Bio: Justin Karr is a sophomore at Western Oregon University. He runs track and field and cross country for WOU, while double majoring in both Psychology and Political Science.

“Odysseus and Antinous: Two Peas in an Epic Pod”
By Justin Karr

            The threads of fate entangle the masses and connect even the most opposite of personas. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus’ destiny intertwines with the destiny of the suitor Antinous, a man that literally and thematically opposes the life of the epic hero. These two conflicting characters develop as foils: differing through actions, words and features. Homer characterizes Odysseus as an active man guided by purpose, while Antinous contrasts this development, acting as a static suitor fated to die by Odysseus’ arrow. The development in the drastic differences between these two characters progresses alongside a struggle between life and death. Odysseus represents a dynamic life with reason for action and Antinous represents a life of passivity without purpose. With Odysseus adhering to a superior destiny and overpowering the inert Antinous, Homer warns against molding to the slothfulness and inactivity of the suitors, advising his audience to pursue significant lives and engage in personal epic journeys.
Odysseus’ slaughter of the suitors stands as the climactic episode of the poem and within this plot structure Antinous stands as the suitor most thoroughly woven into the storyline of Odysseus’ life: “Antinous—fated to be the first man to taste / an arrow whipped from great Odysseus’ hands” (427). Odysseus’ mission to destroy the suitors feels obligatory to the audience. With the epic hero’s return to Ithaca, Homer presents no trepidation within Odysseus’ mindset and actions – his fate leads him to slaughter the suitors. Primarily though, Odysseus has a fated obligation to slaughter Antinous first. Eurymachus labels Antinous “‘the man who drove [the suitors] all to crime!’” (441). As the leader, Antinous incites the suitors’ irreverent and distasteful actions and fulfills his role as “‘the worst of all’” (370). Odysseus’ climactic struggle in Ithaca peaks with his fated obligation to kill Antinous. Homer pins these two against each other, but the drastic conflicts in the characterization, imagery and word choice surrounding these enemies supersede the literal battle at hand.
The static characteristics of Antinous illustrate his lack of development in place of the dynamic Odysseus. Introduced as “pray[ing] that Zeus will never make [Telemachus] king of Ithaca,” Antinous never diverts attention from this objective throughout the entire poem (90). He plots to kill Telemachus to ensure this goal and even just before his death “deep in [his] heart his hopes were bent / on stringing the bow and shooting through the axes,” still desiring kingship for himself over Telemachus (427). Odysseus, however, changes throughout his journey, shown primarily through a decline in his hubris. Early in the poem, Odysseus foolishly proclaims his name to Polyphemus, angering Poseidon; but later, when Odysseus slaughters the suitors, he does not accredit himself, instead Eurymachus identifies him as “truly Odysseus of Ithaca” (441). This difference in characterization depicts Odysseus in a better light than his foil Antinous. Odysseus’ dynamic nature humbles him and grants him stealth and advantage in his homecoming, while Antinous’ static nature of constantly attempting to steal the Ithacan throne leads to the vengeance and death Odysseus bestows upon him.
Homer further compliments Odysseus’ development and liveliness in contrast to Antinous’ inertness by continuing his characterization of the two foils. By including elements of life pertaining to Odysseus, Homer surrounds the epic hero with a theme that contrasts the literary features commonly accompanying Antinous. Images of a purposeful life frequently pertain to the persistent and active Odysseus throughout his journey home. Purpose and passion fuel Odysseus’ most frequent action: weeping. This motif of tears throughout The Odyssey illustrates the emotional toll of his painful journey. Odysseus habitually cries at three types of events: stagnation in his life, as on Calypso’s isle (157); deaths of comrades, as after the battle with Scylla and Charybdis (280); and reunions with loved ones, as when he first sees Telemachus on Ithaca (344). He tends to cry for the seemingly unattainable aspects of his life or the long overdue attainment of those aspects; thus a desire to move forward or a sense of accomplishment tends to make him cry, displaying purpose in his tears. Fluid with purpose and incentive, his vital, crying eyes contrast the dried eyes of the suitor Antinous perpetually waiting without action for the unattainable.
Antinous does not live as actively as Odysseus does, which Homer shows through the suitors’ perspectives on action and death. Taken together, the suitors contrast Odysseus, as they would rather die than work to overcome an insurmountable obstacle or face possible failure. Antinous eggs on Irus claiming that “‘you’re better off dead / or never born at all, if you cringe at [the beggar Odysseus]’” (378). Antinous prioritizes death over the possible failure of Irus’ action. Similarly the suitor Leodes states after failing to string Odysseus’ bow “better be dead than […] never winning the prize [Penelope] that tempts us all” (429). Instead of showing some emotion or active response as Odysseus would, Antinous and the suitors fail to respond at all, desiring death over any ordeal.
Complimenting the frequent references to death in their dialogue, the suitors also evoke images of death seen in Homer’s narrative. After Odysseus fights Irus, the suitors “died laughing” (379). This idea of death envelops the suitors but the head of the suitors, Antinous, appears the most plagued with lifelessness as Penelope labels him “‘black death itself’” (370). As the suitors “‘bleed [Odysseus’] household white,’” the dormant group creates an image of death within their setting, draining life out of their surroundings (342). The suitors’ inaction proves entirely lifeless and opposite to the active and driven Odysseus. Odysseus and Telemachus’ reunion evokes the life within the epic hero’s being, as Telemachus perceives his father as “some god” (344). Odysseus questions, “‘Why confuse me with one who never dies?’” (344). The first image seen of the real Odysseus upon his homecoming appears immortal, directly contrasting the suitors in Ithaca that bleed dry the world around them.
These presentations of life and death further differentiate Odysseus and Antinous by the symbol that best identifies the epic hero: his scar. With the nurse recognizing Odysseus by “[t]hat scar” (405), the blemish defines him as a person, as the event that scars him leads to his christening as “Odysseus… / the Son of Pain” (403). This title labels Odysseus a symbol of life, as a scar results from a struggle to persevere and continue living, which Odysseus does through the many pains of his journey. However, directly opposing this development in Odysseus’ character, Antinous signifies death through his malicious behavior. When Antinous throws a stool at Odysseus’ back, he proclaims that Odysseus “‘won’t get out of the hall unscarred’” (369). The word choice of “‘unscarred’” portrays Antinous as attempting to scar Odysseus (369). Antinous essentially delivers the scar from which “the Son of Pain” must recover (369). Antinous’ aggression represents death while Odysseus’ perseverance represents life, and the polarity between these two amplifies with the drastic differences in their lifestyles. Homer manipulates this foil relationship to support Odysseus’ behavior in place of Antinous’ irreverent lifestyle.
To differentiate Odysseus’ liveliness to Antinous’ slothful, useless lifestyle, Homer presents Antinous and the Cyclops in incredibly similar ways. The vivid imagery of Odysseus’ assaults upon them best illustrates this parallel. Homer refers to the stabbing of Polyphemus’ eye as “a red geyser of blood” (224); and similarly geyseric, Antinous’ blood “spurt[s] / from his nostrils— / thick red jets—” (440). Odysseus uses a sharpened giant stake with a “fiery tip” to pierce Polyphemus’ eye (223). Similarly Telemachus’ “spearpoint glint[s…] like fire” prior to the slaughtering of the suitors (438). These parallels continue when Antinous claims that “‘no one’s about to’” string Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow through the axes (432). Odysseus can perform this feat, but Antinous claims that no one can, which parallels Polyphemus calling Odysseus “‘Nobody’” (224).  These two men represent Odysseus’ battle as a force of life against a wasted existence. The Cyclops lives in lonesome without any purpose to life beyond gluttony. Antinous occupies Odysseus’ household, idly suiting Penelope; accomplishing nothing as he feeds away at the luxury of the hero’s home. The similarities between the two compliment their negative characteristics and accentuate the traits that Odysseus contrasts and opposes.
Antinous becomes opposite to all of the features of the epic hero. Where Odysseus shows emotion, Antinous proves apathetic to his own heartless actions. Where Odysseus overcomes formidable adversaries, Antinous fails to perform any impressive deed. And where Odysseus exemplifies the essence of life, Antinous and his followers manifest images of deterioration and death. The suitors have spent years in Odysseus’ household passively anticipating Penelope’s choice while Odysseus encounters and surmounts magnificent perils in his grand voyage, contrasting an inactive pointless existence no better than death to an epic journey of extreme worth. Odysseus’ great challenges exemplify the grandeur of life in the face of a useless existence. Action creates the epic hero and the peak of life comes with victory in the most epic of struggles.

Works Cited
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc. 1996.
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