Saturday, February 20, 2010
Argos
In Book 17 Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, encounters his faithful dog Argos, flea-infested and laying on a pile a dung. At the moment the dog recognizes his master he dies. What is the significance of this incident? Another chink in the emotional armor of Odysseus? Another example of the abuse that loyal servants of Odysseus must endure under the suitors? An example of the subservient status of animals in the world of the Odyssey? Are animals the play things, pawns, and victims of humans in the same way that we humans are the playthings of the gods.
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First, Dr. Ialacci, let me comment that you are having way to much fun with the tragedy of Argos. In my opinion, that was the saddest part of the epic, and, as a dog-owner, it is truly touching to read. However, I will comment here because I cannot stomach the thought of discussing Rama and Gilgamesh again.
ReplyDeleteI think the scene with Argos is the perfect demonstration of, as you said, the suffering that Odysseus’ loyal servants have had to endure in his absence. Argos used to be a dear companion to Odysseus and was treated with love and affection. Now that his master is gone, however, he lays in the dung, “infested with ticks, half-dead from neglect” (17.328). While many of Odysseus’ former servants have sucked-up to the suitors and are managing to do well in life, Argos never loved them like his master and therefore has been maltreated and ignored. This is similar to Eumaeus, who has never stopped waiting for Odysseus’ return, and now is looked down upon by the suitors, partially because of this.
An even sadder aspect of the Argos story is how badly he has aged. When he was younger, Eumaeus tells Odysseus, “you’d be amazed to see such speed, such strength/No quarry he chased in the deepest, darkest woods/could ever slip this hound A champion tracker too!” (17.347-9). Now, however, he sits in the dung of mules and cattle, unable and unwilling to move. The fact that it is the dung of cows, relatively slow-moving animals that Argos could easily escape from if he wanted, just shows what a pitiful life he now leads. All of his strength is gone and he cannot deal with even the simplest of problems any more.
One final reflection I have on Argos is that his death is felt more stingingly by the reader than those of any of Odysseus’ crew-mates. While Odysseus’ comrades are simply described as being eaten by Polyphemus, Laistrygonians, Scylla, etc. Argos, who has waited sadly for twenty years (one hundred and forty dog years), finally sees his master, and after that one joyous moment, “the dark shadow of death closed down on Argos’ eyes” (7.359). Just like that, Odysseus’ most loyal and enduring friend is gone.
Call me a sad sentimentalist, but the death of Argos was possibly the most heart-wrenching part of the Odyssey. Certainly it pulled a few heart-strings. Either way, it cast a shadow over Odysseus’ return to his old palace. Instead of the happy return he hopes for, he comes home to watch his loyal dog die. While the death of Argos is only a minor scene of the epic, it truly epitomizes the pain and suffering that Odysseus must encounter as he tries to regain his status at home. It also shows that Homer was most definitely a cat person.
I agree with Russell. I feel that this one little section is the saddest part of the whole book so far. But that is mostly because I can’t stand to see animals being neglected.
ReplyDeleteI feel that animals are the victims of humans as the way humans are to the gods. As Russell pointing out in his blog, Argos was found “half dead from neglect” (17.328). This poor dog, that Odysseus loved during the time he was in Ithaca before the war was completely abandoned right after Odysseus left. The servants or Penelope, is own wife, did not even bother to care for Argos. It wasn’t that the suitors wouldn’t let the servants care for the dog, but it is that they didn’t have Odysseus there to tell them to do so. Penelope could have easily taken charge because she knew the deep connection between Odysseus and Argos, but she didn’t, and it is his wife! Animals are falling victims to humans because they have no real way of communicating with them. Sure Argos was able to make the point that his is dying because he is eating dung. People are able to see it in his eyes. But they can’t just walk up to their caretaker and say, “Hey, I’m starving, can I have some food?” So, since they can’t communicate humans are able to do anything to animals.
Humans are the same way with the gods. Humans are able to talk to the gods. Usually it is through rituals, for example when people were sacrificing bulls to Poseidon for their own personal benefit. But there are cases like Odysseus, which are rare, where the god comes down and talks to them in person, whether it is in their own form or in a completely different form. Gods, like Poseidon and Zeus really don’t seem to care what happens to humans. When Odysseus’s crew ate the cattle of the sun, the gods wanted to destroy them…and they did! They did not care how it would affect Odysseus journey home. If something bad happens to the gods, then they automatically take it out on the humans. Also, Poseidon when his son was injured, went to the upper gods and asked to destroy him.
The gods are able to destroy humans just like humans are able to destroy the lives of animals, like Argos. The upper hand, Gods and then humans, have no feeling for the lower hand, humans and the animals. It is almost like they are so self absorbed that they don’t care about anything but themselves.
I agree with what Russell and Kate say. In my opinion, I think that this was very emotional and significant for both Argos and Odysseus. This event shows the loyalty people show towards Odysseus. While people like Eumaeus, the swineherd, and Argos stay loyal to Odysseus in his twenty-year absence, there are some examples of people who don't. For example, the suitors, who show poor manners in the guest-host relationship by invading the kingdom of Odysseus and hitting on his wife. Another example of disloyalty is the goat herder, Meleanthius, who shows disrespect to Odysseus when he is disguised as a beggar, and becomes angry, only to kick and yell at him, showing bad host manners in the guest-host relationship. Argos is the true example of loyalty, though. Dogs are known to the most loyal animals, and Argos is a prime example of this because he waits for his master to come home after his long journey, fighting to survive even if it means living on piles of dung for a span of twenty years. Argos waits for his master no matter what happens, and is over twenty years old when he dies, which is very old for the average dog. Hearing this, personally, made me imagine my dog dying, and it made me feel sad, and it can also help me relate to Odysseus, who becomes very emotional at seeing that his beloved companion has passed. Even though people say that Odysseus weeps a lot in this book (he does), this time is a perfectly exceptional time because one of his most loyal companions stuck by him in his absence at war, and waited for him to come home.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Russell, Kate and Caroline for the most part. I believe that this emotional incident between Argos and his master Odysseus is a metaphor for the people that have been loyal to him throughout the time he has been away. I believe that this incident may be hinting at the fact that some people, like Argos are losing there hope that Odysseus, their king will ever return back from the war. There are some examples of people who have lost their hope other than his loyal companion Argos. One example of the loss of hope was when Eumaeus said, “Ah, but he's run out of lick now, poor fellow.../ his master's dead and gone, so far from home,/ and the heartless women tend him not at all.” (17.350-.353). This quotations show that some of Odysseus' most loyal followers are losing hope that he his alive, never the less coming back to Ithaca.
ReplyDeleteThe incident with Argos also raises a different aspect of values on animals in the Odyssey. This incident makes is seem as if animals are rejected and not treated as they should be. After further inspection on this issue I noticed that there are other examples of using animals for human delight. One example of this is when Telemachus arrives at Pylos and sees the people, “in nine divisions, each five hundred strong,/ each division offering up nine bulls, while the people/ tasted the innards, burned the thighbones for the god.” (3.8-.10). This means that they killed 81 bulls, this seems highly unnecessary to feed the number of people that they had. A cow generally can feed up to 350 people. They were sacrificing 9 bulls for each 500 people in Pylos. The reason they were doing these unnecessary killings is because they wanted to please the gods, a selfish motive in my opinion. You do not need to take a life to please another for your own good. It seems as if the cycle is repeated with the god to human relationship also. The gods use the humans, and the humans use the animals. It seems as if this is the successive chain in the Odyssey.
Fist off, I agree with Russell and Kate. I believe that this scene is not only meant to show Odysseus’ emotion, and his pain, but to show just how much Odysseus’ palace, and land have declined over the many years he has been gone. Before we, as the readers are introduced to Argos, we learn about all of the struggles Ithaca has been going through, such as the invasion of the suitors in the palace, and the disloyalty to Odysseus for example Melanthius the goatherd. From these examples we get a good idea of how far the kingdom has declined, but this point comes across even more when we learn the story of Argos. Argos is Odysseus’ dog, and companion, who was once a skilled hunter. Odysseus had to leave Argos behind when he went to Troy, and he entrusted his faithful dog to his servants. But twenty years later when Odysseus finally returns home, he comes across his dog starved lying in a pile of dung, unable to move. At this moment when Argos realizes his master had returned home, he passed away. This story shows many things, but two in particular are that Odysseus did have some people/animals who did stay loyal to him, and just how much loyalty and faith Odysseus had lost from his people. The fact that Odysseus’ people couldn’t, or were unwilling to care for his dog, shows that they were not loyal to him, and that they had lost any faith in him returning home. Argos had not had any care when Odysseus was gone, if Odysseus’ people had stayed loyal to him they would have at least taken care of his faithful companion. I think that this does not only come across to the reader, but I think that when Odysseus saw Argos, he realized just how bad his home had gotten to be. The story of Argos does not only show an emotional side of Odysseus, but it symbolizes the extreme decline of his palace.
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