A bathtub in Pylos

2017.03.16 | By Gregory Nagy

In Odyssey 3, Telemachus as guest of Nestor is given a bath in a bathtub called an asaminthos. Archaeologists have linked this asaminthos with a terracotta bathtub found in the so-called Palace of Nestor at Pylos. Explored here is the ritual significance of a bath in such a bathtub.

§2. In a book entitled Masterpieces of Metonymy (MoM in the Bibliography), I highlighted the Homeric comparison of Telemachus with the immortal gods in the context of his emerging from his bath in the asaminthos ‘bathtub’. What I now highlight here, however, is different: it is the relevance of this comparison to the ritual function of actually taking such a ritual bath.

§4. In MoM 2§16, my starting point was the passage where Telemachus is ‘looking the same as’ the immortal gods after he takes a bath in the asaminthos. I compared that passage, which I call here Extract A, with another passage, Extract B:

Extract A

He [= Telemachus] emerged from the asaminthos, looking the same as [homoios] the immortals in shape.

O.03.468[1]

Extract B

He [= Odysseus] emerged from the asaminthos, looking the same as [homoios] the immortals in shape.

O.23.163[2]

§5. And here is another relevant passage, Extract C, involving the related word enalinkios (ἐναλίγκιος) ‘looking just like’:

Extract C

And he [= Odysseus] emerged from the asaminthos. His dear son [= Telemachus] marveled at him, | when he saw him, face to face, looking just like [enalinkios] the immortal gods.

O.24.370–371[3]

§6. In all there of these extracts, we are dealing with a kind of comparison that modern literary critics normally call a simile. In the example that we have just seen, Extract C, the visual aspect of the simile is made explicit with the phrasing ὡς ἴδεν … ἄντην ‘when he [= Telemachus] saw him [= Odysseus], face to face’. In this example, then, Odysseus is quite literally ‘looking just like’ the gods, as expressed by the adjective enalinkios.

§7. In the next example, which is far more complex than the other examples we have seen so far, it is the adjective homoios that expresses the idea that Odysseus is ‘looking just like’ the gods when Telemachus sees him, face to face. In this case, the divine looks of Odysseus are caused not by a ritual bath in the asaminthos but by direct physical contact with the goddess Athena herself:

Extract D

|₁₇₂ So spoke Athena, and she touched him [= Odysseus] with her golden wand. |₁₇₃ First she made his mantle and his tunic to be cleanly washed, |₁₇₄ she made it be that way, what he was wearing over his chest, and she augmented his size and his youthfulness. |₁₇₅ His tan complexion came back, and his jaws got firmed up, |₁₇₆ and dark again became the beard around his chin. |₁₇₇ Then she [= Athena], having done her work, went back where she came from, while |₁₇₈ Odysseus headed for the shelter. His dear son [= Telemachus] marveled at him, |₁₇₉ and, in his amazement, he [= Telemachus] cast his gaze away from him, in another direction, fearing that he [= Odysseus] might be a god. |₁₈₀ And he [= Telemachus] addressed him [= Odysseus], speaking winged words: |₁₈₁ “As a different kind of person [alloios], stranger, have you appeared [phainesthai] to me just now, different than before. |₁₈₂ You have different clothes and your complexion is no longer the same kind [homoios]. |₁₈₃ You must be some god, one of those gods who hold the wide sky. |₁₈₄ So be gracious, in order that we may give you pleasing sacrifices |₁₈₅ and golden gifts of good workmanship. Have mercy on us.” |₁₈₆ And he [= Telemachus] was answered then by the one who suffered many things, the radiant Odysseus: |₁₈₇ “I am not some god. Why do you liken [eïskein] me to the immortals? |₁₈₈ But I am your father, for whom you mourn and |₁₈₉ suffer many pains, enduring the violent acts of men.” |₁₉₀ Having said these things, he kissed his son and let fall from his cheeks |₁₉₁ a tear, letting it fall to the ground. Until then he had persisted in showing no sign of pity. |₁₉₂ And Telemachus, since he was not yet convinced that he [= Odysseus] was his father, |₁₉₃ once again addressed him with words in reply: |₁₉₄ “You are not Odysseus my father. Instead, some superhuman force |₁₉₅ is enchanting me, and it makes me weep and mourn even more. |₁₉₆ I say this because no mortal man could craft these things that are happening to me, |₁₉₇ no mortal could do these things by way of his own devising, unless a god comes in person |₁₉₈ and, if he so wishes, easily makes someone a young man or makes him an old man. |₁₉₉ Why, just a little while ago you were an old man wearing unseemly clothes, |₂₀₀ but now you look just like [= perfect of eïskein] the gods who hold the wide sky.” |₂₀₁ He was answered by Odysseus, the one with many kinds of craft, who addressed him thus: |₂₀₂ “Telemachus, it does not seem right [= perfect of eïskein] for you to be amazed at your father who is right here inside [the shelter], |₂₀₃ for you to be amazed too much or to feel overwhelmed. |₂₀₄ There will never again be some different [allos] person who comes here, some different Odysseus, |₂₀₅ but here I am such [toiosde] as I am. I have had many bad things happen to me. I have been detoured in many different ways. |₂₀₆ But now I am here, having come back in the twentieth year to the land of my ancestors. |₂₀₇ I tell you, this was the work of Athena, the giver of prizes, |₂₀₈ who has made me be such [toios] as she wants me to be, for she has the power. |₂₀₉ One moment, she has made me to be looking just like [enalinkios] a beggar, and then, the next moment, |₂₁₀ just like a young man who has beautiful clothes covering his complexion. |₂₁₁ It is easy for the gods, who hold the wide sky, |₂₁₂ to make a mortal man become exalted with radiance or to debase him.

O.16.172–212[4]

§8. In this example, Extract D, we see that Odysseus no longer looks the same when his complexion is changed by the goddess. His complexion is no longer homoios (ὁμοῖος) ‘the same kind’ (verse 182). Now he looks different; he is a different kind of person. Earlier, I noted that alloios (ἀλλοῖος) ‘a different kind’ is the opposite of homoios (ὁμοῖος) ‘the same kind’. In the example I have just quoted, we see this meaning of alloios ‘a different kind’ in action (verse 181). I also noted that the extension -ios (-ιος) of the adjectives homoios (ὁμοῖος) ‘the same kind’ and alloios (ἀλλοῖος) ‘a different kind’ is parallel to the extension -ios (-ιος) of the adjectives hoios (oἷος) ‘what kind’ and toios (τοῖος) ‘that kind’. In the example I have just quoted, we also see this meaning of toios ‘that kind’ in action (verses 205, 208).

§9. In this same example, Extract D, it is said that Odysseus looks just like an old man or looks just like a young man, whatever a divinity may wish (verse 198). But when he looks just like a young man for Telemachus to see, his son needs to avert his eyes because he sees what he sees (verse 179). What he sees is that Odysseus at that moment looks not only just like a young man but also just like a divinity. When Odysseus asks his son, ‘Why do you liken [eïskein] me to the immortals’ (verse 187), Telemachus can rightly answer: ‘but now you look just like [= perfect of eïskein] the gods who hold the wide sky’ (verse 200). And, in terms of the ritual transformation of Odysseus by way of a sacred bath in an asaminthos or by way of a sacred contact with the wand of the goddess Athena herself, this mortal not only looks just like one of the gods but he actually becomes a god in the ritual moment marked by the similes that liken him to the god.

§10. I offer at this point this general formulation: for a mortal to appear like an immortal to other mortals is to become a divinity in a ritual moment of epiphany—as marked by the similes that make mortals equal to divinities in that ritual moment.

§11. This posting is dedicated to my fellow travelers Hunt and Kelly Lambert, Hélène Emeriaud, David Beardsley, Marina Cheilitsi, Leanne Gaffney, Stephen and Irene Trivers, Michael and Cathy Winer, Robert and Judy Kryger, Cecilia Taiana, Philip Anderson, John Kenny, Milica Ivanis, Alaisha Sharma, Alec Douglas, Ryan LaMonica, Theresa Nguyen, Sunday Hull, Cecil Williams II, Abdur Rehman, Mariam Topeshashvili, Lisa Zheng.

Bibliography

Nagy, G. 2016|2015. Masterpieces of Metonymy: From Ancient Greek Times to Now. Printed | Online version. Hellenic Studies 72. Cambridge, MA and Washington, DC. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebook:CHS_Nagy.Masterpieces_of_Metonymy.2015.

Notes

[1] ἔκ ῥ’ ἀσαμίνθου βῆ δέμας ἀθανάτοισιν ὁμοῖος.

[2] ἔκ ῥ’ ἀσαμίνθου βῆ δέμας ἀθανάτοισιν ὁμοῖος.

[3] ἐκ δ’ ἀσαμίνθου βῆ· θαύμαζε δέ μιν φίλος υἱός, | ὡς ἴδεν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσ’ ἐναλίγκιον ἄντην.

[4] |₁₇₂ ἦ, καὶ χρυσείῃ ῥάβδῳ ἐπεμάσσατ’ Ἀθήνη. |₁₇₃ φᾶρος μέν οἱ πρῶτον ἐϋπλυνὲς ἠδὲ χιτῶνα |₁₇₄ θῆκ’ ἀμφὶ στήθεσφι, δέμας δ’ ὤφελλε καὶ ἥβην. |₁₇₅ ἂψ δὲ μελαγχροιὴς γένετο, γναθμοὶ δ’ ἐτάνυσθεν, |₁₇₆ κυάνεαι δ’ ἐγένοντο ἐθειράδες ἀμφὶ γένειον. |₁₇₇ ἡ μὲν ἄρ’ ὣς ἔρξασα πάλιν κίεν· αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς |₁₇₈ ἤϊεν ἐς κλισίην. θάμβησε δέ μιν φίλος υἱός, |₁₇₉ ταρβήσας δ’ ἑτέρωσε βάλ’ ὄμματα, μὴ θεὸς εἴη, |₁₈₀ καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα· |₁₈₁ “ἀλλοῖός μοι, ξεῖνε, φάνης νέον ἠὲ πάροιθεν, |₁₈₂ ἄλλα δὲ εἵματ’ ἔχεις καί τοι χρὼς οὐκέθ’ ὁμοῖος. |₁₈₃ ἦ μάλα τις θεός ἐσσι, τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσιν· |₁₈₄ ἀλλ’ ἵληθ’, ἵνα τοι κεχαρισμένα δώομεν ἱρὰ |₁₈₅ ἠδὲ χρύσεα δῶρα, τετυγμένα· φείδεο δ’ ἡμέων.” |₁₈₆ τὸν δ’ ἠμείβετ’ ἔπειτα πολύτλας δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς· |₁₈₇ “οὔ τίς τοι θεός εἰμι· τί μ’ ἀθανάτοισιν ἐΐσκεις; |₁₈₈ ἀλλὰ πατὴρ τεός εἰμι, τοῦ εἵνεκα σὺ στεναχίζων |₁₈₉ πάσχεις ἄλγεα πολλά, βίας ὑποδέγμενος ἀνδρῶν.” |₁₉₀ ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας υἱὸν κύσε, κὰδ δὲ παρειῶν |₁₉₁ δάκρυον ἧκε χαμᾶζε· πάρος δ’ ἔχε νωλεμὲς αἰεί. |₁₉₂ Τηλέμαχος δ’,—οὐ γάρ πω ἐπείθετο ὃν πατέρ’ εἶναι,—|₁₉₃ ἐξαῦτίς μιν ἔπεσσιν ἀμειβόμενος προσέειπεν· |₁₉₄ “οὐ σύ γ’ Ὀδυσσεύς ἐσσι πατὴρ ἐμός, ἀλλά με δαίμων |₁₉₅ θέλγει, ὄφρ’ ἔτι μᾶλλον ὀδυρόμενος στεναχίζω. |₁₉₆ οὐ γάρ πως ἂν θνητὸς ἀνὴρ τάδε μηχανόῳτο |₁₉₇ ᾧ αὐτοῦ γε νόῳ, ὅτε μὴ θεὸς αὐτὸς ἐπελθὼν |₁₉₈ ῥηϊδίως ἐθέλων θείη νέον ἠδὲ γέροντα. |₁₉₉ ἦ γάρ τοι νέον ἦσθα γέρων καὶ ἀεικέα ἕσσο· |₂₀₀ νῦν δὲ θεοῖσιν ἔοικας, οἳ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσι.” |₂₀₁ τὸν δ’ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς· |₂₀₂ “Τηλέμαχ’, οὔ σε ἔοικε φίλον πατέρ’ ἔνδον ἐόντα |₂₀₃ οὔτε τι θαυμάζειν περιώσιον οὔτ’ ἀγάασθαι· |₂₀₄ οὐ μὲν γάρ τοι ἔτ’ ἄλλος ἐλεύσεται ἐνθάδ’ Ὀδυσσεύς, |₂₀₅ ἀλλ’ ὅδ’ ἐγὼ τοιόσδε, παθὼν κακά, πολλὰ δ’ ἀληθείς, |₂₀₆ ἤλυθον εἰκοστῷ ἔτεϊ ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν. |₂₀₇ αὐτάρ τοι τόδε ἔργον Ἀθηναίης ἀγελείης, |₂₀₈ ἥ τέ με τοῖον ἔθηκεν ὅπως ἐθέλει, δύναται γάρ, |₂₀₉ ἄλλοτε μὲν πτωχῷ ἐναλίγκιον, ἄλλοτε δ’ αὖτε |₂₁₀ ἀνδρὶ νέῳ καὶ καλὰ περὶ χροῒ εἵματ’ ἔχοντι. |₂₁₁ ῥηΐδιον δὲ θεοῖσι, τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσιν, |₂₁₂ ἠμὲν κυδῆναι θνητὸν βροτὸν ἠδὲ κακῶσαι.”