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Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Book 1
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Stranger:
After defending Odysseus at an assembly of the gods, Athena dons her winged sandals and travels to Ithaca, where Odysseus's family has long awaited his return. When she arrives in Ithaca, she disguises herself as an old man, and the poem uses sharp imagery and a simile that describes her as being "like a stranger" to the whole world:
She seized the rugged spear tipped with a bronze point —
weighted, heavy, the massive shaft she wields to break the lines
of heroes the mighty Father’s daughter storms against.
And down she swept from Olympus’ craggy peaks
and lit on Ithaca, standing tall at Odysseus’ gates,
the threshold of his court. Gripping her bronze spear,
she looked for all the world like a stranger now.
Throughout the poem, Athena often assumes a disguise in order to conceal the involvement of the gods in mortal affairs, only revealing her true identity when necessary. In Ithaca, she assumes the form of Mentes, a friend of Odysseus's father, Laertes. The poem describes her with visual detail as she flies down from "Olympus' craggy peaks" and arrives, "standing tall," at the gates of Odysseus's property, "gripping her bronze spear." "She looked," the poem states, "for all the world like a stranger now." This simile emphasizes the effectiveness of her transformation. Though all mortals in the poem are familiar with Athena, a powerful goddess, she is completely anonymous in Ithaca.
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Book 2
Explanation and Analysis—Handsome as a God :
In a simile, the poem describes Telemachus as appearing "handsome as a god" after he meets with Athena in Ithaca:
When young Dawn with her rose-red fingers shone once more
the true son of Odysseus sprang from bed and dressed,
over his shoulder he slung his well-honed sword,
fastened rawhide sandals under his smooth feet
and stepped from his bedroom, handsome as a god.
At once he ordered heralds to cry out loud and clear
and summon the flowing-haired Achaeans to full assembly.
Their cries rang out. The people filed in quickly.
When they’d grouped, crowding the meeting grounds [...]
Before his meeting with the disguised goddess, Telemachus found himself in a difficult position. Though he is deeply insulted by the suitors who have encamped upon his father's property, each vying to court Penelope, Telemachus believes that there is little he can do to improve the situation because his father is dead and his mother's remarriage is inevitable. Athena, however, strengthens his resolve, urging him to travel to Sparta to inquire about the fate of his father and inspiring him to punish those who have insulted his family and stained their honor. However, she also uses magic to fortify Telemachus, altering his appearance so that others are awed by his godlike presence. Here, the poem describes Telemachus as being "handsome as a god," a simile that underscores the powerful influence of Athena. With her backing, Telemachus is no longer an ordinary boy, but a future hero.
Book 4
Explanation and Analysis—Newborn Sucklings:
In Sparta, Telemachus informs Menelaus and his court of the insulting behavior of the suitors in Ithaca. Outraged on behalf of Odysseus, Menelaus uses a simile that compares Odysseus to a dangerous lion:
“How shameful!”
the red-haired king burst out in anger. “That’s the bed
of a brave man of war they’d like to crawl inside,
those spineless, craven cowards!
Weak as the doe that beds down her fawns
in a mighty lion’s den —her newborn sucklings —
then trails off to the mountain spurs and grassy bends
to graze her fill, but back the lion comes to his own lair
and the master deals both fawns a ghastly bloody death,
just what Odysseus will deal that mob—ghastly death.
Menelaus is deeply offended by the behavior of the suitors, who disrespect Odysseus in his absence by courting his wife, insulting his son, and wasting his resources. Confident that Odysseus will avenge himself violently upon the suitors, Menelaus employs an elaborate simile that imagines Odysseus as a "mighty" lion and the suitors as vulnerable fawns. Just as a lion would serve "a ghastly bloody death" to any "newborn sucklings" left by their mother in his cave, so too will Odysseus make quick work of "that mob." Menelaus's simile suggests that the suitors are, despite their numbers, far outmatched by the powerful but merciless Odysseus.
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Book 6
Explanation and Analysis—Athena as Craftsman:
After Odysseus narrowly survives his difficult voyage from Calypso's island with the aid of the goddesses Ino and Athena, he washes up, exhausted and naked, on the beach of a Phaecian city. There, he is found by the princess Nausicaa and her maids. In this passage, the poem uses several similes in describing the effects of Athena's magic on Odysseus's appearance:
And then, once he had bathed all over, rubbed in oil
and donned the clothes the virgin princess gave him,
Zeus’s daughter Athena made him taller to all eyes,
his build more massive now, and down from his brow
she ran his curls like thick hyacinth clusters
full of blooms. As a master craftsman washes
gold over beaten silver — a man the god of fire
and Queen Athena trained in every fine technique —
and finishes off his latest effort, handsome work,
so she lavished splendor over his head and shoulders now.
Embarrassed by his nudity in front of the young girls, Odysseus takes the clothes they give him and bathes privately. As he washes himself self-consciously, Athena uses her magic to aid his heroic makeover, thickening his hair until it appeared "like thick hyacinth clusters," a simile that emphasizes the thickness of his hair and the effects of her magic upon his appearance. Next, the poem uses an elaborate simile that compares Athena to a "master craftsman." Just as the craftsman carefully "washes gold over beaten silver," so too is Athena "trained in every fine technique." The highly figurative language of this passage portrays Athena as a diligent artisan and Odysseus as a polished piece of metal upon which she has "lavished" her efforts.
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Book 11
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Shadow:
In a speech saturated with pathos, Odysseus recounts meeting his deceased mother, Anticleia, in the afterlife. Earlier, Odysseus saw his mother's shade in Hades but made the difficult decision to push her away in order to closely follow Circe's instructions. After he receives a prophecy and warning from Tiresias, however, Odysseus searches for his mother, who explains the sad circumstances of her death:
'No, it was my longing for you, my shining Odysseus —
you and your quickness, you and your gentle ways —
that tore away my life that had been sweet.’
And I, my mind in turmoil, how I longed
to embrace my mother’s spirit, dead as she was!
Three times I rushed toward her, desperate to hold her,
three times she fluttered through my fingers, sifting away
like a shadow, dissolving like a dream.
Here, Odysseus narrates his journey to the underworld to the Phaecian king Antinous in a manner that highlights the pain he felt there. Anticleia, Odysseus claims, informed him that she died of a broken heart while waiting for her beloved son to return from the Trojan War. Her words register the deep suffering that "tore away" a life "that had been sweet." Odysseus responds to her emotional appeal with strong feelings of his own, describing his "turmoil" and strong desire to "embrace" his mother. However, each time he attempted to "hold her," she "fluttered" through his fingers "like a shadow, dissolving like a dream." These similes underscore the ephemeral nature of shades in the underworld, who cannot physically interact with the living. In his speech to Antinous's court, then, Odysseus appeals to the emotions of his audience, hoping to convince them to allow him to continue on his way to Ithaca without further interruption.
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Book 12
Explanation and Analysis—Scylla:
In an epic simile, the poem compares the monstrous Scylla to an "angler," or a person who fishes with a line and a hook:
Just as an angler poised on a jutting rock
flings his treacherous bait in the offshore swell,
whips his long rod —hook sheathed in an oxhorn lure —
and whisks up little fish he flips on the beach-break,
writhing, gasping out their lives . . . so now they writhed, [...]
screaming out, flinging their arms toward me,
lost in that mortal struggle . . .
Of all the pitiful things I’ve had to witness,
suffering, searching out the pathways of the sea,
this wrenched my heart the most.
Earlier, Tiresias prophesied that Odysseus and his men would have to cross either Scylla or Charybdis on their return voyage. While six men would be lost to the six heads of the Scylla, Tiresias notes that the whirlpool-like Charybdis will take down the entire ship. Knowing that this information will terrify his men, Odysseus keeps it to himself as he pragmatically directs the ship to cross the path of Scylla, who, as predicted, grabs six of Odysseus's strongest men, killing them. Here, the poem presents a classic example of an epic simile that characterizes Scylla as an angler who "whisks up little fish" using a road and bait. Like the fish caught by an angler, Odysseus's men find themselves "writhing, gasping out their lives" but unable to free themselves. This simile, then, highlights the helplessness of the men in the grasp of the monstrous but powerful Scylla, who dispatches them with ease. A distraught Odysseus characterizes this encounter with Scylla as the most painful part of his return voyage.
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Book 13
Explanation and Analysis—Like a God:
In a scene containing high dramatic irony, Odysseus returns to Ithaca and greets the first person he sees, vowing to "pray" to her "like a god." That woman, he later learns, is Athena herself:
Odysseus, overjoyed at the sight, went up to meet her,
joining her now with salutations on the wing:
“Greetings, friend! Since you are the first
I’ve come on in this harbor, treat me kindly —
no cruelty, please. Save these treasures,
save me too. I pray to you like a god,
I fall before your knees and ask your mercy!
And tell me this for a fact —I need to know —
where on earth am I? what land? who lives here?"
When the Phaecians sail with Odysseus towards Ithaca, he falls into a deep and forgetful sleep. The Phaecians then leave him on the shore of his homeland, and Athena uses her magic to protect him while he sleeps. When he awakens, he is confused about his whereabouts and, seeing a woman, begs her for information, even offering to pray to her "like a god." Through this simile, he emphasizes his gratitude to anyone who can offer him assistance. Unbeknownst to Odysseus, however, the woman is no other than Athena herself, rendering his simile ironically redundant. Though Athena has come to Odysseus's aid at many different stages of his long journey, she is not yet ready to openly announce herself to him.
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Book 23
Explanation and Analysis—Heart of Iron:
In a passage containing several similes and metaphors, the poem describes Odysseus's dissatisfaction with his frosty and suspicious reception by his wife Penelope upon returning to Ithaca:
He stepped from his bath, glistening like a god,
and back he went to the seat that he had left
and facing his wife, declared,
“Strange woman! So hard—the gods of Olympus
made you harder than any other woman in the world!
What other wife could have a spirit so unbending?
Holding back from her husband, home at last for her
after bearing twenty years of brutal struggle.
Come, nurse, make me a bed, I’ll sleep alone.
She has a heart of iron in her breast.”
After bathing and abandoning his disguise, Odysseus appears powerful and majestic, "glistening like a god" as a result of Athena's magic. This simile underscores the full support he receives from his divine patron and his status as a hero who exceeds the strength and accomplishments of other mortals. Penelope, however, continues to view him with suspicion, as she is weary of fraud and deceit. Here, Odysseus uses a series of metaphors that characterize Penelope as being composed of hard and inflexible material, suggesting that she has not yet accepted his identity. Penelope, he claims, is "harder than any other woman in the world," with an "unbending" spirit and a "heart of iron." These various metaphors underscore her skepticism but also her virtue, as she refuses to be tricked or seduced.
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