An Ancient Greek Song in an American Ear

I suppose this particular blog is as much a response to some posts that have gone before as a stand-alone post. One thing I've noticed reading through various posts and comments, particularly "Arete and Greatness in a Different Light" but also some others, is a lionization of Thersites. I believe that this is a mistake, occuring because readers are applying their modern American way of thinking to an ancient Greek speaking to other ancient Greeks.

I think that as a modern American looking at Thersites from our culture of challenging undeserved authority, pushing for peace, striving for what we view as right regardless of circumstance, we can see Thersites as a classic underdog hero. To be honest, from our set of ideals, he very well might be, and had his suggestions been followed, many lives may have been saved. Looking at this through Homer's eyes, however, do we see any evidence that this was how he viewed him? Read the paragraph beginning at line 212. Some excerpts: "Thersites still went on wagging his unbridled tongue - a man of many words, and those unseemly; a monger of sedition, a railer against all who were in authority, who cared not what he said," "with a shrill squeaky voice he began heaping his abuse on Agamemnon." And then just read Homer's physical description of him! Homer is trying to make this man the most ugly, unappealing, hated character, and not just by the Achaeans, but by us as well. He specifically tells us that this man is a no-good "monger of sedition", he isn't wanting us to make any mistake of calling him a hero.

Compare this to his portrayal of Odysseus. To us, Odysseus seems quite the bully, beating men left and right, insulting them like a "Call-of-Duty obsessed 11-year old," to borrow Eli's phrase. However, what is Homer's view of him? He says he "masterfully [went] about the host," and that the Argives thought he had never done something better. Odysseus, at least in Homer's book, is an absolute hero!

Cramming Homer's story into an American mindset is like forcing Vikings into a law office! {source Capital One}

Cramming Homer's story into an American mindset is like forcing Vikings into a law office! {source Capital One}

This brings us to an interesting point about the importance of audience in rhetoric. To our modern American ears, an appeal against the rich ruler becoming rich off of the suffering and death of his subjects sounds really good! To our mindset of equality and individual worth, Thersites probably deserves a medal. To Homer, however, with his ancient Greek mindset, it should be quite clear that a message of loyalty to king and courage is the more resonant argument, and the one that resonated well with the audience he sang to.