As I was reading through our section
of the Odyssey, I found it interesting that so much of the magic and gifts
originated from nature or that they were associated with natural elements and
the environment. First, a divine gift is presented to Odysseus by Aeolus: “a bag
of oxhide leather [with] / the gusty winds inside it” (19-20). This gift would
allow Odysseus to temporarily control wind, one of the four natural elements,
so he could return home. Second, Odysseus claims “some god / took pity on [him]
in [his] loneliness, / and sent a mighty stag” (156-158). Instead of the unnamed
god providing Odysseus with food, he gives Odysseus a live animal, and Odysseus
must act with agency to spear the stag, providing food for his crew. As a side
note, while examining these two scenes through a Vegetarian and Vegan Ecofeminist
lens, I can begin to see how “our world … is [structured] around a dependence
on the death of the other animals” (Tong 282). The winds are trapped in oxhide
leather, which is a byproduct of the death of an ox, and Odysseus kills the stag
to provide a gluttonous feast for his crew: “So all that day till sunset we sat
eating / the meat aplenty” (183). As oppressors of animals, it is ironically
fitting that the goddess Circe later magically turns Odysseus’ crew into “pigs
in body / and voice and hair; their minds remained the same” (240-241). Now,
these men must experience the lives of the animals they oppress, and since their
minds have not been altered, they will remember this experience.
In an attempt to save his crew, Odysseus departs for Circe’s home, but he is stopped by the god Hermes, who offers protection from Circe’s magic in the form of a Moly root. This plant shields Odysseys from Circe’s potion and enchantment. Could this be Homer suggesting that magic is simply a manipulation of nature, or is this suggesting that the natural world is stronger than magical and divine forces? Finally, it is fascinating that Circe instructs Odysseus how to physically enter the world of Hades and that it can be entered through our natural world (508-522). Prior to this reading, I always viewed the underworld as being separate from our own environment. However, in the world of Homer, the infernal realm can be reached through Earth’s streams and shores, and humans can contact spirits using natural offerings (honey, wine, water, and barley) as libations to the dead. With the proper knowledge, magic now seems to be more accessible to mortals since so much of it is derived from the natural world.