Fałszywe rozkosze nostalgii. Czego Odyseusz dowiedział sie u Syren .......... 63

THE PHONEY DELIGHTS OF NOSTALGIA. WHAT ODYSSEUS LEARNT OFF THE SIRENS’ ISLAND

The paper is about the adventure of Odysseus and his companions off the coast of the island of the Sirens (Odyssey, book 12). The close-reading interpretation of this passage from the epic seeks to answer the question of what the ‘immortal glory’ (kleos aphthiton) of the King of Ithaca is, and how it differs from that attained by Achilles in the Iliad. In light of this problem, the category of return (nostos), central to the Homeric work, is also analyzed. The Sirens represent the stereotypical understanding of this concept (a longing for what no longer exists, overwhelming in its blissful sweetness), to which the protagonist — having come to terms with his role — contrasts nostos, conceived as a drive towards the future and towards life. Odysseus must resist all temptations — in this case, embodied by the Sirens — in order to find his way back to himself. Otherwise, he will not be able to find his way back home. The paper argues that the hero’s encounter with the Sirens marks a turning point in his wanderings. It is at this very moment that Odysseus undergoes the transformation necessary to return to Ithaca as the hero of his own story, rather than as one of the many warriors who formed the backdrop to Achilles’ tale.