WEBVTT 00:00:04.082 --> 00:00:08.010 When morning comes, Odysseus is luckily still alive. 00:00:08.221 --> 00:00:14.039 That ember that fire brand that's tucked underneath the ashes in our simile really 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:18.078 does survive until the next morning and the fire gets going. 00:00:19.197 --> 00:00:23.024 Odysseus is off. He comes up out of his leaves and when he 00:00:23.024 --> 00:00:26.097 does, he sees this scene in front of amazing beauty. 00:00:27.222 --> 00:00:32.045 These young women washing laundry at nearby edge of the river. 00:00:32.045 --> 00:00:38.304 And, if you've ever been looking for or, or, in the, in your wider experience run 00:00:38.304 --> 00:00:44.652 across a situation where young women are characterized as being exciting, in an 00:00:44.652 --> 00:00:50.477 erotic way, around a pond or a river or a spring, this is the archetypical example 00:00:50.477 --> 00:00:57.005 of such a thing in western literature. There they are, these beautiful young 00:00:57.005 --> 00:01:02.811 girls busy with their laundry during the day and here's this grizzled man who sees 00:01:02.811 --> 00:01:09.037 what's happening and is, you know, in congruent situation with them, the flower 00:01:09.037 --> 00:01:14.366 of their youth and his own near death kind of situation. 00:01:14.673 --> 00:01:20.467 And the transition between Book five and six, we make an important change where, 00:01:20.467 --> 00:01:24.053 where we've seen Odysseus suffering through Book five. 00:01:24.056 --> 00:01:27.095 We're going to see him through Book six and beyond endure. 00:01:28.187 --> 00:01:33.005 There are trials and tribulations that he has been subject to and really the 00:01:33.005 --> 00:01:36.257 bottoming hell point is where we just ended in Book five. 00:01:36.258 --> 00:01:41.602 This is of a long series of not just what happened on Ogygia or sorry, on yeah, on 00:01:41.602 --> 00:01:46.088 Ogygia with Callypso and not just what happened with Poseidon and the storm and 00:01:46.088 --> 00:01:49.084 him washing up on the shore of the Island of Scheria. 00:01:49.084 --> 00:01:52.089 But, of all the things that happened before that. 00:01:52.089 --> 00:01:56.000 It's been, it's been a long, long period of suffering. 00:01:56.187 --> 00:02:00.327 Now, Odysseus is going to, we're going to see him endure, bear up from that 00:02:00.327 --> 00:02:05.023 suffering, put things back together and then get ready to take back his own 00:02:05.023 --> 00:02:10.026 kingdom and take his own rightful place. Well, we got a lot to do before then. 00:02:10.222 --> 00:02:15.585 Through Book six, which we're going to have a look at now, he's going to find his 00:02:15.585 --> 00:02:20.517 first footing back in human society. In Books seven and eight, he's going to 00:02:20.517 --> 00:02:25.085 find his footing more stably in more complex human society. 00:02:25.085 --> 00:02:30.476 And then, from Book nine and forward, we're going to see him take the reins and 00:02:30.664 --> 00:02:35.028 display his hero-ness in lots of different lots of different ways. 00:02:35.225 --> 00:02:41.239 So here, Odysseus has got his life thank goodness, he's made it through the night. 00:02:41.479 --> 00:02:47.056 Now, he has to figure out what to do next. Remember, that he is without clothes, he's 00:02:47.056 --> 00:02:53.580 got to figure out a way to get clothes and that's going to mean also, he's going to 00:02:53.580 --> 00:02:58.054 have to regain his speech. He finds near by him that these young 00:02:58.054 --> 00:03:03.099 women are doing laundry, he's in an embarrassing state, I'm actually standing 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:08.096 in between Nausicaa, Odysseus and Nausicaa and in between here's Athena. 00:03:09.017 --> 00:03:11.577 Oh, Athena, thanks for keeping an eye on our hero. 00:03:11.737 --> 00:03:15.786 And Odysseus is now utterly bereft of everything, including clothes. 00:03:15.962 --> 00:03:21.670 And the embarrassment of the situation and the abject position that Odysseus is in, 00:03:21.670 --> 00:03:25.348 bedraggled, starving, hungry, pummeled. He, he has nothing. 00:03:25.348 --> 00:03:30.284 He's, he's lost everything including his own clothes, now he has to figure out a 00:03:30.284 --> 00:03:33.572 way back in. Well, first step is going to be, to find 00:03:33.572 --> 00:03:38.189 some clothing to cover himself so he's ready to join human society. 00:03:38.189 --> 00:03:44.508 And, in order to do that, he's going to have to have resort to and find back again 00:03:44.508 --> 00:03:48.625 his way with words. Words are Odysseus's friend. 00:03:48.625 --> 00:03:54.603 He is a master of persuasion. He is able to get people to do things for 00:03:54.603 --> 00:04:02.107 him and he's able to make good alliances. Odysseus is extremely capable in the arts 00:04:02.107 --> 00:04:06.493 of language. So, when he gets started there in, in Book 00:04:06.493 --> 00:04:10.317 five, sorry, in Book six, he's got a couple tasks. 00:04:10.317 --> 00:04:14.927 First of all, make sure to make a connection with this group of young girls 00:04:15.141 --> 00:04:18.774 because he's going to need an ally, someone to help him. 00:04:18.774 --> 00:04:22.717 He, in, in this abject position has no way to rejoin human society. 00:04:22.717 --> 00:04:26.150 He needs to find a way and needs some help to be able to do that. 00:04:26.277 --> 00:04:30.415 The first thing that he's going to need is clothes, in order to get those, he needs 00:04:30.415 --> 00:04:34.078 to use his words. So, he for, for, in both of these 00:04:34.078 --> 00:04:41.631 situations, it's through Nausicaa and her, her acolytes around her that he's going to 00:04:41.631 --> 00:04:47.019 be able to, to get it done. So, she sets a stage for him to regain his 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:52.743 speech and, and is a crucial sort of, first connection with the rest of human 00:04:52.743 --> 00:04:56.040 society. Now, he needs to then persuade her. 00:04:56.040 --> 00:05:01.812 And this leads us to our second universal law, universal law number two, if you want 00:05:01.812 --> 00:05:05.200 to persuade people, you should know your audience. 00:05:05.200 --> 00:05:09.307 You got to know your audience. You can't just say all the stuff you might 00:05:09.307 --> 00:05:14.772 want to say example, a person who was who went through terrible suffering, probably 00:05:14.772 --> 00:05:18.913 just wants to say, oh, my gosh, I'm so glad I saw you, I can't wait, you know, 00:05:18.913 --> 00:05:23.043 let me tell you all my stuff. Let me unburden you with all the awful 00:05:23.043 --> 00:05:27.039 things that I've been through. But Odysseus knows not to do that. 00:05:27.039 --> 00:05:32.016 He needs to get inside of the head of his audience, which is this young woman 00:05:32.016 --> 00:05:35.031 Nausicaa. And what he does is look for ways to make 00:05:35.031 --> 00:05:39.030 her feel good. So, flattery is a great way to start a 00:05:39.030 --> 00:05:43.155 persuasive speech, charm. Express yourself in a way that's honest to 00:05:43.155 --> 00:05:46.488 your own situation. So, Odysseus doesn't come in with a kind 00:05:46.488 --> 00:05:51.883 of swaggering well, you know, hello, I'm this grand guy and maybe you don't believe 00:05:51.883 --> 00:05:56.419 me, but I really am. That kind of thing's not going to work, 00:05:56.419 --> 00:05:59.304 right? So, he comes in and, and knows this 00:05:59.304 --> 00:06:05.469 audiences, this Odysseus learning people's minds and he sets right up with a speech 00:06:05.469 --> 00:06:11.050 that he knows is going to help soften her with respect to her ability to make a 00:06:11.050 --> 00:06:15.018 connection with him. So, he jumps in with flattery, and an 00:06:15.018 --> 00:06:20.010 honest appraisal of his own situation without overplaying what's already a very 00:06:20.010 --> 00:06:23.407 weak hand. In our translation pages 173 and 74, here 00:06:23.407 --> 00:06:28.000 I am at your mercy, princess. Are you a goddess or a mortal? 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:33.277 If one of the gods who rule the skies up there, you're Artemis to the life, the 00:06:33.277 --> 00:06:36.015 daughter of mighty Zeus. I see her now. 00:06:36.015 --> 00:06:40.242 Just look at your build, your bearing, your lithe flowing grace. 00:06:40.429 --> 00:06:46.731 He goes round the speech gets from the flattery to positioning himself, talking 00:06:46.731 --> 00:06:51.790 about what a lowly person he is. And then, kinda drops a little hint at the 00:06:51.790 --> 00:06:55.086 end of his speech. I hope you get everything you want in 00:06:55.086 --> 00:07:00.056 life, and may the gods bring you a husband, a house, and lasting harmony. 00:07:00.056 --> 00:07:03.519 Hint, hint. Now, I'm, of course, Odysseus is thinking 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:07.011 no one to be starting making overtures to this young woman. 00:07:07.149 --> 00:07:11.072 But, he right away talks to her in ways that in Greek society at the time, Homer 00:07:11.072 --> 00:07:14.094 would have assumed a young woman wants to be addressed. 00:07:14.094 --> 00:07:19.037 You're beautiful, you must be a goddess, your parents must be very proud, soon 00:07:19.037 --> 00:07:21.089 enough you're going to be having a husband. 00:07:21.089 --> 00:07:25.730 And, well, you know, I'm this eligible guy, just washed up on shore and let me 00:07:25.730 --> 00:07:30.820 just speak to you about all those things that some foreign man like me sees in this 00:07:30.820 --> 00:07:34.342 beautiful young person like you, and goes to that long list. 00:07:34.342 --> 00:07:39.634 And he instantly wins over some affection from her where her guard is dropped a 00:07:39.634 --> 00:07:42.868 little. She wants to help him, she's ready to give 00:07:42.868 --> 00:07:45.795 him some clothes. And notice that he doesn't come on real 00:07:45.795 --> 00:07:51.032 strong, he just does it in a kind of meek way, playing his weak hand in a way that's 00:07:51.032 --> 00:07:55.063 appropriate to that weak hand. And interestingly, that last little hint 00:07:55.063 --> 00:07:59.070 that he tossed in on the marriage. Remember, Athena herself, had planted a 00:07:59.070 --> 00:08:03.844 seed of marriage in Nausicaa's mind when he stirs her up to go wash her clothes, 00:08:04.041 --> 00:08:08.499 page 196 in our translation. Time for you to go out there, bring your, 00:08:08.682 --> 00:08:14.243 bring your handmaids and go wash those clothes, you're going to need them you 00:08:14.243 --> 00:08:18.029 know, weddings around here. We need to make sure we have clean 00:08:18.029 --> 00:08:21.534 clothes. So, the idea is already to plant Athena's 00:08:21.534 --> 00:08:26.470 planting in Nausicaa's mind the idea that, you know, some eligible man may someday 00:08:26.470 --> 00:08:30.830 wash up on shore, that softens her heart and makes her to ready to receive 00:08:30.830 --> 00:08:34.056 Odysseus. Now, when she does, this is the crucial 00:08:34.056 --> 00:08:39.023 first step in Odysseus's design. He needs to make an alliance to get 00:08:39.023 --> 00:08:43.451 himself in to human society. But that first alliance is itself a 00:08:43.451 --> 00:08:46.341 microcosm of what human society's all about. 00:08:46.498 --> 00:08:50.935 We need people to need things. As a great leader, as a great hero, the 00:08:50.935 --> 00:08:55.675 hero provides those things to the people that, that the hero meets. 00:08:55.675 --> 00:09:01.381 And in doing so, carrying other people's water that hero gets a chance to do other 00:09:01.381 --> 00:09:06.438 kinds of things, to work themselves into the kind of position of exultation in the 00:09:06.438 --> 00:09:09.524 society that a hero should actually receive. 00:09:09.524 --> 00:09:15.182 But it's only because the hero earns it by performing in a social situation the way 00:09:15.182 --> 00:09:18.096 the hero is supposed to. So, using his words, he's on his way 00:09:18.096 --> 00:09:23.015 getting something back, he's been able to clothe himself now with rudimentary 00:09:23.015 --> 00:09:24.636 clothes. He's made a quick alliance with, with 00:09:24.636 --> 00:09:29.695 Nausicaa in such a way that will help her, and now he's going to be on his way to his 00:09:29.695 --> 00:09:33.065 next stages on his journey. The scene that we have just witnessed with 00:09:33.065 --> 00:09:37.089 Odysseus washing up on shore is one that we're going to learn as something that is 00:09:37.089 --> 00:09:41.501 common in Odysseus's experience. When we go and hear the back story, all 00:09:41.501 --> 00:09:45.800 the adventures he's already been through by the time he makes it to Nausicaa, a 00:09:45.800 --> 00:09:49.500 very standard part of this is Odysseus washing up on an unknown shore. 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:54.770 And, he may well wash up on that shore in a terrible situation with no, almost no 00:09:54.770 --> 00:09:58.101 life left in him. He may wash up with a scout boat, he may 00:09:58.101 --> 00:10:01.549 wash up with a whole tribe of men trying to conquer a land. 00:10:01.549 --> 00:10:06.755 But Odysseus arriving on an unknown shore is a way that many of his, his adventures 00:10:06.755 --> 00:10:10.069 are going to start. And then, the next piece we are going to 00:10:10.069 --> 00:10:14.500 see in looking forward to Book seven, Odysseus is going to now make his journey 00:10:14.673 --> 00:10:19.718 from the far reaches, far away from a city center, he's going to make his journey 00:10:19.718 --> 00:10:23.485 into a city center. Another standard and type of the kind of 00:10:23.485 --> 00:10:27.095 action we see Odysseus undertake. Movement from the periphery into the 00:10:27.095 --> 00:10:30.056 center. That's something that we'll see in our 00:10:30.056 --> 00:10:51.039 next lecture and I look forward to talking with you about it at that time.