The Odyssey As a Historical Source
The Odyssey is a tale of Bronze Age Greece as seen from the eyes of the Dark Age author Homer
. From historical sources we see the Bronze Age cities as obviously run by some kind of powerful hierarchy that can direct the efforts of its citizens and collect both taxes and resources, but what we see in the Odyssey is a collection of village chieftains forming a confederation of nobles. Despite the grandeur of their palaces, and their god-like feats of heroism, in all ways they represent a gilded version of the Homeric chieftain who leads with the approval of the region in which he resides in an attempt to sustain and provide prosperity for his people.
Broadly stated the role of a king in Homeric society is to protect and provide for the people of his region. In addition to holding a considerable estate from which one can yield much livestock and agricultural crop, this was a time where piracy was a normal occurrence from which one might gain great wealth and in turn would have to defend ones self and ones village against. Whenever a stranger appears in the Odyssey he is often first asked his parents names, from where he comes, and if he is a raider. For example, when Telemachus arrives in Pylos he is asked this question and takes no offense but answers it directly (Odyssey. P.27 b.3), and we also see Odysseus during his telling of his journey since Troy to the Phaecians and without hesitation he describes the sacking of a city purely for the reason of loot. This is the primary role of the Homeric king, though also he is to serve as the administrative head of the community, fulfilling any obligations such entailed in maintaining the public order.
One thing that must be understood about kings in the epic poems is that Homer is speaking about kings of a different era where there existed large cities, multi-acre palaces, and actual kingdoms worthy of the name, while using the governmental and social structure of his own Dark Age, which mean that villages were the largest settlements, there were no palaces, and the most powerful man in Greece would just be another chieftain. Without a considerable population to draw on for material resources and labor it is simply not possible to establish and support a palace run hierarchical government, and severely limits the possible power one might have as a 'king'. A king may have the largest plot of land, a slightly bigger house, and more cattle, but without some kind of stockpiled resource wealth, and military power the king is left ruling by the authority of his people.
Thus, Homeric kings were not all powerful and we find many examples of this in Homeric epics where we can see that a Homeric king is unable to command another man who is not his property. The only real bonds we see are those, which are created by family ties, and honor based relationships. In the Odyssey we see Agamemnon, who was seen as a king of higher status than the rest, speak of how hard it was to convince Odysseus to come with him to Troy (Odyssey 296.24), and during the actual battle at Troy we see Agamemnon act unreasonably towards Achilles at which point Achilles decides he will not take Agamemnon's orders anymore and refuses to fight (Iliad 13-17.1).
The Homeric king is often the son of the previous king, but does not follow a hereditary line by necessity. A son will inherit his fathers material resources which in itself gives him significant influence and ability to mount attacks on other settlements and defend his own. In ancient Greece ones status was most easily judged by the amount of wealth one had, because wealth was gained by being able to marshal the funds and support to stage raids and loot other villages, and will have the resources to defend his own village, and feed the warriors he uses for these actions.
In addition to this material wealth a son also inherits the relationships and bonds of his father. These relationships insures him a support base of allies that may be willing to lend him resources should he try to gather a raid on another village, such as the attack on Troy which gathers forces from all over Greece including Nestor at Pylos, and Odysseus from Ithaca, or help in the defense of his own holdings. Should a new king be found lacking and incapable of sustaining and defending his village, he will be replaced by another more fitting individual. In the Odyssey Telemachus is to be the next king of Ithaca with the absence of his father and the suitors think that they will replace him instead until he proves his ability as a leader when he makes an expedition to Pylos and Sparta. By successfully completing this expedition he is thought well of by those of Ithaca, and with the inherited wealth of his father Odysseus, and the inherited relationships with Nestor of Pylos, Menelaus of Sparta, and many others in Ithaca (Odyssey 27.2, 39.4) he is in a position to become and remain king. Without these connections, however, a ruler is severely weakened for he has no support and diminished resources to fulfill his role. The majority of the Odyssey is based on Telemachus' inability to repel the wicked suitors who are laying ruin to his estates, and indeed to Ithaca itself, due to his lack of available supporting allies (Odyssey 42.4).
Even with the support of others a Homeric king is not the only voice of authority in a region. There is often a council of nobles and elders, which the king may present ideas to and ask for approval or help on, which they may turn down. When Telemachus convenes the council of Ithaca and presents his speech he is mostly yelled at and denied (Odyssey 15-20.2), while Alcinos, king of the Phaecians, makes on several occasions a request of his nobles and elders and they obey it immediately (Odyssey 159.13). Even among those who are not nobles a king must acquiesce to the voice of the many, such as we see by Odysseus when he urges his men to stay on board the ship instead of making for land one night to cook and he acknowledges that he is one, and they are many, and he cannot refuse them (Odyssey 154.12).
At this time in ancient Greece there did exist large nations, or at least larger villages, that could constitute a threat to the Greek villages and a vital role of these inherited relationships was the potential for creating a temporary confederacy between numerous villages and regions for a mutual cause, or at least the opportunity for looting. In these situations help is requested and may or may not be given, as we can see in the telling of the marshaling of forces for the Trojan War (Odyssey 296.24). Here the kings have to work together, and there may be something of a hierarchy of relative status that forms, but there is still discussion, and indeed argument, among the conglomerated kings. We see this several times in the Homeric poems, such as Agamemnon and Menelaus arguing after the end of the battle at Troy on the best course of action (Odyssey 28-29.3).
This all comes together to allow for a successful or unsuccessful king and village/region. Normally a bad king is replaced by some one more capable with better connections, resources and influence, but as we can see in Ithaca itself, in the Odyssey, the suitors are all trying to marry Odysseus' wife Penelope so that they might take over some of the power and connections of Odysseus and become the new king of Ithaca. Because of this lack of transition between kings, effectively causing a situation where there is no king, there is no loot coming in from raids, and resources are being consumed without being properly refreshed and maintained, causing an overall decline in the health and success of Ithaca, in addition to the social and moral degradation with the absence of a dominant authority figure. Elsewhere in thriving communities we see functioning councils in Phaeacia (Odyssey 159.13), the magnificent house of Menelaus in Sparta (Odyssey 39.4), and a large religious feast and festival in Pylos (Odyssey 26.3).
The Iliad, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2004)
The Odyssey, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1998)
The Odyssey As a Historical Source
By: algavinn
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