Isabelle Ståhl: Wandering makes Homer's poetry feel so alive and alluring

Commentator Isabelle Ståhl delves into the enduring appeal of Homer's "Odyssey," finding a profound connection in the German word "irren." This multifaceted term encompasses the ideas of getting lost, making mistakes, straying from a path, and even, in an older sense, madness. Ståhl suggests that this concept of "irren" represents a state where madness is not yet internalized but manifests externally, through disorientation and a loss of familiar bearings.

Ståhl draws parallels between this theme of disorientation and 20th-century philosophy, which frequently revisited Odysseus's wandering journeys. Odysseus, she argues, survives by becoming adaptable, resilient, and fluid, navigating dangers by shifting names, roles, and appearances. This mirrors a modern sense of disorientation where external realities remain, but a stable sense of self or identity becomes elusive.

The commentator relates this to personal experiences, such as face blindness, where the components of a person's appearance are recognized but the cohesive whole – the identity – remains just out of reach. This is contrasted with "anagnorisis," Aristotle's concept of sudden recognition, the shift from ignorance to knowledge.

Even upon returning to Ithaca, Odysseus is initially disoriented, shrouded in a mist conjured by Athena. Homer meticulously lists the familiar landmarks – the harbor, paths, cliffs, and trees – that should signify home, yet they offer no immediate recognition. This sense of uncertainty extends from place to person, as seen when Odysseus's old nurse, Eurykleia, recognizes him not by his face but by a scar on his leg, suggesting that true identity can be found in the indelible marks of experience rather than fleeting appearances.