The Immortality Theme in the Odyssey and the Telegony

This article examines the different ways in which the Odyssey and the Telegony represent the relationships between immortals and mortals—the immortality theme. They draw upon that common theme but inflect it in contrasting ways: whereas the Odyssey’s protagonist rejects immortality and embraces mortality, the protagonist of the Telegony does the opposite. In the end, though, both of these poems critique immortality. Analysis of these poems’ different inflections of the immortality theme provides insights into how themes could be used competitively in archaic Greek poetry as well as how the same theme operated similarly and differently in various traditions

Art · Immortality · Literature · Poetry · Theme (computing · Classical Antiquity Studies · Computer Science · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices