I'm embarrassed to say that my all-time favorite book is one that I still haven't finished, Homer's "Odyssey." I first encountered it in an old-fashioned literature anthology that we used in 3rd or 4th grade. I was impressed by the earnestness with which the stories were told. The author really seemed to believe that reading about Ulysses was the most important thing you could do, and of course he was right.
My favorite character was the cyclops. He seemed oddly human and appealing but these qualities didn't prevent him from being single-minded about eating the Greeks. I remember thinking how strange it was that the cyclops could think and speak but still have no mercy on his fellow creatures (sounds like animation writers, doesn't it?). It was the first inkling I had that the world contains some puzzling characters whose motives can never be understood but who must nevertheless be resisted.
Years went by without any thought of The Odyssey then I saw "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" in a theater. Wow! My kid heart almost jumped out of my chest! I instantly recognized my old friend the cyclops, made even more terrifying by Harryhausen and Bernard Herriman...Sinbad was from Iraq but the feel of the story was unmistakably Homeric...minus the cheesy Hollywood touches. I began to think of the Greeks as the storytellers who delivered the goods, who could explain life to me better than anyone else.
Still later I saw "Jason and the Argonauts" and that firmed it up. There again was the Homeric sensibility even though the story was written by someone else. I loved the ideal that permeated the film: manliness, intellect, courage and a thirst for adventure. Isn't that what we all crave? I don't claim to possess any of these Homeric qualities but having them in front of me as distant ideals changed the course of my life. 
I don't think the picture above is of Homer but it's the way I like to think of him so it gets a place here. I mentioned earlier that I never finished The Odyssey (I listened to an unabridged tape set of it a couple of times but maybe that doesn't count). Maybe I never will finish it. I have a taste for modern stories now and the Odyssey's way of telling a story seems too old-fashioned to me. The really odd thing is that I can still say with complete sincerity that it was and is the most influential book I've ever read. It's amazing how even a small dose of Homer goes a very long way.
10 comments:
Of course you could read 300 pages of Homer and it could still be considered a small dose.
But still, I agree- I remember as a kid reading Oddyseus slaughtering his wife's suitors, picturing him ankle-deep in bastard blood; and thinking "Wow. That is true love." And it's been my model for it ever since.
It was the only way to get my wife to respect me anyway.
Will you ever go back and finish it?
When I was young I went on many heroic quests, though at that time heroic quests were called juvenile delinquency.
This is further evidence that Eddie is my long-lost twin brother. At various times I too have described The Odyssey as my favorite book. It is after all the Queen Mother of all adventure stories, and undeniably has it all: a dashing, imperfect, and therefore interesting hero, thrills and spills, loyalty, betrayal, monsters, great writing -- the works! What more could you want???
The Queen Mother of Adventure stories?
Does that mean the hero is full of gin before lunchtime?
That even though he's completely lost his mind everyone loves him anyway?
Today's youth needs to read classics like 'The Odyssey.' They would be instilled and inspired with truly great qualities, such as loyalty (Odysseus and his wife Penelope remained loyal to each other for 20 years!!!), intellect (Odysseus vs. the Cyclops), and humility (Odysseus' pride against the gods codemned him to circumvent the Mediterranean Sea for 10 years).
Instead, kids get to be inspired by insipid, mundane school adventures of privilege suburban kids. Dumb.
I think it a bit strange how kids get bits and pieces of such, just the way they are exposed to certain of the arabian nights tales, or only part of aesop.
Sure it has been done, from popeye to bullwinkle, but I think such is rich fodder for TV short animation. But it doesn't give the executives a toy to copyright and sell.
Eddie - is it possible for cartoonists to live a Homeric life of adventure? Intellect. Check. Manliness. Check. But isn't the world of a scribbler pitifully circumscribed by the four walls of his studio?
Nate: Wow! Good question! I would say that adventure abounds in the animation business, ours more than most. The industry isn't set up for you to be funny or creative so to make it happen you have to take giant risks and if you fail you could end washing dishes. You'll make powerful enemies along the way (the cyclops) but also make loyal friends who are fighting the same fight you are.
The trick is to avoid the Sirens i.e., indolence and morale problems.
Nice to see that you're also a fan of Herrmann and Harryhausen, Uncle Eddie! Those guys were brilliant, and really made those movies work. "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" is probably my favorite.
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