The Return of OdysseusThe coin:Roman Republic, C. Mamilius Limetanus,
gens MamiliaAR -
denarius serratus, 20mm, 3.78g, 45°
Rome, 82 BC
obv. Bust of Mercurius, draped and with winged
petasos, r.;
caduceus over r.
shoulder; upper left A (control mark)
rev. left from top to bottom C.MAMIL, right from bottom to top LIMETAN (TA
ligate)
Ulixes (Odysseus), bearded, with mantle and pilos, clad as beggar, advancing r.,
resting with raised l. hand on staff and stretching r. hand to
his old
dog Argus,
who stands r. before him looking up to him.
ref.
Crawford 362/1;
Sydenham 741; RCV 282;
Albert 1253;
Mamilia 6
rare, SS
Note:
(1) The
gens Mamilia claims her origin from
Mamilia, daughter of Telegonos, the son of Circe from Ulixes, who himself was a son of Mercurius: Telegonos is said to be the founder of
Tusculum, which was the city of the
gens Mamilia(2)
Lat. pilos = Greek
pileus, a felt
cap, often equated with the
bonnet of
liberty worn by the
French Jacobins, but in error
Mythology:[1] After the fall of
Troy Odysseus has set to return to Ithaka. He has known that
his journey would last 10 years due to the merciless hate of Poseidon. Here is not the place to spread out all
his countless adventures. But Calypso alone hold him for 7 years on her island of Ogygia. When Poseidon once was absent
Zeus sent
Hermes to Calypso with the order to release Odysseus. Yet he built a float and sailed away. When Poseidon recognized
his escape he sent a heavy storm so that Odysseus could save himself just barely to the beach of the island of Drepane where he exhausted fell asleep. This island belonged to the Phaiakians, known for their hospitality. Nausikaa, the king's daughter, found the beached next morning and took him to the palace of her royal parents, Alkinoos and Arete. He was dressed and hosted friendly. But Odysseus longing for coming
home asked them for bringing him back to Ithaca. So Phaiakian companions brought him to Phorkys on Ithaca putting him down gently on the sand of the beach not to disturb
his sleep of fatigue.
While Odysseus was twenty years away from Ithaca more than 120 impudent suitors have
had gathered in
his palace who courted
his wife Penelopeia hoping to get
his throne. During the whole time they lived and feasted in
his palace, drank
his wine, butchered
his pigs,
sheep and cattle, and pleasured themselves with
his maidservants. Telemachos, the son of Odysseus, being on
search for
his father at Menelaos in Sparta, they wanted to kill when he came
home.
When Odysseus awoke
Athena appeared, transformed him into a beggar and brought him to Eumaios
his loyal old swineherd, which didn't recocnized him but hosted him friendly.
Athena sent back Telemachos to Ithaca where father and son recognized each other with the
help of
Athena. Disguised again as beggar Odysseus betake himself to
his palace where he
met Melantheus, the goatherd, who mocked him and kicked him with
his foot. But Odysseus
still suspended
his avenge. When he entered the court-yard of
his palace we come to the scene which is depicted on the coin.
[2] Here is the relevant text from the Odyssey (Book 17):
As they were speaking, a
dog that
had been lying asleep raised
his head and pricked up
his ears. This was Argos, whom Odysseus
had bred before setting out for
Troy, but he
had never
had any enjoyment from him. In the old days he used to be taken out by the young
men when they went hunting wild goats, or deer, or hares, but now that
his master was gone he was lying neglected on the heaps of
mule and
cow dung that lay in front of the stable doors till the
men should come and draw it away to manure the great close; and he was full of fleas. As soon as he saw Odysseus standing there, he dropped
his ears and wagged
his tail, but he could not get close up to
his master. When Odysseus saw the
dog on the other
side of the yard, dashed a tear from
his eyes without Eumaios seeing it, and said:
"Eumaios, what a noble hound that is over yonder on the manure heap:
his build is splendid; is he as
fine a fellow as he looks, or is he only one of those dogs that come begging about a table, and are kept merely for show?"
"This
dog," answered Eumaios, "belonged to him who has died in a far country. If he were what he was when Odysseus left for
Troy, he would soon show you what he could do. There was not a wild beast in the forest that could get away from him when he was once on its tracks. But now he has fallen on evil times, for
his master is dead and gone, and the women take no care of him. Servants never do their
work when their master's hand is no longer over them, for
Zeus takes half the goodness out of a
man when he makes a slave of him."
So saying he entered the well-built mansion, and made straight for the riotous pretenders in the hall. But Argos passed into the darkness of death, now that he
had seen
his master once more after twenty years.
Note: Naturally Odysseus'
dog is the symbol of unconditional loyality, which was
demanded from
Sulla too (see 'History'!).
[3] What happened thereafter:
To check the suitors Odysseus paced from one to the other and asked for leftovers. But the suitors were not only greedy but stingy too. The most impudent of them all was Antinoos, who even threw a stool at him. On the next day Penelopeia announced that she was ready to take as spouse the one who was able to shoot an arrow through twelve
axe holes, and gave them the bow of Osysseus. But no one of the suitors could even bend the bow. Thereupon Odysseus took the bow, bent the bow easily and shot an arrow through all twelve
axe holes. Odysseus announced himself as the true
king and killed Antinoos by a shot through
his throat. Horror-stricken the suitors jumped up, but Odysseus shot one after the other with
his arrows. In the same time
Athena in the shape of a swallow flew twittering through the hall, while Odysseus pursued
his bloody profession until all were dead. Only Medon the herald and Phemios the singer he spared.
Then he called Eurykleia
his old nurse and asked her for the loyality of
his maidservants. The twelve guilty ones were brought and
had to clean the palace hall from the blood. Then Odysseus hung them one after the other. Thereafter he cut off the limbs of Melantheus the goatherd, nose, ears,
hands, feet and genitals and threw them to the dogs.
This excessive avange of Odysseus is described totally unemotionally, and we are terrified by
his exorbitance. But how much more terrible is reality!
[4] The end of Odysseus:
Years later Odysseus - according to a prophecy of Teiresias whom he
had consulted on
his visit of the Underworld - should have introduced the cult of Poseidon at the Thesprotians (in Epiros) to become reconciled with Poseidon. The queen of the Thesprotians fell in love with Odysseus and Odysseus stayed as
king with her. Only after her death he returned to Penelopeia. In the meantime Telegonos,
his son from Kirke, has grown up and was on
search for
his father. When once by chance he came to Ithaca and robbed some cattle he
met Odysseus. They got into a fight and Odysseus was killed by
his own son (Apollodor, Bibliotheka, X 33-36).
History:The depiction on the
reverse of the coin should be an allusion to the return of
Sulla to
Rome.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (138-78 BC), the leader of the
patrician party against the
populares under Gaius
Marius has captured
Rome twice: 88 BC at the 1. march on
Rome and 82 BC after the battle at the
Porta Collina. After that he was appointed
dictator legibus scribundis et rei publicae constituendae. Both captures were assiocated with terror, but the terror beginning in 82 BC was excessive. It was a massacre. Some thousands of Samnites were slaughtered on the Campus
Martius.
His enemies enclosed in
Praeneste were killed undiscriminately after they have surrendered. But the most outrageous sanctions were the beginning proscriptions, lists with names of persons who were declared as outlaws. The legal basis was created by the
lex Valeria but only afterwards. Everyone could suspect anyone who then was killed without the judgement of the court. Tens of thousands became victims of the proscriptions, not only enemies of
Sulla, but all who displeased somebody. A number of 4700
Roman citizens is reported. But we must add the number of entire families together with children and grandchildren. The latifundia of the killed were sold to Sulla's followers or sold by
auction. In this way f.e. Crassus became the richest
man of
his time.
It was the merciless avenge of a
man who didn't knew any limits. There is a striking similarity with the blood rage we have seen at Odysseus, when he killed the suitors one after the other and then hung the maidservants with
his own
hands. At the end he was so full of blood that even
his wife Penelopeia could not recognize him. And
Sulla we see as
man with two faces: the conservative statesman who tried to save the old
republican state order, and as brutal
dictator who rang the
bell for the end of the
res publica. But
his terror regime could delay the doom of the republic only for a short time. Even Schiller's word about Wallenstein: "Confused by the favour and hate of the parties
his character sketch sways in
history" doesn't match
Sulla.
His name stands until today for cruelty and terror.
History of art:Naturally the adventures of Odysseus already in ancíent times were a rich source for
depictions. In the
Vatican Museums we find the
part of a group where Odysseus gives Polyphem the
cup of wine, 1st century AD. In the museum of Sperlonga we have the same-aged
Skylla Group from the cave of Sperlonga. On a
hydria from Caere the blinding of Polyphem is depicted lively (
Rome, Museo Nazionale di
Villa Giulia, 6th century BC). The killing of the suitors we find on an Attic
skyphos from c.450 BC, today in the Antikensammlung,
Berlin (attached!). There are scenes with Kirke, the Sirens, with Kalypso and so on. These scenes appear as vase paintings, on coins, as glyptic and as sculptures. When Odysseus is depicted alone then regularely in a thoughtful position, as patient sufferer, as he is called by
Homer, always bearded and with the
pileus on
his head.
In Renaissance these
themes were picked up again. P. Tibaldi has created a cycle of paintings in the Palazzo Poggi in Bologna (1554-56), Annibale Caracci in the Palazzo Farnese in
Rome (1597-1600) and Niccolo d'Abbate (1550-60) in Fontainebleau, destroyed but known from several copies.
Max Beckmann has painted Odysseus and Kalypso 1943 (Kunsthalle, Hamburg) and by Kokoschka we have 44 lithographies (1963-65). The total number of depictions can't be overlooked (Aghion). I have choosed the pictures from two skyphoi of the Penelope painter, because they cover our theme, the return of Odysseus.
Poets too were fascinated by the dubious figure of Odysseus. We know tragedies of Sophokles and Euripides. Seneca has written the "
Trojan Women" and naturally we find these
themes in Ovid's Metamorphoses. In Dante's "Divina Comedia" Odysseus is banned to the 8th
circle of hell as liar and deceptive advisor. In Shakespear's "Troilus and Cressida" too he is depicted as doubtful.
Calderon de la
Barca describes 1637 the adventures of Odysseus with Kirke. In the evolution of musique the opera "Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria" of Claudio Monteverdi, 1640, plays an important role. It is one of the highlights of the early opera which was invented only some decades before.
With reference to modern times I mention Jean Gireaudoux' "There will be no Troyan War", 1935, where he points to the conflict between
Germany and
France and where the prevention of the war fails prophetically. Nikos Kazantzakis has written a spin-off of the Odysseus-Epos in 33.333 neo-Greek verses. And last not least the phenomenal novel "
Ulysses" from the Irishman
James Joyce, 1922, must be mentioned. In
his work he tells 24 hours of a Dublin citizen, which are based on the chants of the Odyssey.
Ikonography:Nikomachos von Theben, a painter from the 4th century BC is said to be the first one who has depicted Odysseus with a
pileus. This
cap was perfect to illustrate the versatility of our hero. At first this
cap, used as inner lining of helmets, is a symbol of fighters. Then it was worn in
Greece by voyagers, craftsmen - especially artists - and sailors. All of these groups are connected with Odysseus, and just this versatility makes the
pileus a special attribute of Odysseus. By this
cap he is
signed as figure of
identification for all
Greeks (Niederberger).
I have added 3 pics:
[1] Penelope and Telemachos waiting for Odysseus, Penelope painter,
side A of a
Attic red-figured vase (
skyphos) from Chiusi, c.430 BC, high classical
[2] Odysseus and
his nurse, washing
his feet, as above,
side B
[3] Odysseus kills the suitors, Attic red-figured vase (
skyphos), Penelope painter,
c.440 BC, from Tarquinia, now in the Antikenmuseum
Berlin (l. and r.
part!)
Sources:
[1]
Homer, Odyssey
[2]
James Joyce,
UlyssesLiterature:
[1] Der kleine
Pauly[2] Benjamin Hederich, Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon (online too)
[3] Wilhelm H. Roscher, Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen
Mythologie, 1884-1890 (online too!)
[4]
Robert von Ranke-Graves, Griechische Mythologie
[5] Oliver Primavesi, in 'Die Heimkehr
des Odysseus',
Beck 2007
[6] Karl
Christ,
Sulla,
Beck 2002
[7] Aghion/Barbillon/Lissarrague, Reclams Lexikon der antiken Götter und Heroen in
der Kunst, 2000
[8] Gerhard Fink, Who's who in der antiken Mythologie, dtv 1993
Online-Sources:
[1]
Wikipedia[2]
www.perseus.tufts.edu (pics)
[3]
Thomas Niederberger, Das Mützchen
des Odysseus
www.gymipro.de/facharbeiten/odysseus-gut.pdf (Pilos)
Best regards