Deep thoughts on Homer

The blind poet, not Simpson.  I've been reading through the Odyssey--the poem, not the minivan--and one thing that strikes me is how every time soldiers and kings get together, it's all about killing large animals, offering the thigh bones to a god or goddess of choice, and washing down the meat with copious amounts of wine.  So I'm not quite sure whether the decline of Greek society and power in the Mediterranean was due to cirrhosis or gout, or perhaps heart disease.

On the other hand, there are interesting passages throughout the poem where the ostensibly pagan Greeks refer to God in the singular case without a proper name being attached, as if the author knew that there was (per Paul's sermon to the Athenians on the Areopagus) a real God out there who was, unlike Zeus or Athena, the Creator.  If I knew classical Greek, it would be interesting to learn whether this kept with the usual meter, or whether it disrupted it; this might indicate whether it's actually from the blind poet, or whether it was a later addition.  Given the pervasive references to the pagan gods and goddesses, and the fact that the poem would make no sense without mention of "grey-eyed Athena", it hardly seems like something you could add in later.

I can't prove anything, but it's fun to contemplate.

One thing that is sure is that if you portrayed it accurately in a movie, you'd definitely get more than an R rating, especially concerning the fate of Odysseus' crewmates at the hands of the Cyclops and the fate of Odysseus' goatherd at the hands of Odysseus and Telemachos.  If one doubts the benefits of the gentleness of the Gospel, one can hardly do better than to read Homer.

Also, if you're contemplating a new minivan, you might want to avoid one named after a trip where every passenger but one gets brutally killed, and concludes in an orgy of blood.  Maybe it's appropriate that the new version looks like it would be a good hearse.  Penelope would certainly approve, as it might have made it easier for her husband to clean out the dining hall.