Blood or Bodies: Which Part of The Odyssey is Most Horrific?

 Which part of Odysseus’ journey do you feel is the most horrifying? 

By Margaret 

Odysseus’ journey from Troy to his home in Ithaca is full of dramatic, dangerous and exhilarating events. Many of these events involve gruesome and appalling acts of violence and result in the deaths of some of Odysseus’ companions, leaving the survivors in great distress. There are three main events in ‘The Odyssey’ which could be considered the most horrific: Odysseus’ encounter with Laestrygonians (from which Passage B is taken), Odysseus’ encounter with the monster Scylla, or Odysseus’ encounter with ‘the tribes of the dead’.  

In Passage B, an exploration party sent from Odysseus’ crew is ‘confronted by Antiphates’ wife’, a giant, terrifying woman who immediately summons her husband, ‘the famous Antiphates’, upon meeting the men. Antiphates ‘promptly [makes] his murderous intentions clear’ and snatches and eats one of them men. The other men flee back to the ship, while Antiphates rounds up ‘countless numbers of powerful Laestrygonians’, who are ‘more like Giants than men’, and pursues them back down to the harbour where their ships are anchored. This scene alone could be considered horrifying, especially considering Odysseus’s earlier misgivings about the island, choosing to anchor his ship ‘outside the harbour’ as a safety precaution. However, the situation escalates to become truly horrifying when the Laestrygonians begin ‘pelting [the] flotilla with lumps of rock’ and carrying the men off ‘like fishes on a spear’. Although Odysseus escapes on his own ship, this is nevertheless a horrific scene. Both the surprise element and the violence of the ‘massacre’ combine to create a shocking and memorable part of Odysseus’ journey. Emotive language describing the crew rowing desperately to escape ‘With the fear of death upon them’ and their ‘heavy hearts’ afterwards helps the audience to share in the thrill and fear of the event. Thus, the occurrence is horrifying for both the characters and the audience, making it one of the most horrifying parts of Odysseus’ journey.  

Another part of ‘The Odyssey’ which could be considered the most horrifying is Odysseus’ narrow escape from the six-headed monster Scylla. Circe warns Odysseus of this beforehand, describing Scylla as a ‘repulsive monster’ and ‘darkly menacing death’, creating suspense for both the characters and the audience. Particularly fear is created when Circe claims that ‘No crew can boast that they ever sailed their ship past Scylla unscathed’, establishing an atmosphere of danger and horror. In addition, as his ship is approaching Scylla’s rock, Odysseus says that he ‘did not mention the inescapable horror of Scylla, fearing that in their panic [the] men might… huddle below decks’, creating a sense of trepidation for the audience. The narrative goes on describe when Scylla ‘snatched out of [the] ship the six strongest and ablest men’, ‘like an angler… who… whips his struggling catch to land’; the savagery and vividness of this incident is truly horrifying. Odysseus describes the captured men ‘shrieking… in their last desperate throes’, relaying a piercing sense of fear, pain and death. This event is also one of the many times that members of Odysseus’ crew die, until eventually it is just Odysseus remaining. The ruthlessness of this can be felt keenly in this scene, making it one of the most horrifying parts of Odysseus’ journey.  

However, the part of Odysseus’ journey that seems to be the most horrifying is when Odysseus summons the dead in order to speak with Teiresias. This scene may not be the one that immediately comes to mind when considering the horrific events of ‘The Odyssey’, but it is one of profound horror which is, in part, difficult to even imagine. The book itself consists of Odysseus conversing with many characters of Greek mythology as they rise from the Underworld. There is a large amount of exposition, including many tragic and vicious accounts, which creates an atmosphere of bitterness, dread and even revulsion. However, it is the very end of the book which strikes true horror into the hearts of the audience. Odysseus describes how ‘the tribes of the dead came up and gathered around me in their tens of thousands, making their eerie clamour’, an undoubtedly horrifying experience. This description could chill even the most stoic of audience members. Moreover, Odysseus says of himself that ‘Sheer panic turned [him] pale’; as this is one of the few times in ‘The Odyssey’ that we see Odysseus truly panic, this makes this scene one of genuine terror, though it ends quickly. It seems that Homer could have chosen to elaborate on this part of the scene (although it is true that this book is already deeply complex and detailed), as it is somewhat strangely understated. However, the horror remains from this one singular moment of Odysseus’ journey, a moment that will likely stay in the minds of the audience, and certainly in Odysseus’ worst nightmares. This is what I believe makes this scene the most horrifying of Odysseus’ journey. 

In conclusion, there are three main events in ‘The Odyssey’ which could be considered the most horrific. Odysseus’ encounter with Laestrygonians is horrific due to its violence yet is not overly significant to the plot. Odysseus’ encounter with the monster Scylla is also violent, particularly psychologically violent, yet it is also simply one of many minor events which serve the plot. I believe Odysseus’ encounter with ‘the tribes of the dead’ should be considered the most horrifying, as, though it makes up only a few lines of the narrative, the sheer supernatural horror and connotations of the scene make it truly horrifying for both the characters and the audience.