Odyssey Study Guide Contents

Book XV is filled with items that cry out for attention. Some obvious ones are the two birds of omen, the dependence of Odysseus/the seer on the hospitality of others, the depiction of Phonenicians, the elaborate introduction of the spear-carrying Theoclymenus, and examples of the differences between the aristoi (nobles) and others.
The first bird of omen is an eagle coming from the right, with a goose in its talon.

The goose is interpreted to mean the suitors and the eagle is Odysseus who will destroy them. Helen adds that Odysseus may already be there. The omen is read correctly, as we will eventually see and comes from the mouth of Helen of Troy. Telemachus tells her he will honor her as a goddess if her reading comes true. The second omen, also from the right, is another bird of prey, the hawk, with a dove, whose feathers are being ripped off, in its talons. Theoclymenus tells Telemachus that the omen means he will remain in power. Telemachus tells him he will give him enough gifts that others will congratulate him if the prophecy comes true. It could be (and this is only my opinion) that in both instances Telemachus is elevating the status of the person who gives the omen reading by the same amount: Helen is being elevated from the status of a noble woman to a goddess, and the seer is being elevated to a noble status from something lower. Anthony J. Podlecki explains the significance of the omens further.

He mentions that Theoclymenus is very vague in his interpretation. Although we expect the hawk to be Odysseus, he isn't named in Book XV.

Hospitality, one of the main themes in the Odyssey, appears again and again in Book XV with some interesting variations. Telemachus is continually portrayed as hospitable. He promises hospitality to the seer and Eumaeus says he will be hospitable to the Odysseus-beggar. Menelaus says the right kind of hospitality involves not being overly fond of the guest or rude. Menelaus impresses valuable gifts on Telemachus, but not excessively as Alcinous and the Phaeacians did with Odysseus. Telemachus, however, had wished to avoid the gifts by leaving before Menelaus was up. Granted, that wasn't his purpose, following the advice of the goddess Athena was, but he also refused to allow Nestor to provide him with hospitality when he arrived at Pylos with Nestor's son Pisistratus. He even knew Nestor would be angry, and presumably take it out on his friend. Gift-giving bestows on the recipient one kind of honor and another on the giver. Telemachus seems much more comfortable not being on the receiving end.

Steve Reece mentions in a footnote that Theoclymenus feels like a character who became part of the story by mistake. Edwin Brown (citation on previous page) suggests that Theoclymenus may have been an Odysseus character in another version of the homecoming.

Eumaeus tells his story of his kidnapping by a Phoenicians nurse. The Phoenicians in the Odyssey as elsewhere are described as treacherous and similar to pirates. Odysseus tells Eumaeus that although he suffered as a young boy, he was also treated well. He gives no indication that Eumaeus should try to return home or otherwise try to regain his original noble status.

References:
"Omens in the 'Odyssey'," by Anthony J. Podlecki. Greece & Rome, 2nd Ser., Vol. 14, No. 1. (Apr., 1967), pp. 12-23.

"The Cretan Odyssey: A Lie Truer Than Truth, by Steve Reece. The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 115, No. 2. (Summer, 1994), pp. 157-173.

Odyssey in English

Quiz on Odyssey Book XV