Commentary: What Homerâs âOdysseyâ can teach us about reentering the world after a year of isolation
As the pandemic has dragged on, Iâve returned to reunited Odysseus and Penelopeâs conversation.
Penelope and Odysseus in Homerâs âThe Odyssey.â Painting by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, 1802
By Joel Christensen | Religion News Service
  | May 14, 2021, 8:37 p.m.
In the ancient Greek epic âThe Odyssey,â Homerâs hero, Odysseus, describes the wild land of the Cyclops as a place where people donât gather together in public, where each person makes decisions for their own family and âcare nothing for one another.â
In the ancient Greek epic “The Odyssey,” Homer’s hero, Odysseus, describes the wild land of the Cyclops as a place where people don’t gather together in public, where each person makes decisions for their own family and “care nothing for one another.”
For Odysseus – and his audiences – these words mark the Cyclops and his people as inhuman. The passage also communicates how people should live: together, in cooperation, with concern for the common good.
Over the past year, we witnessed police violence, increasingly partisan politics and the continued American legacy of racism during a generation-defining pandemic. And for many, this was observed, at times, in isolation at home. I have worried about how we can heal from our collective trauma.
In the ancient Greek epic “The Odyssey,” Homer’s hero, Odysseus, describes the wild land of the Cyclops as a place where people don’t gather together in public, where each person makes decisions for their own family and “care nothing for one another.”
For Odysseus – and his audiences – these words mark the Cyclops and his people as inhuman. The passage also communicates how people should live: together, in cooperation, with concern for the common good.
Over the past year, we witnessed police violence, increasingly partisan politics and the continued American legacy of racism during a generation-defining pandemic. And for many, this was observed, at times, in isolation at home. I have worried about how we can heal from our collective trauma.