrencesof
Homeric use of achreios
word for"until,"viz.,mechri(s).
The patachri(s)and onlytwo of an alternative
in
tern of distributionis sharplythe reverse,though, other archaic writers.
LinguaeGraecae)givesonly
Throughthe sixthcenturyBCE, TLG ( Thesaurus
fouradditionaloccurrencesof dchri(s)"until,"but 61 other occurrencesof
mkhri(s)"until."Inasmuch as dchriwas evidentlybecoming a more or less
can readilyhave been displacedfromdchri
obsoleteform,the usage of achretos
in post-Homerictimesand insteadassociatedwith chrios"use."
Despite a preponderanceof instances,though,in which achreiosfairly
clearlymeans"useless" or the like,thereare also a couple of post-Homeric
analysisis likely.
passagesin which a different
In Aeschylus'sPrometheus
Bound, the titlecharacterrefersto Typhonwith
The immediatecontext (Prometheus's and others'punthe word achreion.2
ishmentby Zeus) mightsuggestthat"useless"or "helpless"would be perfect
achreion
here,and Grene so translates
(italicsadded to highlightthe word):
mass
now a sprawling
he lies,hardbythenarrowseaway
useless
Bound
, 11.363-65)
presseddownbeneaththerootsofAetna.(Prometheus
The original trilogyitself,though,included Prometheus'srelease- which
must constitute,in some sense,his victoryover Zeus. In connection with
Typhon too, a comparably more positive treatmentis evident within
Bounditself,inasmuchas the next few lines go on to statethat
Prometheus
Typhon'spent-up rage will, on occasion, break out in a volcanic eruption,
described in lines 367-72. In view of this,then,one could recastGrene's
translationas follows(suggestedchange in italics):
mass
"now a sprawling
histimehe lies,hardbythenarrowseaway
biding
Bound
, 11.363-65)
presseddownbeneaththerootsofAetna."(Prometheus
StillanotherAtticpassageinvolvesthe compound achreogelo*s
, in which
-gelo*smustbe connectedwith the stem of gelao*"laugh."3It thusparallels
Od. 18.163, in which the referenceis to Penelope's laughingin an achreion
fashion.Accordingto LSJ,achre6gelo*s
means"untimelylaughing."At fr.360
of the comic dramatist
Cratinus,though,the contextappearsto be one of the
dramatist's
appealingto his audience as appreciativecriticsof his poetic skill.

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38.2[Spring
2011]
134 College
Literature
To referto presumablysophisticatedcriticsas laughingat the wrong time
seems pointless.Instead,Cratinusis much more likelyto be sayingthathis
audience is composed of criticswho are bidingtheirtimeuntil his play
emergesvictoriousin the dramaticcompetitionatAthensand so getsthe last
laugh at the expense of other,inferiorplays.
Evidence.
3.TheRestoftheHomeric
at Od.
Even more importantas evidence for the meaning of achreton
di
18.163 is a Scholion on H. 2.269b: epi di tis Pe*nel6pe*s"achreton gilasse/*
"But in
kai hupokekriminon
michritoilta chette*mdnondianoigein.
epfplaston
di gilasse, feigned and made up until
connection with Penelope's achreton
onlyopeningthe lips."'4In thiscomment,the phrase"feignedand made up"
would be entirelycompatiblewith the idea of"biding one's time"as a transdi gilasse;in fact,the Scholion actuallygoes on
lation of Penelope's achreton
is regularlyused in post-Homeric timesas
which
to include michri
"until,"
the equivalentof Homeric dchri.
The Scholion on II. 2.269 appears to contrastthe Iliad and Odyssey
, assigningthe meaning"feignedand made up" only to the
usagesof achreton
Both
Homeric
Odyssey.
passages,though,can be consideredfromthe same
The Iliad settingis thatThersiteshas been railingagainst
generalperspective.
Finally,
Odysseus intervenes.He beats up Thersites,who then
Agamemnon.
translatethis
and sitsdown. Murrayand Lattimorerespectively
looks achreton
The
looks"
or
as "with helpless
"looking helplessly." immediatelyfollowing
line (II. 2.270), however,statesthattheAchaian armyremainsbothered,even
Bound, then,in which thereis
as Thersiteshas been silenced.Like Prometheus
a referenceto a volcanic eruptionin connectionwithTyphon,we may hear
the Iliadpassagein termsof theAchaians'being afraidthatThersitesis somehow "biding his time"as he glaresat them.
There is also a connectionof the Iliad passagewithlaughter,
just as both
Od. 18.163 and the Cratinusfragmentare so connected.As my studentW.
Gerald Heverlypointsout, the Iliad scene has been introducedin termsof
Thersites'sliking to create situationsthat he thought would be laughable- geloiion(2.215). As the scene develops,this point seems completely
sidetracked,fromThersites'spoint of view, since the Achaians' laughteris
directedat him (2.270), ratherthan at his target,Agamemnon.Despite this
seemingdenouement,though,it would stillbe possible,throughthe adverb
achreton
, to allude to Thersites'simaginingthathe will have the lastlaugh on
some futureoccasion.

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Edwin
D.Floyd135
4. Penelope
inBook19.
Recognizes
Signs
Od. 19.249-250 reportsas follows concerning Penelope's reaction to
"Aithon",the disguisedOdysseus:
'
teid' hi mdllon
Hd*sphato,
drse
huphhimeron
gdoio,
si*mat'anagnouse*i,
ta hoitmpeda
Odusseus.
piphrad'
is as follows:
Murray'stranslation
So he spoke,and in herheartarousedyetmorethedesireforweeping,
as sherecognized
thesuretokensthatOdysseustoldher.
Since the exact phrasing of the second line, 19.250, reappears at
23.206- a passage thatmany criticstake to referto Penelope's definitively
recognizing
Odysseus the passagein book 19 mightalso seem to referto this.
Mention of the two passagestogether,though,raisesa seeming paradox: If
there is recognitionin book 19, why would Penelope need to recognize
Odysseusforwhat would thenbe a second time in book 23?5
5. Homer
andWriting.
As a means of dealing with thisseeming paradox,it will be helpfulto
- a
considerHomer's stance vis-a-viswriting
point thattoo oftengets lost
when one approachesthisauthorfromthe vantagepoint of oral tradition.
At II. 6.145-211, we hear how the wife of theArgivekingProitosmade
the falseaccusationthatBellerophonhad sexuallyassaultedher.(Actually,
she
had propositionedBellerophon,and he had rebuffedher.) Believinghis wife,
but regardingBellerophonas his guestand hence underhis protectionwhile
in Argos,Proitos sends Bellerophon offto Lykia with a folded tablet,on
which thereare some s*matalugrd"baleful / destructivesigns."Upon his
sent on various dangerous tasks,pretty
arrival,Bellerophon is straightway
a
of
as
result
the
clearly
Lykian king's perusal (6.176-178) of the tablet.
survives
all these tasksand eventuallythe king makes
(Bellerophon,though,
him his son-in-law.)
The ancientScholiasts'firstsuggestionin dealingwith II. 6.168-169 is in
termsof grammata
"letters,"implying,apparently,
somethingon the orderof
the Classical Greek alphabet;however,theyalso go on to mention z6*idia
"pictures(of animals)" and eido*la"pictures."Eustathius,in his Iliad comin termsofgrammata,
as
mentary(2.272), specifically
rejectsan interpretation
anachronistic
for
and
instead
focuses
on
the
Scholiasts'
interHomer,
being
pretationin termsof z6*idia or eido*la.Likewise,in discussingII. 7.189, in
which various Achaian warriors put their own mark on some token,
Eustathiusonce again (2.437) specificallysaysthatgrammata
would be inapin
a
Homeric
context.
For
a
the
line
of
propriate
long time,
thoughtthatwas

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136 College
Literature
38.2[Spring
2011]
suggestedby Eustathiusdominatedmodern treatmentof the Iliad.Insteadof
real writing,scholarshad in mind somethingmore like the buffalohides,
decoratedbyAmericanIndiansand foundin variousmuseums,which have
the major eventsof one year or another.Supposedly,
picturesrepresenting
Proitossentsomethingof thissortalong with Bellerophon.
Such "picture-writing,"
though,is prettyhardto imaginein connection
with the Bellerophon story.The buffalohidesjust mentioned,forexample,
seem to have functionedmore as mnemonicdevices forone individualthan
as a means of conveyinga messagefromone person to another.In the case
of the Iliad,thatwould work in book 7- but not in book 6. Accordingly,
of a betwith the development,in the second halfof the twentiethcentury,
ter view of the historyof Greek writing,Willcock 1978 suggeststhat iZ.
6.168-69 incorporatesa "dim memory,preservedin the poetic tradition,of
the Mycenaean syllabicscript."6
The Mycenaean scriptto whichWillcock refersis LinearB. In his early
excavationsat Knossos in Crete,SirArthurEvans identitwentieth-century
fiedtwo typesof second millenniumBCE writing.He called the earlierof
thesesystemsLinearA (in the opinion of most,thisremainsundeciphered),
and he used the term"Linear B" forthe latersystem.In the early1950s,this
was decipheredas an earlyformof Greek by MichaelVentris.7
LinearB utilizesa separate,distinctsymbolforeach syllable.Some readers will be familiarwith such a systemof writingas manifestedbyJapanese.
Sequoyah's systemfor writingCherokee is also somewhat similarin basis.
For theselanguages,a syllabicsystemof notationworksfairlywell,and this
was probablyalso the case with the non-Greeklanguageforwhich LinearA,
the predecessorof Linear B, was devised. For Greek, though,quite a few
problemsarise,inasmuchas the only syllablesthatare specificallyrepresented in LinearB are (1) vowelsand occasionallydiphthongsand (2) sequences
of consonantplus vowel or diphthong.E.g., the fivevowelsa, e,i, o,u and the
d- series,da, de,di,do,du are writtenwith ten different
symbolsall together.
CCV
a
few
seem
to
Also,
(consonant + consonant +
symbols
represent
vowel) combinations,such as pte.There was, however,no way of representconsonants.As a result,thereis quite a bit of potential
ing mostsyllable-final
For
example, the combination that is regularlytranscribedby
ambiguity.
modernscholarsas pa-te,can be pati*r"father"(so PY An607) or pdntes"all"
(so KN B1055).8
Since Linear B had long gone out of use by the eighthcenturyBCE,
Homer can scarcelyhave known specificdetails,such as the preceding,concerningit.Anothersyllabicscript,though,was stillin use in his time.The
Cypriotesyllabaryis not as familiarto most Classicistsas Linear B is. Quite
a few signs,though,are verysimilarin the two syllabaries.For example,for

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D.Floyd137
Edwin
na, pa, po,se,ti,and we the LinearB and Cyprioteformsare verysimilar.9In
theremusthave been some continuous
view of these and othersimilarities,
traditionof syllabicwritingin Cyprus fromthe Bronze Age to the early
Hellenisticperiod,when the Cypriotesyllabaryfinallyceased to be used.We
can therefore
imagine a Cypriotevisitorto Ionia around 725 BCE showing
offhis own kindof writingto Homer,as somethingmuch more ancientthan
the alphabet,which was then firstcoming into use in the Greek world.
visitorfromCypruscould have quite legitimateMoreover,our hypothetical
ly referredto his scriptas a heritagefromthe heroic past and so have vivifiedforHomer the"dim memory... of the Mycenaean syllabicscript"that
Willcock suggests.
6.TheMeaning(s)
oftheVerb
anagign6*sko*
The ordinaryClassical Greek way of expressingthe concept "read" is
.The literalmeaningof thisis "know
with the compound verbanagignb*sko*
combined
with
the prefixana-), and the word
"know,"
(gign6*sko*
again"
itselfis attestedfroman earlyperiod with the meaning"recognize"The secondary meaning"read,"though,is regularlythoughtto be firstattestedin
the fifthcenturyBCE (Pindar,Olympian10.1); for this,see the entrys.v.
in LSJ.
anagign6*sko*
The semanticdevelopmentfrom"know again / recognize" to "read"
would, however,fitLinearB betterthanit would alphabeticwriting,which,
in mostof the Greekworld,had completelyreplacedthe ancientsyllabaryby
Pindar'stime.In view of the frequentambiguityin Linear B, a typicalscenario forworkingwith it musthave been thatan individualscribewould go
back to his own ledgerto corroborateor "know again" the detailsconcerning the personnelon call somewhere,or what storesof goods or equipment
or whatever,ratherthan
were availableor were supposed to be distributed,
with
the details,would read the docuthat anotherindividual,unfamiliar
ment, getting information from it from scratch, so to speak.
the extension of meaning of the compound of ana +
Correspondingly,
gign6*sko*("know again") to the semanticarea"read" seems more appropriate to dealingwith LinearB thanto alphabeticwriting,which is more comconsonantclusters,etc.10
prehensivein representing
7. "Reading"
atOd.19.250,
etc.
also providesa
An earlydate for"read" as a meaning for anagign6*sko*
solution to the paradox,previouslynoted, that arises fromjuxtaposing Od.
19.250 and 23.206. In both passages,Penelope could be reading/ pondering
something,insteadof actuallyrecognizinganything.I.e.,"Aithon"-Odysseus
in book
presentsinformationwhich Penelope ponders,and correspondingly,

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38.2[Spring
2011]
138 College
Literature
23, Penelope will somehow weigh what Odysseushas said; it is not a matter
of her actuallyrecognizing
Odysseus on eitheroccasion.With thisin mind,
then, one could rewrite Murray's translationof 19.249-250 as follows
(change in the second line is indicatedin italics):
So he spoke,and in herheartarousedyetmorethedesireforweeping,
as she readthesuretokensthatOdysseustoldher.
Besides fitting
the overallsettingin both 19.250 and 23.206, a LinearB/
Mycenaeanbackgroundforthescene in book 19 is also suggestedby the fact
thatvarioustablets(such as KN Ld571, includedat Colvin 2007: 73-74) refer
to storesof clothing(pa-we-a2or pa-we-a"cloaks,etc."),just as "Aithon"has
focused on Odysseus's clothing at 19.225-26 and 232-35. Although not
knowingspecificallyof such tablets,Homer can have been familiarwith traditions, stretchingback hundreds of years,concerning the opulence of
in theirrich sartorialresources.Even more
BronzeAge palaces as manifested
various tabletsreferto clothingas ke-se-nu-wi-ja
(so KN Ld573,
specifically,
Ld574, Ld585, and Ld649+8169) or ke-se-ne-wi-ja
(so KN Ld649+8169).
Both terms apparentlymean "appropriate for guests" (cf. Ventris and
of clothingto
Chadwick 1973: 318 and 487) and so attestto the distribution
- a
point raised by "Aithon" at 19.236-240 as a feature of
guests
Mycenaean culture.Moreover,the "meeting" of "Aithon" and Odysseus,
recountedin book 19, took place at Knossos- which happens to be the
place of provenanceforthesevariousclothingtablets.This point is not,perhaps, entirelyserendipitous,inasmuch as, in the traditionsavailable to
as a preemiHomer,Knossos may verynaturallyhave featuredprominently,
of
Bronze
nent example
Age opulence.
Beforewe leave considerationof book 19, we should perhapsglance at
the widely-heldassumptionthatthe scribeswho were skilledin Linear B
were male. For example,the cover of Chadwick's more or less popularizing
World
1976 work,TheMycenaean
, depictsa beardedscribe.Ifthissortof mindsetwas also Homer's,shouldwe findhim ascribingthe"reading"of"signs"to
In fact,at Od. 18.266a woman?There is not,I would say,any realdifficulty.
for
19.250
has
us
Homer
268,
throughPenelope'sreportthat
alreadyprepared
of
had
turned
over
the
management the householdto her;accordOdysseus
ingly,it is entirelyreasonableto associateher,in Book 19, with the kind of
thatone findsin Mycenaean palaces.
record-keeping
at23.94-95.
Stance
8. Penelope's
Afterthe slaughterof the Suitors,Penelope goes down to the greathall
to look at Odysseus,perusingthe situationas follows:
esidesken,
Spseid1alloteminmineno*padlo*s

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D.Floyd139
Edwin
alloted' agn6*saske
kakHchrdi
heimat'
chonta.(Od.
23.94-95)11
Lattimoretranslates
thisas follows:
Sometimes
shewouldlook at him,withhereyesfulluponhim,
and againwouldfailto knowhimin thefoulclothinghe wore.
About ten lineslater,though,at 23.106-107, Penelope saysthatshe cannot look at Odysseus (oudtti . . . dunamai. . /. eis 6pa idisthaienant(on).
This
seemsin directcontradictionwith the verbesldesken
's
"she
would
(Lattimore
look at him") in 23.94. Moreover,Odysseus appears to confirmPenelope's
own words (as contrastedwith the bard'spreviousreportat 23.94) when he
says (23.115-116) that Penelope fails to recognizehim because of his foul
clothing.
The solutionto the apparentcontradictionlies,I submit,in reconsidering 23.94-95.
For the formimmediatelyprecedingesldeskenin line 94, most manu, but some have eno*padio*s.The latter reading,
scripts have eno*pid(o*s
has regularlybeen preferred
althoughoccurringin only a few manuscripts,
and
it
was
at
the
editors,
by
accordinglyprinted
beginningof this Section.
editors'
for
it
arises
from
the existence of various
Apparently,
preference
othereno*pad-wordsin laterepic,such as eno*pad(s"before/ in one's face"
in Apollonius,Argonautica
4.354 and eno*pad6n(similarmeaning)in Quintus
of Smyrna,Post-Homerica
2.84. 12There is not, however,any intrinsic"correctness" about eno*padio*sitself,inasmuch as neither this form nor
eno*pidio*s
appearsanywherein ancientGreek literatureexcept at Od. 23.94
and in Scholiasticcommentson the Homeric passage.
At one stroke,we can (1) correlate23.94 quite closelywith 23.106-07,
and yet (2) work in termsof the predominatingmanuscripttraditionin
23.94. Dividing the alternative(and betterattested)readingeno*pidlo*sinto
two words,we get en6p}id(o*s,withtwo perfectly
reasonableHomeric forms.
Inasmuchas the textwas originallywrittenwithoutword breaksor diacritical marks,the change is prettymuchjust a matterof typography.
In essence,
it would simplymean retainingthe readingENOPIDIOS, which must lie
behind the eno*pidio*s
of mostof our manuscripts,
and correspondingly
disENOPADIOS
which
is
in
a
,
missing
represented(as eno*padlo*s)
only few
as an ancient,but essentiallyspuriousemendation.13
manuscripts,
Both endp' and id(o*s make good sense as Homeric forms.EnSpa
"before/in one's face" (forwhich endp'will be a regularelision) is paralleled
at II. 15.320, where the referenceis to the god Apollo looking straightat the
Danaans (Greeks).14Equally,the adjective(dios"private,one's own" appears
at Od. 3.82 and 4.314 in referenceto Telemachos'scoming on privatebusiness, not public,to Pylos and Sparta respectively.
Combining the Iliad and

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140 College
38.2[Spring
Literature
2011]
'
Odysseyuses, the effectof endp id(o*sat Od. 23.94 will be thatPenelope,
while indeed "looking directly"{endp')at Odysseus,is doing so "privately"
(id(o*s).She could thereforesubsequentlyspeak at line 107 of being unable
to look at Odysseus,without fearingthat anyone in her audience would
We, the bard'saudience,though,should know
regardthisas a falsestatement.
thatshe is somehow prevaricating.
in23.95.
9.TheVerb
The second line of the passage quoted at the beginningof the preceding section apparentlyindicatesthat,although part of Penelope's activity,
indicatedby dllote"sometimes"in line 94, was the observationof Odysseus's
countenance,at othertimes(second dllote
, in line 95), she "kepton notrecognizing"the strangerbecauseofhis clothes.Stanford1962: 2.394, forexample,
says"sometimesshe failedto recognizehim because he wore vile clothes,"
Heubeck (1992, 322) uses the word "causal" of the participleichonta
, and
Murray'stranslation"for that he had upon him mean raiment"likewise
includesa causal sense.
Lattimore'stranslation
(previouslycited),on the otherhand,usesjust the
"in
the
foul clothinghe wore".Althoughthismayseem
prepositionalphrase
somejustification
forLattimore'sseemingvaguenesscomes
undulyimprecise,
in the factthata causal nuance at 23.95 seems entirelyout of characterfor
Penelope. At 21.205-25, Odysseus had readily convinced Eumaios and
Philoitiosofhisrealidentity,
underneaththeragshe is wearing,and at 22.497501 the servingwomen likewisehave no troublerecognizinghim. In light
of thesepassages,would it not be strangethatPenelope should be causedby
somethingsuperficial his clothing to failto recognizeher husband?
The solution, I suggest,lies in reconsideringthe morphology of
, found at 23.95. The regularassumptionhas been that this is a
agn6*saske
formof the negativecompound agnoiio*"not know,not recognize."Homer,
though,elsewherealwayshas -oi- beforethe tense or mood sign in agnoiio*;
see H. 1.537, 2.807, and 13.28, and Od. 5.78 and 24.218. In view of these
otherpassages,we mightexpectagnoii*saske
at Od. 23.95, with -oie*- in place
of -o*-,if we are reallydealingwith the negativecompound.An alternative
to us as agn6*saske
is by
explanationof the Homeric formthatis transmitted
The change resultsin
way of emendingto or rather,reading aggn6*saske.
a formof anagign6*sko*
/
with
read",
"recognize
apocope of ana- to an- and
then assimilationto ag- before the following-g-. (A comparable apocope
appearsin the Homeric formagkremdsasa
"hangingup,suspending",foundat
Od. 1.440 insteadof anakremdsasa.)
Much as with my posited change in the
the lettersin the origiprecedingline,thisis more a matterof interpreting
nal formof the manuscript,
ratherthan of emendationperse, inasmuchas a

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D.Floyd141
Edwin
gamma-gammacombinationis likelyto have been writtenoriginallyas a
singlegamma.15
The change would also parallel one proposed for another author by
Wasserstein1982. As Wassersteinobserves,translationsof Pindar,Olympian
13.3 (for which our manuscriptshave gn6*somai,a form of gign6*sko*
"know") on the order of "I will come to know" are distinctlyawkward.
Wassersteinthereforetransfers
the alpha at the end of the precedingword to
the verb and adds a gamma,giving aggn6*somai
*.
, a form of anagigno*sko
Wasserstein's
translation
is
as
follows
added
to
(italics
resulting
highlighthis
translationof aggn6*somai
): "As I praise the house thrice victorious at
of the victorthe name of
Olympia,... I shallalso includein theproclamation
his city,blessedCorinth
"The readingis attractive,
and thereis also a furtherpoint,whichWassersteindoes not make,viz., that"read" would be per; i.e., one could
fectlyreasonableas a meaning for his restoredaggn6*somai
the
latter
ofWasserstein's
translation
of
13.3-4
to "I shall
change
part
Olym.
also readthe name of the victor'scity,blessed Corinth.. . . "16
10.Howaggn6*saske
FitsInto
theOdyssey
as a Whole.
From the perspectiveof probablyall modern translations
of the poem,
an interpretation
of Od. 23.95 in termsof apocope (aggn6*saske)
insteadof
seem
a
to
deal
with an
may
alpha-privative
blatantlyself-servingattempt
obvious stumbling-blockto Penelope's "early recognition"of Odysseus. In
fact,it mightcall to mind the quip, "What part of 'no' didn't you understand?"
In addition,though,to correlatingwell with"earlyrecognition,"thereis
also a more specificconnection with the rest of the Odyssey
, if we read
at Od. 23.95. Four Books previously,at 19.250, Penelope was
aggn6*saske
readingthe poorly dressedAithon-Odysseus'sdescriptionof his own sumptuous clothingin the past. Now, in book 23, Penelope would again have
good reason to be reading tryingto comprehend- the same Odysseus's
clothing.The others who were involved in the slaughterof the Suitors
(Telemachos,Eumaios, and Philoitios)have already(22.478) washed offthe
In tandemwith this,Eurykleia,just a fewlineslater
grimefromthe fighting.
tells
"a cause forindigna(22.487-89)
Odysseusthatit would be nemesse*ton
tion" if he does not put on freshclothes. Evidently,he does not do so.
Telemachos,though,who has alreadysprucedup, mustalreadybe presentin
the megaronwhen Penelope comes down to surveythe situationat 23.85,
inasmuchas he will speak at 23.97ff.In view ofTelemachos'spresence,then,
Penelope has the appearance of someone else,who was, almost as much as
Odysseus himself,involvedin the slaughterof the Suitors,againstwhich to
be "reading"Odysseus'ssqualid appearanceat 23.95.

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2011]
142 College
Literature
38.2[Spring
There is also a fairlyspecific Mycenaean pattern to associate with
Penelope's "reading" Odysseus'sclothingat this point. Several tablets(PY
Sa682, Sa790, etc.) record chariot-wheelsthat are "worthless"/"unusable"
use(no-pe-re-a2,
roughlyequivalent to Classical ano*phela
"unprofitable,
less"). There are also some, such as PY Sa787 and Sa793, thatspecifythat
wheels arepa-ra-ja( = Classicalpalaid)"old." (For both no-pe-re-a2
and pa-raand
cf.Ventris
and
Chadwick
1973:
374-375
not
seem to
There
do
,
519.)
ja
to "worthlessclothing,"but thewheel
be anycomparableLinearB references
tabletsare sufficient
to indicatethatboth old and even worthlessitemscould
be recordedin Linear B. Especiallythe latternotation,"worthless,"
was,preintended
to
of
with
their
the
state
various
wheels
contrast
sumably,
present
conditionin the past,and so reporton what the full,propercomplementof
usable wheels should be. Likewise,"worthlessclothing"mightequally have
been part of a scribe's adumbratingwhat the full complement of some
to the poetic arena,thiswill be exactlywhat
wardrobeshouldbe.Transferred
Penelope is doing vis-a-visOdysseus'sclothingat 23.95.
In place of what was cited at the beginningof Section 8, then,I suggest
the followingfor23.94-95 as a whole (reanalysis
is indicatedby underlining,
in both textand translation):
mhxtninendpf
idioms
esldesken,
Spseid' dllote
d' awn6*saske
dllote
kakhchrot
helmat'
khonta.
(Od. 23. 94-95)
lookedstraight
at him
(Withherglance,shesometimes
privately
and at othertimesshe kepton readingthefactthathe was wearingfoul
clothingon hisskin.")
To be sure,Odysseushimselfwill appearto confirm,
just a fewlineslater,
at 23.115-16, the contraryidea thatPenelope failsto recognizehim because
of his foul clothing.In answerto thisseeming objection,I would say that
Odysseuscould be as much takenin by Penelope'sstance,as expressedin the
narrativedescriptionat 23.94-95 and by what she saysat 23.106-07, as modern scholarshave been.17
11.TheInterchange
inBook
andOdysseus
23.
between
Penelope
AfterOdysseus bathes and puts on fineclothesat 23.153-63, Penelope
somehow testshim (so 23.181). Right off,the presenceof additionaltesting,
immediatelyfollowinga dramaticimprovementin Odysseus'sappearance,
indicatesthathis disreputableclothes,by themselves,could not have caused
Penelope to failto recognizehim at 23.95.
It is also importantto considerhow the scene of testingproceeds.It has
natureof the bed.
regularlybeen thoughtto revolvearound the immovable
for
continues
to
an
additional
dozen or so
Actually,though,Odysseus
speak

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Edwin
D.Floyd143
to the idea of the bed being moved (alloseat
lines,aftera group of references
23.184 and alle*i at 23.186, both meaning "elsewhere,"and metochUsseie
"move with a lever or crowbar" at 23.188), before Homer describes
Penelope's reactionas follows:
hd*sphato,
tesd' autoti
lutogounata
kaiphilontor,
si*mat'anagnouse*i,
ta hoitmpeda
Odusseus.
(Od. 23.205-06)
p&phrad'
herlimbsand dearheartwereloosened,
(Thushe spoke,and straightway
whenshereadtheclearsignsthatOdysseuspresented
to her.")
In the materialleadingup to this,Odysseus has describedthe construction of the bed (23.189-99), along with mentionof itsgold,silver,ivory,and
crimsondecoration(23.200-01). Althoughcriticsgenerallyfocuson the first
narratedby
part of this,I submit that the various details of construction
he
stones
around
the
bed
smoothed
the bed
chamber,
Odysseus(how
placed
with a plane,bored the holes forfittingplanksto it,etc.) would be more or
less irrelevantforPenelope.All thatwork almost certainlytook place before
on the bed, describedat
Penelope's arrivalin Ithake.Instead,the decoration
overall
of
his
activitiesas a carpen23.200-201, afterOdysseus's
description
relevantas informationwithwhich Penelope
ter,would be more specifically
would be familiar.
This decorationis describedas follows:
daidallo*n
chrusdi
tekaiarguro*i
e*d'eUphanti;
end' etanuss'
himdnta
bodsphoiniki
(Od. 23.200-01)
phaeindn.
withbothgoldand silverand ivory;
(Decorating
Andon it I stretched
a thongof oxhideshiningwithcrimson.)
Once again,thereis also importantevidence in LinearB. Knossos tablet
Sd4401, in describingi-qi-jo( = Classical hippio*, a dual form)"two horsechariots",combines e-re-pa-te
( = Classical elephantei
) "[inlaid] with ivory"
withpo-ni-ki
-. The tabletis brokenat thispoint,but a restoration
as po-ni-ki[jo] (phoinik(o*i
) "[painted] purple / crimson / red" seems fairlystraightforand Chadwick (1973, 366) and Colvin (2007, 74-76). There
ward; cf.Ventris
is also anothertablet,KN Sd4450, with po-ni-ki-ja
In
, along with e-re-pa-te.
thistablet,the latterword was erased.This fact,however,actuallymakesit all
the more importantforus.Apparently,
the scribefirstwrotepo-ni-ki-ja
"red";
- more or less
- but then
then,he (or she?) added e-re-pa-te
unthinkingly
realizedthatthe object which was being catalogueddid not,in fact,include
the scribe'smistakeatteststo some "automatic"assoivory.So reconstructed,
ciation of "red" and "ivory,"and so suggeststhatthiswas a traditionalcombinationand correspondingly
somethingthatHomer could allusivelybring
in at Od. 23.200-201. 18

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144 College
201
Literature
38.2[Spring
1]
There is also crucialevidencein the Iliad.When Menelaos was struckby
an arrow,blood stainedhis thighs,like an ivorycheek-piecefora horse,dyed
by a Meionian or Karian woman and storedin a palace:
tnii*ne*i
Ho*s d' hdtet(st' eUphanta
guni*phoiniki
Me*ionts Kdeira,
paraxonimmenai
hippo*n;
d>enthaldmo*i,
kettai
poUesti mine*r*santo
basiltidkettai
dgalma,
hippies
phoriein;
th}
tekMos;
kdsmos
elatiri
amphdteron
Mppo*i
toioitoi,Menilae,
midnthe*n
haimati
me*roi
teidlsphurh
knSmai
kdVhupnerthe.(Il.
4.141-47)
euphuies
(AswhensomeMaionianor Karianwithpurple
to makeit a cheekpieceforhorses;
coloursivory,
it liesawayin an innerroom,andmanya rider
longsto haveit,butit is laidup to be a king'streasure,
to be thebeautyofthehorse,theprideofthehorseman:
twothings,
so,Menelaos,yourshapelythighswerestainedwiththecolour
transofblood,andyourlegsalsoandtheanklesbeneaththem(Lattimore's
lation).
The artifactdescribed in the simile is exactly parallel to Knossos tablet
Sd4401, withits referenceto equine accoutrements,
consistingof ivorydyed
red,storedin a palace. It therefore
givesus,withinHomer's own oeuvre,the
which Od. 23.200-01 could draw,as
sort
of
traditional
on
source
precise
mentions
first
(23.200) and then,in the next line (23.201),
ivory
Odysseus
how the associatedoxhide thongon the bed was colored.
12.Ivory
Bed.
andPenelope's
Probablythe best known Homeric passage involvingivoryis the reference at 19.560-69 to gatesof horn and ivory,throughwhich dreamsof varVlahos
ious sortspass. In connection with thatpassage,two recentarticles,
Haller
or
less
to
the
and
more
(2009),
(2007)
background,
relegateivory
developinginsteadan associationof Odysseus with horn,and so with the
bow (made of horn or horns), as what Penelope is recommendingto
Odysseus.I agree thatPenelope is tellingOdysseusthatthe bow can lead to
in dealing with the Suitors.Additionally,
fulfillment
though,we should fill
out Penelope's advice with a complementaryand equallyimportantassociation of the speakerherselfwith ivory.In the immediate context,ivory is
connectedwith deception(so 19.564-65), and when we connect
specifically

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D.Floyd145
Edwin
thiswith Penelope, the resultis an allusion to the factthatshe is deceptively
who are stillpresent.
concealingher intentionfromothers,the maidservants,
The connection with Penelope is also suggestedby the fact that,after
sortin the firsthalfof the poem, all the otherreftwo passagesof a different
erencesto ivoryhave some connectionwith her.(First,though,at Od. 4.73,
ivoryconstitutes
partof the decorationof Menelaos's dwelling,and at 8.404,
a
is
of
scabbard.)The associationof Penelope with ivoryis initiativory part
ed at 18.196, as Athena beautifiesPenelope, makingher appearancewhiter
than newly sawn ivory.Toward the beginningof the next Book, at 19.56,
Penelope'sfootstoolhas ivorydecoration,and then,afterPenelope's mention
of gates of horn and ivory at 19.560-69, when she subsequentlyfollows
throughwiththebow contest(announcedat 19.570-81),partof thekeywith
which she opens thestoreroomto get Odysseus's bow is made of ivory(21.7).
The nextand finalivorypassageis Od. 23.200-01, quoted in the middle
of Section 11. Crucial in understandingthese two lines are the temporal
specificationsthat are included in Penelope's subsequent remarksat Od.
'
katilexas"you (Odysseus)
23.225-30. Followingthe phrases*mat
ariphradea
describedveryevidentsigns"in line 225, Penelope refersin lines 228-29 to
Aktoris.She alone, along with Odysseus and Penelope, has seen the signs
underconsideration.She is describedas follows:(1) Penelope'sfathersenther
with Penelope when she came here (to Ithake) and (2) she "guarded" (e(ruto) the "doors of the well-builtbridal chamber" ( thuraspukinotithalamoio).
Taken together,the referencesclearlyallude to Penelope's wedding night,
and if we but consider the Iliad, the imageryof II. 4.141-47, with blood
streamingdown Menelaos' thighs,resonatespowerfullywith the consummation of Odysseus's marriagewith Penelope, whose appearance had been
comparedto ivoryat Od. 18.196.
Beyond the basic physicalimage of II. 4.141-47, an importantsubsidiary
point,viz., thatmanydesirethe object thatis stainedwith crimson,but that
In an
it is reservedfora king,comes acrossclearlyin Lattimore'stranslation.
Ithakancontext,"king" would of course equate with Odysseus,and at Od.
23.200-01 it would be appropriateforhim to allude to the Iliadic patternas
adumbratinga crucialdimensionof Penelope's relationshipwith him.
There is also an importantadditionalpointthatis not so evidentin transin the Iliadpassageis storeden thalamo*i"man
lation.This is thatthe artifact
inner room,"with the same word that appears at Od. 23.229 to referto
can be used more generally
Penelope's bridal chamber.Of course,thdlamos
than it is at Od. 23.229. At Od. 1.425, for example, the word is used of
Telemachos'sroom and at 2.348 of the storeroomfromwhich he gets supplies for the journey to Pylos.Actually,though,in the Iliad, most of the
are in connection with a conjugal bedroom,as for
occurrencesof thdlamos

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146 College
201
Literature
38.2[Spring
1]
to Alexandras
exampleat H. 3.142, 174, 382, 391, and 423 (variousreferences
and
simile
in
we
have
the
book
4.
Then, a couple
Helen). Next,
[Paris]
ivory
of books later,at 6.288, althoughone mightsay thatthdlamon
refersjust to
the storeroomto which Hekabe goes to get a robe forAthena'sstatue,this
thalamos
is immediately(289-92) describedas containingthe rich goods that
Parisbroughtto Troyalong with Helen. Againstthispattern,then,the use of
thalamos
at H. 4.143 standsout as somehow different,
and so as somethingthat
could all the more have resonatedforHomer's audience as theyheard Od.
23.200-01.
There is also a potentiallysignificantamphibolyin Od. 23.225, confirminga poeticallyallusiveanalysisof 23.200-01. In its contextat 23.225,
the aoristverb katilexasmeans"you said / described"(signs),with a derivationfromkata(prefix)+ ligo*"say."Thereis,however,anotherverbstemlech"lie, lie down,etc."forwhich the aoristformsare homophonous with those
of lig-.In Homer, formsof lech- are usuallymiddle,as with katilekto
at Od.
13.75 (Odysseuswas lyingdown on the Phaiakianship) or katdlexai
at 19.44
(Odysseus tellsTelemachosto go to bed), whereaskatilexasat Od. 23.225 is
active.There are,however,two activeoccurrencesin the Iliad of the simplex
formligo*in a causativesense"lay down,cause to lie."At H. 14.252, Hypnos
(Sleep) uses the firstsingularaoristilexa, saying,"I caused Zeus to sleep,"and
at 24.635 Priam,usingthe imperativelixon,requestsAchilleusto give him a
hearan
place to sleep.In view of theseIliadpassages,we can correspondingly
subtext
at
Od.
The
which
been
23.225:
to
refers
had
signs
important
Penelope
made manifest
by Odysseus,not onlythroughspeakingin thepresentcontext
(stemleg-),but also throughputtingto bed in the past (stemlech-).
13.Od.18.187-96.
Importantas backgroundto book 23 is the passage fivebooks previously,viz., 18.187-96, in whichAthena castssleep over Penelope and beautifiesher by making her whiter than ivory.Upon awakening,her beauty
"softsleep
enhanced by Athena,Penelope says,malakdnperi k6m>ekdlupsen
hid around me" (18.201). The same phrase (although with firstperson
ekdlupsainsteadof thirdperson ekdlupsen)
appearsalso at H. 14.359, and the
Uiadpassageprovidesa clearlysexual resonanceforwhat Penelope says.The
Iliadic speakeris Hypnos "Sleep," speakingof how he poured sleep around
Zeus, in connectionwith his wife Hera's love-makingwith him,as statedin
in the Odyssey
the next line,U. 14.360. Correspondingly,
; Penelope refersto
softsleep,and she followsthiswith the phrasepdsiospothiousaphiloio"longing fora dear husband."19
Within 18.201-05, though,thereis the seeminglyanomalous factthat,
between awakeningand speakingof Odysseus,Penelope wishesfordeath at

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Edwin
D.Floyd147
Artemis'shands (202-03). A comparabledespondencyalso appears in book
as Penelope (1) awakensat 20.56,
20, with fundamentally
parallelpatterning,
at
hands
for
swift
death
Artemis's
at 20.61-65, and (3) speaksof a
wishes
(2)
dreamof Odysseuslyingbeside her at 20.87-90. Often,the passagein book
20 has been seized on by opponents of Penelope's "early recognition"of
Odysseus.Russo, for example,in presentinga more or less standardcom, observesconcerning20.80 thatthispassage"conmentaryon the Odyssey
firmsthe factthatshe has no suspicionthather husbandhas alreadyreturned
in the disguiseof the beggar."20If one were so inclined,18.202-204 could
likewisebe pounced on as evidentlyinconsistentwith the idea thatPenelope
had decided at 18.158-163 to appearbeforethe Suitorsbecause she is,as suggestedin Sections 1 and 3, simply"biding her time",knowingthatOdysseus
has alreadyreturnedhome.
The apparentanomaly in Od. 18.202-04 recedes,though,when it is
heardagainstH. 4.141-42. In the Iliad, both Agamemnon and Menelaos are
initiallyfrightened(U. 4.148-82, immediatelyfollowingthe ivorysimile of
4.141-47), but then Menelaos says(4.183-88) thatthe wound is clearlynot
mortal.With this as background,we can hear Penelope's associationwith
death,as statedat Od. 18.201-05,just afterAthenahas made her"whiterthan
new-sawnivory,"
simplyin termsof some momentaryfear,followedby more
sanguine,hopeful reflection.Two books later,the hearer or reader,upon
encounteringa parallelpatterningin book 20, can stillhave in mind the progressionof thoughtthatwas presentedat 18.187-205. Likewise,the combination of seeminglyfacingphysicaldanger and yet being safe will also be
appropriateat 23.200-01, as its referenceto ivoryand crimsonharkensback
to the time of Penelope's marriage.
24AsConfirmation
14.Book
Patterns.
andElucidation
ofPrevious
At Od. 24.345-46, the lines thathad appeared as 23.205-06 are repeated, with minimal grammaticalchange, since the addressee is no longer
Penelope,but insteadLaertes,Odysseus'father:21
todd' autodlutogotinata
kaxphdonitor,
hd*sphdto,
'
'
tdhoiimpeda
simatanagndntos,
(Od. 24.345-46)
piphradOdusseus.
hislimbsand dearheartwereloosened,
(Thushe spoke,and straightway
to him.)
whenhe readtheclearsignsthatOdysseuspresented
In the sectionleading up to this,Odysseus had referred(331-35) to his
distinctivescar, and then supplemented this by cataloguing (336-41)
Laertes'stransfer
of thirteenpear trees,ten apple trees,and fortyfigtreesto
his son manyyearsbefore,concluding with mention of an additionalfifty
vines (341-44).

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201
38.2[Spring
148 College
Literature
1]
Once again,thereare Mycenaean parallels,inasmuchas various tablets
deal with trees and vines (cf. Ventris and Chadwick [1973, 272-74]).
Moreover,Odysseus'smix of numbers,viz., one odd one (13) and threedifferenttens (10, 40, and 50), would readilypass musterin Linear B. At PY
Cn04, forexample,thereis a listof rams,ewes,and she-goats.Seventeenof
the entriesare multiplesof ten, rangingfrom30 to 180, but eight are a
hodge-podge of othernumbers,viz., 54, 91, 27, 44, 24, 73, 163, and 55; cf.
Ventrisand Chadwick (1973, 199-200).
Accordingto Od. 24.336-44, Laertesfirstgave some treesand additionally said thathe would give Odysseus 50 vines.The sequencehas not been
much commentedon. Heubeck (1992, 399,) forexample,cites"336-44" as
a singlelemma,callingthispassage"the second s&wd"followingthe mention
of the scar.This overallproceduralmatter,though,verywell adumbratesan
importantpoint about Odysseus'scharacter,viz., his acquisitiveness.
An interestin materialpossessionsis prettymuch a commonplace of
Odyssean criticism.Eustathius,forexample,observesat 2.179, in commenting on Od. 18.281-81, thatOdysseus is pleased with Penelope's acquiring
giftsfromthe Suitors,because he himselfhad been similarlyconcernedabout
gettinggiftsfromthe Phaiakes.Other instancesof Odysseus'sevidentinterest in materialpossessionsare (1) his referenceat 23.357-58 to both additionalplunderingon his partand to gettinggiftsfromtheAchaians,and (2),
within the very passage under considerationin book 24, his reference
had
(24.331-35) to visitingAutolykosso as to get giftswhich his grandfather
deduction
promisedhim. In view of passagessuch as these,then,a plausible
from24.336-44 is that Laertes gave Odysseus various trees,but Odysseus
vines to the
wantedmore,and Laertesthereforesaid thathe would add fifty
his
son.
to
of agriculturalproperty
transfer
"trunk
elafe*s
ofanolive"
15.TheResonances
ofputhmGn'
Odysseus'sacquisitivenessis also an importantperspectiveagainstwhich
to considerthe previousBook. At Od. 23.204, Odysseus'sconcludingstatementto Penelope,just beforeshe reads/recognizes
signs,had raisedthe question of whethersome man had cut the stumpof the olive-treearoundwhich
This mightseem to introduce,as a jarring
he constructedtheirmarriage-bed.
subtexthere,some lingeringsuspicion of Penelope. I submit,though,that
thatcannotreallybe the dominantresonancehere- Penelope'svirtueis too
*
well establishedforit to be a concern. Instead,the phraseputhminelale*s
in and of itself. Appearingat
"trunkof an olive" is likelyto be significant,
in
two
other passagesin the Odyssey
Od. 23.204, the phrasehas occurred
,
both in book 13.At 13.122,it is beside a"trunk of an olive" thatthe Phaiakes
stow Odysseus'streasureupon conveyinghim to Ithake,and the phrasereap-

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D.Floyd149
Edwin
pears at 13.372, afterhe and Athena have more securelyhidden this same
treasure.In view of these passages,Odysseus'scharacteristicacquisitiveness,
exemplifiedin his concern forthe Phaiakian gifts,emergesas an important
resonanceof the phrase,which,coming at the veryend of Odysseus'sspeech,
immediatelyprecedesPenelope's reaction,as describedin lines 205-06.
To be sure,the eventsof book 13 are ones thatPenelope would not be
specificallyfamiliarwith; hence, a captious critic might say that there is,
strictly
speaking,no resonancewith book 13 forPenelope to hear at 23.204.
if
Even absentfromPenelope'spurviewat thispoint,though,mentionof the
Phaiakiangiftsreemergesat 23.341 as the concludingitemin Homer's report
of Odysseus'sreportto Penelope of his adventuresand so servesto roundout
thissectionof book 23.
the acquisitivedimension of Odysseus'sperAlso, even more strongly,
for
is
sonality highlighted Penelope just a few lines later,afterOdysseus has
At Od. 23.350-65- which consticoncluded the account of his adventures.
tuteshis lastreportedcommunicationwith his wifein the poem- Odysseus
tellsher to remaininside,while he takescare of things,restoringhis possessionsto theirformerextent(23.356-58). Remarkably,Odysseuswinds up his
to Penelope as follows:
instructions
anabdsa
sunamphipoloisi
eishuperdi'
gunaixln,
me*d'
erieine.
me*d
tina
histhai,
(Od. 23.364-65)
protidsseo
maids,
(Goingup to yourupperchamberwithyourattendant
sit,and do notlook at or inquireofanyone.)
Through the contest of the bow, proposed in book 19 and brought to
fruitionin book 21, Penelope has made possible Odysseus'ssuccess against
the Suitors.Now, though,he prettysummarilyshoves her into the backgroundas he attendsto acquiringadditionalpossessions.
Bronze
forHomer.
ofa Pylos
Tablet
andtheIdalion
16.TheImplications
Pylos tabletUn718, which deals with various contributionsof wheat,
wine, cheese,and the like,has dose" will give" ( = Classical Greek d6*sei)at
lines 3 and 9 and o-da-a2at lines 7 and 11. The interpretation
given forthe
with
latterformbyVentrisand Chadwick (1973, 282-83) is "and similarly,"
"will give" understoodfromthe otherlines.The firstpartof thisexplanation
followed
of o-da-a2seemsstraightforward
enough,viz., ho*"thus/ similarly",
Ventris
and
the
After
d}
connective.
as
a
this, though,
by
post-positive
Chadwick explanationmore or less breaksdown, with only a prettyad hoc
explanationof what the remainingitem,aha, would mean.As I have argued
previously(Floyd 1978) without,at that time,any specifictreatmentof
Odysseanrecognition it is betterto take -da-a2 as a singleitem,viz., a verb

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2011]
150 College
Literature
38.2[Spring
form,complementingd6*sei"will give."My alternativeexplanationis that
the ancestorof Classical ddsan"theygave" (unaugda-a2 = dahanrepresents
mentedaorist,as is regularin LinearB and also frequentin Homer).22
to thefifth
Fastforwarding
centuryBCE (a couple of centuriesor so after
us
to
the
Bronze.This is a Cypriote syllabictablet,
Idalion
Homer) brings
dealing with paymentsto a familyof physicianswho had cared for the
a monetarypaymentwas
wounded in a conflictwiththe Persians.Apparently,
- but in the future,
ifthe fields
land
but
with
agricultural
promised, replaced
the
is
be
are expropriated, money to
paid.23
Nothing exactly comparable is attested from eighth-centuryBCE
BCE Pylos and
Cyprus,but inasmuchas PY Un718 fromtwelfth-century
the Idalion Bronze in the fifthcenturyBCE both deal with some kind of
combinationof currentcontributions/payments,
along with futurealternatives,thisemergesas a continuingconcern of syllabicGreek texts,extending
over manycenturies.We could thereforeplausiblyappeal once again to the
hypotheticalCypriote visitorto Ionia, consideredin Section 5, as having
mentionedthis to Homer as the sort of text that could be writtenin an
ancient heroic scriptand subsequentlyread. Possiblyreflectingsome such
we have,in Odyssey
culturalinterchange,
,book 24, a fairlyspecificverbalparallel to the Pylos combinationof d6*seiand dahanin the sequence Sdo*kas
foundin lines
"you gave,"dSkas"you gave"and d6*sein"to give in thefuture,"
337, 340, and 342, followedat line 346 by a referenceto Laertes's"reading"
what Odysseushad said.
Of course,our hypotheticaleighthcenturyinterlocutorswill not have
known of anythingexactlylike PY Un718, or a fortiori
, the Idalion Bronze,
fromaftertheirtime.Whateverthe precisenatureof any conversationwhich
Homer may have had concerningsyllabictexts,though,we find,withinhis
poetic oeuvre itself,an importantparallelfor a culturallydeeply ingrained
concern for how past and futuredistributionsare coordinatedwith one
another.
I referto Iliad, book 1, in which Achilleus wants the distributionof
booty to stand,just as the sons of theAchaiansgave it.Agamemnon,though,
- and on some futureoccasion he will
wants to take Briseis for himself
insteadgive some additionalprize(s) to Achilleus.In expressinghis views of
Achilleus exasperatedlyasks,at H. 1.123, ^>^5d6*sousi"how will
the matter,
theygive?,"parallelingthe futureformdo-seof PY Un718, lines 3 and 9, and
then,in referenceto the Achaians' previous distributionof spoils,he uses
ddsan"theygave" at 1.162, parallelingthe equally unaugmentedaoristform
dahan, which is likelyin the Pylos tablet.Also,about 100 later,Nestor picks
thisup the same idea at 1.276 with the actual combinationh6*s. . . ddsan"as
. . . theygave,"exactlyparallelingho dahanin the Pylos tablet.

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D.Floyd151
Edwin
The paralleluse of verbformsat Od. 24.347-42 also servesto roundout
the entire Homeric oeuvre. Iliad, book 1, contrasts Achilleus and
Agamemnon,and the Odysseyas a whole can be thoughtof as contrasting
- Achilleus'sand
two heroic styles
it is approOdysseus's.Correspondingly,
in
the
various
that
the
book
of
,
Odyssey
priate
concluding
changesare rung
on forms of d(do*mi"give," viz., ido*kas, dSkas, and d6*sein
, paralleling
Achilleus'sand others'use of language in Mad,book 1.
ios.
17.Dot
Even though Penelope had been more or less summarilydismissedby
Odysseusat Od. 23.364-65, her name reappearsthreetimesin book 24.
The firstis in Agamemnon'swell-known praise of her at 24.192-202.
As Wender (1978, 38) observes,"Penelope here gets her long overdue
encomium . . . untilthispointin the storyshe has receivedno word of praise
forher part in the revengeplot, no properpanegyricforher long yearsof
faithfulness."24
The second is at 24.294, in Laertes'sstatementthatit was not grantedto
Penelope to lament properlyfor her husband, since nothing definiteis
known of his fate.This second referencein book 24 to Penelope has not
been as much commented on as the preceding one; among other points,
though,it places Penelope in a more centralposition,vis-h-visOdysseus's
the speakerof thispassage,would have.
putativefuneral,thaneven his father,
Finally,the thirdand lastmentionof Penelope in book 24 (and hence,in
the Odysseytoo) is in connectionwith Laertes'sattendantDolios. At 24.386and at 24.400-05 Dolios asks
93, Dolios and his sons greetOdysseusjoyfully,
ifPenelope knowsthatOdysseushas returnedhome. Odysseusrepliesin just
a singleline:
6 giron,
tadtapinesthai?
6*de*otde;t(se chrk*
(Od. 24.407)
Whatneedis thereforyouto troubleyour("Old man,shealreadyknows.
selfaboutthis?")
Heubeck (1992, 404) comments on this line as follows:"The line is
modelled on H. xiii 275; the reply sounds more abrupt than intended."
I would say,Heubeck missesan importantpoint,
Through his own brevity,
or at leastfailsto conveyit clearly.
This is thatin the correspondingMad passage (13.275), Idomeneus is telling his companion Meriones that (1) he
indeed knows what sort of man Meriones is with respectto arett*,and (2)
since he knows this,thereis no need to elaborateon the matter.
With thisas
for
Od.
24.407
there
a
sense
that
,
background
Penelope's arete*
emerges(1)
"excellence" is so well known thatthereis no need to saymore about it,and

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38.2[Spring
2011]
152 College
Literature
(2) a parallelsuggestionthather recognitionof Odysseuswas prettyobvious
and thereis thereforeno need to inquireabout this.25
18.Aktoris.
In Section 12, my treatmentof Aktorisprettymuch leap-froggedover
the question of who she is. In doing so, I was merelyfollowingothercritics,
who likewisehave concentrated
just on Odysseusand Penelope as the"only"
ones cognizantof the signswhich are mentionedat 23.225 - despitethe fact
that Aktoris is equally mentioned at that point.26 Now, as we consider
Dolios's role in book 24, it behooves us to rememberthatPenelope had stated, back at 4.736, thather fatherhad sent Dolios with her when she came
to Ithake.The only variationbetween this and the referenceto Aktorisat
word "whom" in the phraseh6n
23.228 is thatin book 4 the introductory
moiddkepatt*riti dedrokiouse*i"whom my fathergave to me beforeI came
here" is hdrt(masculine),but at 23.228 it is h*n(feminine).Heubeck (1992,
Once we juxbut does not develop it further.
338) mentionsthe parallelism,
tapose the two passages,though,it is clear thatDolios and Aktoriscame to
Ithaketogether,on the occasion of Penelope's marriage.From this,it is not
too greata stretchof the imaginationto deduce thatAktorisis Dolios's wife,
of whom we hear at 24.389.
Nor is there,in my opinion,any reasonto be alarmedabout the span of
9000 lines or so separating4.736 and 23.228. AsVlahos pointsout,"Homer
oftenraisesquestionsearlyin the poem and providesanswerslater;at other
timeshe reversesthe processby givingus answersearlyto questionsthatwill
come up later"(2011, 10). AncientHomeric criticismwas also cognizantof
kal Msthisfeatureof Homer's style,summingit up in the phraseparaleipein
"to leave out and discusslater,"foundin a Scholion to H. 17.24teron
phrdzein
27. Heubeck (1992, 383) discussesthis Scholiasticprinciplespecificallyin
connectionwith the presentationof Dolios's wife in book 24. (He does not,
however,bring the name Aktorisinto the equation). First,as earlyas Od.
1.191, the old woman who takescare of Laertesis mentioned;then,Dolios
is mentionedat 4.736, in close proximityto a mention of Laertes (4.738);
next,Dolios's name appearsagain at 17.212 and 18.322, in connectionwith
his (Dolios's) children;and finallythe wife of Dolios is variouslymentioned
at 24.211,222, and 386-90.
19.Melantho.
An importantcorollarypoint,inherentin the precedinglistof passages,
is thatAktorisis in all likelihood the motherof Melantho,inasmuchas at
18.322 Melantho is introduced into the narrativeas Dolios's daughter.
Mentioned by name only in books 18 and 19, Melantho is neverthelessan

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D.Floyd153
Edwin
As Vlahos (2011, 38), followingWinkler
importantcharacterin the Odyssey,
(1990, 149), pointsout,the phrasemigahgon"monstrousdeed,"used in connectionwith her at 19.92, servesto indicatethatshe is the faithlessmaidservant who told the Suitors of Penelope's ruse with the loom. One point,
though,is leftunansweredin book 19: If Melantho is indeed the faithless
is it not surprisingthatshe is stillin Penelope's household?The
maidservant,
I
answer, suggest,lies in Melantho'sfamilytie,not only to Dolios, but also to
the even more trustedservantAktoris,who had guarded Penelope's bridal
chamber(as we will learn in book 23). Againstthisbackground,it is understandablethatPenelope had broughtup Melantho almostas her own child
(as statedat 18.321-23), and it is also reasonablethatPenelope has continued
to tolerateher presence,even afterthe betrayalto the Suitors of her mistresses'ruse with the loom.
Besides being thefatherof Melantho,Dolios is also the fatherof the similarlynamed Melanthios.He too had cooperatedwith the Suitors,and,after
he is killedbyTelemachos,underthe
the slaughterof the Suitorsthemselves,
of
direction
Odysseus(22.474-77). Melantho is also surelyone of the
general
maidswho were hangedat 22.457-72,just beforeMelanthiosis dealt
faithless
with.Two books later,though,as Wender (1978, 54-56) observes,we find
Odysseus sittingdown at a "jolly meal" at 24.394-411 with the family
(father,mother,and brothers)of those who were summarilypunishedjust
the day before.Wender'ssolution to this seeminglyawkwarddevelopment
- six sons,who are freefrom
restson the factthatDolios has otherchildren
with some of the
associationwith the Suitors.Since an armed confrontation
Suitors'relativesis looming (such a possibilityhas alreadybeen mentionedby
Odysseusat 23.117-22), it will be in Odysseus'sinterestto retainDolios and
sons as loyal supporters;accordingly,
he saysnothing,for
his six trustworthy
I would say,
the time being,thatmightalienateDolios's family.
Additionally,
one aspect of Odysseus'sstrategyis that he is briefin what he says about
Penelope,therebycuttingoffany furtherdiscussionof the situationback at
the palace.27
20.Concluding
andPenelope.
Observations
Concerning
Odysseus
Odysseus'ssuccinctnessin dealingwithDolios's questionabout Penelope
is also arguablymanifestedin his attitudetowardPenelope herself.
At 19.92, Penelope had made a kind of threatto Melantho,as she speaks
of her migaergon
, hd sii kephaUianamdxeis"great / monstrousdeed, which
when Odysseus subsequently
you will wipe offon your head."Accordingly,
instructs(22.440-45) Telemachos,along with Eumaios and Philoitios,to see
to the slaughterof the faithlessmaids,one could say thatthathe is merely
followingwhat Penelope had alreadysuggestedconcerning one of them,

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154 College
Literature
38.2[Spring
2011]
Melantho.Moreover,the factthata dozen faithlessmaids are dealt with in
book 22 is consistentwiththe factthatPenelope had made a pluralreference
at 19.154 to "careless/heedlessbitches" (kiinas ouk alegoiisas)who had
betrayedher.(Melantho,though,would appear to be the main culprit,inasmuch as Penelope focusesspecifically
on her at 19.92; also,bothAntinoosat
2.108 and Amphimedonat 24.144 use a singulartis. . . gunaikSn"one of the
women" in connection with the Suitors' learning of Penelope's ruse.)
Despite all this,though,the punishmentof the evil maids,as carriedout in
book 22, is somethingthatPenelope herselfis not consultedabout;moreover,
of the matteris specificalOdysseus'speremptoryand exclusionarytreatment
to
our
attention
when
he
at
tellsEurykleianot to dis22.431-32,
ly brought
turbPenelope vis-a-visthe maidswho have consortedwith the Suitors.
One could, I suppose,saythatat 22.431-32, Odysseuswas properlyleaving Penelope out of the rathernastypictureof how to deal with Melantho.
Then, toward the end of book 23, when he summarilytells Penelope at
23.364-65 to go upstairsand keep to herself,not inquiringabout anything,
Odysseuswould simplybe actingin the same spirit.At both points,though,
Odysseusis,in some sense,intrudinginto his wife'sdomain,takingoverfrom
her the management of her own household. An apparent disdain for
Penelope had also been displayedin his neglectingEurykleia'sobservationat
22.489 thatit would be nemesse*t6n
"a cause forindignation"if he does not
on
fresh
put
clothing.
For some readers,I suspectthatall thismayunexpectedlycomplicateour
view of Odysseus.Ifthereis anysuch reaction,I would answerthatthesevarious passagesshould insteadincreaseour admirationof Penelope'sacumen in
dealingwith Odysseus,as, forexample,she "reads" his disreputableclothing
at 23.95 and thenspeaksat 23.107 of not being able to look at him,thereby
deceivingeven the cleverOdysseus.
Notes
1The presentarticleowesmuchtoJohnVlahos's2011
article
CollegeLiterature
and to e-mailcorrespondence
withhimand withKostasMyrsiades.
they
Together,
haveconvincedme of thescholarly
of"earlyrecognition"
in the Odyssey.
viability
I have also workedup some materialfromoral presentations
made at the
International
and
New
Toronto,
2002,
Association,
York,2004,on thelinLinguistic
and
of
the
at
the
American
;
Odyssey
guistic
Mycenaeanpre-history
Philological
10 andtheetymology
of"read"in
Association,
Montreal,
2006,on Pindar,Olympian
and
to
the
Classics
Club
of
Franciscan
Greek;
Ohio,on Od.
Steubenville,
University,
Declan Lyonsand JosephAlmeidamade
23.94-95,concerningwhichProfessors
valuablesuggestions.
someadditional
Finally,
pointswerebroachedat presentations
ofPittsburgh
to theUniversity
and HonorsCollege.
ClassicsDepartment

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D.Floyd155
Edwin
2 In recent
Boundas a work
ofPrometheus
thequestionoftheauthenticity
years,
if
Even
not
bruited
about.
hasbeenconsiderably
Aeschylean,
genuinely
byAeschylus
- almostcertainly
BCE.
fifth
theplayis clearlyancient
century
though,
3 As willalreadyhavebeen evident,
oftenreferto spewillfairly
myargument
in order,
is probably
transliteration
Formanyreaders,
cificGreekwordsandphrases.
in whichtheoriginalappearanceof thetextis somehow
exceptin a fewinstances
A barebonesequivalencein Latinletters,
though,can oftenbe misleadimportant.
eta and omegaas e* and o* respectively,
transliterated
except
ing. I havetherefore
I
accent.The results,
when the vowellengthis alreadyindicatedby a circumflex
to the
ofGreekandnottoo distracting
to thestudent
transparent
hope,willbe fairly
generalreader.
4 The translation
is mine,as willbe thecase withotherpassagestoo,exceptas
ofPrometheus
Bound
I citedGrene'stranslation
noted.(Previously,
otherwise
,
though,
I will
ofthepassage;forcomparable
a fairly
standard
as representing
reasons,
handling
forvariousHomericpassages.)
sometimes
citeMurrayand/orLattimore
5 Harsh(1950,11) connects19.250and 23.206.He does so,however,
without
I
far
can
see.
as
as
idea
of
paradox,
any
developing
6 Willcock(1978-84:1.245).A contrary
view,though,morealongthelinesof
Powell
still
is
(1991,198-200).(Also,see Powell
presentedby
"picture-writing,"
Indian
buffalohidesas mnemonic
the
American
of
for
discussion
[2009,29-32]
devices.)
- thebestintroduc7
- ifnotindeedrambling
at times
itis expansive
Although
andChadwick,originally
remains
thatinVentris
tionto LinearB probably
published
withextensive
in 1956 and reprinted
additions,
justbyChadwick,in 1973.(Ventris
died in an automobileaccidentin 1956.)Thereis also a convenient,
had tragically
LinearB in Colvin(2007,3-15 and
ofinformation
concerning
summary
up-to-date
73-81).
8 For
andChadwick(1973,567 and569).Also,see theirvocabseeVentris
pa-te,
suchas ke-ra,
kiforambiguity,
for
(528-94) variousotherpossibilities
ularygenerally
and
,
ri-ta,
ko-wo,
o-no,o-pe-ro
pa-si.
9 SeeVentris
andforLinear
andChadwick(1973,64) fortheCypriotesyllabary
B (in materialupdatedby Chadwick[1976,385]),and forcomparisonof thetwo
and itsorigin.
theCypriotesyllabary
discusses
(388).Also,Colvin2007:20 briefly
10For thisdistinction
and
betweensyllabicand alphabetic
writing theunsuitcf.
to essentially
ablenessoftheformer
originalcomposition, Powell(1991,109-18).
in this
of anagign6*sko*
discussthe specificetymology
Powelldoes not,however,
with
the
he
connects
in
Powell
at
connection; fact,
(2002,109),
anagign6*sko*
process
so as to gettheexactflowofspeech- consonants
of"figuring
out"alphabetic
writing,
- thattheoriginalauthorintended.
"Know again,"though,
andvowelstogether
gets
heartofthewordthanPowell's"figureout."
one closerto theetymological
11
I have,foreasein
thetextas regularly
otherwise
printed,
following
Although
in
"skin."
of
the
diaeresis
chrot
location
shifted
the
,
typography,
1Z In
discussingthe Odysseypassage,Merrymentionsboth eno*paaisand
, whileHeubeckmentions
just eno*pad6n.
eno*pad6n

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156 College
38.2[Spring
2011]
Literature
13Archaic
were regularly
writtenin capitalsand withno word
inscriptions
breaksor diacritical
marks.Presumably,
the earliestmanuscripts
werealso of this
nature.Fora fanciful
butinstructive
of the"original"manuscript
reconstruction
of
andDaysalongtheselines,seeWest(1978,60,) and,fora comparable
Hesiod,Works
ofthebeginning
oftheIliad,Powell(1991,65 and 2009,243).
presentation
14Manytexts(followed
combineendpa
byLSJin theirentryunderkatino*pa)
in the Iliadpassagewiththeprecedingkat' thuseliminating
endpaas a Homeric
word. Recently,
bothJanko(1992,262) in hiscommentary
andWestin
though,
histext(1998-2000)adoptthereadingwithendpaas a separateword.
15 For the archaic
witha singleletter,
cf.the
writingof double consonants
reconstructions
provided
byWest(1978,60) andPowell(1991,65 and2009,243),in
whichwordssuchas d*rrhe*to(
andDays,1.4),andpollUs,
andAchilleus
kunessin,
(Works
withsingleconsonants.
(Iliad, 1.3,4, and 7) arewritten
16Sucha translation
wouldparallelPindar'susageat Olympian
10.1,wherethe
"read"
for
the
is
an&gno*te
meaning
imperative
regularly
recognized
byscholars.
17 For a
somehow
instance
of
cleverthan
more
parallel
Penelope
being
cf.Vlahos's
discussion
of
at Od.
remark
44)
(2011,
Odysseus,
Penelope'sdissembling
19.257-258thatOdysseuswill neverreturn:
remark
this
"Evidently, unexpected
catchesOdysseusbysurprise."
18ForKN Sd 4450,whichneither
Ventr
is and ChadwicknorColvinincludes,
see Chadwick,Killen,and Olivier(1971,288).
19Fora somewhat
ofthepassage,
cf.Vlahos's
reference
(2011,
paralleldiscussion
it
in
to
as
as
like
a
bride."
effect,
30)
presenting
Penelope "glowing,
20Also,ifitbe
to insertpersonalanecdotein thisarticle,
thismaybe
permitted
in conversation
theplaceto notethaton variousoccasions,
colwithdistinguished
has
been
of
raised
with
leagues,objection
mysupport "earlyrecognition," the
against
in
20
book
cited
as
being
"proof"againstthisview.
passage
premier
21 Some readersmaybe
to
as havingany
nonplussed see book 24 introduced
withotherpartsofthe Odyssey
substantive
connection
inasmuch
book used
as
this
,
to be regardedas somehowinauthentic.
More recentscholarship,
however,has
book
24
more
Heubeck
cf.
(1992,353-55).
regarded
favorably;
On myinterpretation,
thesubjectofthepluraldahanin line7 willbe thesingularnounda-mo(i.e.,damos= Classicaldimos"people");althoughmorphologicaldimosoccasionally
takesa pluralverb,as at Homeric
, 272,
lysingular,
HymntoDemeter
in
we
as
"the
have
rather
than
"the
English say
just
people
given",
peoplehasgiven".
23Fortranslation
alongtheselines,see Colvin(2007,87-88).
24 Foradditional
discussion
ofAgamemnon's
praiseof Penelope,see Heubeck,
(1992,380-81).
25 Some readersmaybelievethata leap frommale to femaleareti*requires
somejustification.
Areti*is ofcourseprimarily
a malequality("manliness,
courage,
in
and
The applicationof the word to
archaic
Classical
literature.
Greek
etc.")
is readily
withintheOdyssey
demonstrated
Penelope,though,
byPenelope'smention
* at
of herown areti*at 18.251 and 19.124.Also,Agamemnon's
to areti
references
24.193 and 197,not muchmorethan200 linesbeforeOdysseus
's replyto Dolios,

This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 18:02:09 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

D.Floyd157
Edwin
seem to be in connectionwith Penelope's
would almostcertainly
excellence;cf.
Heubecksnotes(1992,381).
26Forfurther,
see Heubeck(1992,338).
ofAktoris,
butinconclusive
discussion
27 Some scholarsclaimthattheremustbe at leasttwo different
individuals
namedD olios- one the fatherof Melanthiosand Melantho,and a different
one,
in
of
Book
The
24.
who is positively
theory multipleDolioi, though,
presented
asWender(1978,54-56),Heubeck(1992,385),and Haller(2008) all
seemsunlikely,
pointout.
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