Odysseus, Grandson of Minos, the King of Knossos

Valerio Caldesi-Valeri (University of Texas, Austin)

As Odysseus determines to conceal his identity from Penelope, the epic hero concocts a Cretan biography for himself by claiming to be the younger brother of the Iliadic champion Idomeneus and consequently grandson to Minos, whom he describes as the king of Knossos and confidant of Zeus (Od. 19.178-84).

Ancient and modern authors alike have regarded this well-known passage, preceded by the most extensive description of Crete in archaic Greek literature (Od. 19.172-77), as a precious piece of historical information that Homer contributed on the political, ethnic and linguistic composition, as well as on the kingship of Bronze Age and Mycenean Crete. However, the long-standing focus on this passage’s historical import has led scholars to neglect the implications of Odysseus’ genealogical claim, fictitious as it may be, for the epic poem.

Against the prevalent view which labels Minos as little more than a marginal figure within the Odyssey (e.g. V. J. Matthews, in CPh 73, 1978, pp.228-232) and following in the wake of recent scholarly work devoted to elucidating the extent to which digressions and, more specifically, genealogies engage with both immediate events in the main narrative and the Homeric poems as a whole (e.g. M.J. Alden, in Hermes 124.3, 1996, pp.257-263), this paper addresses the thematic significance entailed by Odysseus’ choice of Minos as his illustrious grandfather.

First, I contend that the image of king Minos conversing with Zeus both functions as an auspicious model for Odysseus, whose initial predicament was due to Zeus’ unresponsiveness to his plight (Od. 1.59-62), and foreshadows a progressively closer relationship between Zeus and Odysseus, as signaled by the unprecedented use of similes likening Odysseus to eagles (Od. 19.538-50; 24.538), the god’s sacred birds, by Zeus’ omens thundered in support of Odysseus’ vengeful plan against the suitors (Od. 20.98-121; 21.413-5), and by Zeus’ lightning hurled to curb Odysseus’ unrestrained behavior (Od. 24.539).

Second, I argue that by boasting descent from Minos Odysseus purposefully meant to evoke his own contradictory portrayal of his alleged grandfather. Back in the Nekyia, Odysseus noted Minos’ harmfulness in response to the abduction of his daughter Ariadne by Theseus (Od. 11.321-5), but also described Minos as the judge appointed to make rulings for the dead (Od. 11.568-71). I suggest that Minos’ ambiguous depiction mirrors Odysseus’ own position, in that the epic hero needs to carry out an uncompromisingly violent revenge on the suitors in order to preserve his threatened oikos (in essence, the same reaction as Minos’ to the disruption of his royal oikos) and yet, at various stages, he is confronted with issues typical of a judge, such as apportioning punishment only to the deserving suitors (Od. 17.360-4) and assessing the salves’ responsibilities (Od. 16.304-11; 17.360-4; 19.497-502). Odysseus will be ultimately incapable of envisaging any bloodless solution (Od. 18.149-50; 24.531-8), thus negating the possibility of a pacific settlement and yielding to his destructive nature. This conflict between propensity for conciliatory justice and necessity for brutal retribution was nicely encapsulated in Odysseus’ characterization of Minos. The cycle of vengeance will end only in virtue of Zeus’ tangible intervention to check Odysseus’ violent temper, as it was prefigured in the close association of Zeus with Minos, signifying that human justice cannot bring about any stable conciliation without the god’s will.