The Lotus Eaters Episode 9: An Ode to Argos [unlocked]
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What is the opening premise of Books 17‑18 in the Odyssey?
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Let's get to the episode.
Welcome to another episode of The Lotus Eaters. The Lotus Eaters. So uh we are going to talk about books 17 and 18. Odysseus goes to town, sees his dog. Gets into his palace, begs for food, stools are flying everywhere. These are fun and fascinating books leading up to what I think is the best book in all of the Odyssey book nineteen, but I love these two. What did you think of them?
I love them. I mean I've been enjoying reading every book, but this time I was sad to be finishing up the second book. Like I was like, Oh, come on, like just a little more, make this one longer. Yeah. But yeah, I didn't know that the footstool was like the weapon of choice in the Bronze Age apparently.
Yeah. Did any thematic ideas uh did anything uh jump out at you about kind of what's going on?
Yeah, I mean the biggest thing for me is the self-control and patience that has to be demonstrated by Odysseus and Telemachus, where, you know, they're formulating a plan and they're constantly being tested. And they have to like r just like exert this what I imagine is a tremendous amount of will to not do the thing that they are really tempted to do. And that just more broadly is like a sign of the mark of their character. And like throughout this really feels like these scenes back at Odysseus's palace are it's like a big lab where you're testing out people's morality. And some people pass, some people fail miserably. Yeah. And even like the just the deception. You know, it's like require it seems to be like a lot, you know, having to lie to your mom and to your favorite slave.
The worst
uh example is when he sees his dog Artos and he has a tears like coming out of the big thing. Yeah, like you should have warned
me about this scene.
No. Like everyone has to experience that fresh for the first time. Oh
god, man. I was like literally tearing.
It's horrible. I had to go down and like I was reading up here and I had to go down and hug Trixie like immediately afterwards.
But sorry, say you were saying that is an example of
just he had to keep him like he couldn't just go over and hug his dog. He had to just keep walking, you know, 'cause that would have revealed him to Eumaeus, and for some reason he doesn't want Eumaeus to know still. So fucking Tom, go hug your
flea ridden like manure.
Although you see, because Melantheo, the goat herd, is out there, he's gotta keep it under control, even uh you know, setting aside Eumaeus.
And they had a m a moment, and it's like the purest moment. Because there's all this deception that that has to happen, these layers of deception in order to test people to make sure they're on your side, like to not foil the the plans for revenge. And with Argos, it's like just a pure moment of perception that cuts straight through. He knows exactly who Odysseus is. Odysseus knows who he is, and that's all that's required. And like the dog Argos can die after that. Yeah. Yeah.
It's a beautiful thing. Yeah. It's beautiful and heartbreaking. And I mean, Argos, I think, you know, we get the story of him too before he dies, of how this happened. You hear how like it was okay at first, and then just kind of everyone slowly started to abandon him. I had a student write that Argos kind of represented Ithaca. It was this thing that's kind of wasting away from neglect and nobody kind of stepping up to do anything about it.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the opening premise of Books 17‑18 in the Odyssey?
0:00–10:07
2
How do Odysseus and Telemachus demonstrate self‑control and patience?
10:07–17:48
3
Why is Argos’s recognition of Odysseus so emotionally powerful?
17:48–30:32
4
Has Penelope already recognized Odysseus by the end of Book 18?
30:32–40:27
5
What role does deception play in testing the suitors and servants?
40:27–45:19
6
How does the staged fight between Odysseus and the suitors illustrate his strategy?
45:19–48:17
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Very Bad Wizards
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