A Brief Discussion of the
Homeric Retiring Scene

Emily B. West (College of St. Catherine)

The question of an underlying organizational pattern of the Homeric poems is one that has been revisited many times, with few satisfying conclusions. This paper explores the use and repetition of the Homeric retiring scene as a critical part of the epics’ larger structure. Retiring scenes (as at (Il. 1.605-11; 9.453-457; 24.676-7; Od. 3.394-403; 4.302-5; 5.154-155; 5.226-7; 10.11-12; 7.346-7; 20.1-4; 23.254-350) are a hallmark of the characteristic rhythm of the Homeric epics: a momentary lull between encounters, an abrupt change of pace which delays the inevitable. Just as Eos arising from her bed (and her bedmate) often marks the resumption of action and an ascending level of dramatic tension, retiring scenes in which married couples sleep beside one another signal a momentary relaxation of that tension. But the function of these scenes is not purely compositional.

The multiform theme of marriage is a strong and subtle undercurrent that runs through the Homeric corpus. We are treated to intimate views of a number of very different marriages, and various marriage-like liaisons; in more general terms, marriage is praised and its importance discussed (as at Iliad 5.428-9; Odyssey 6.180-185; Iliad 9.340-4). Being so centered around the separation of a selection of husbands and wives, what could better serve as the symbol of the brief reassertion of a tolerable world order than the union of husband and wife in their bedchamber? In most instances, the poignancy of the scene is increased by the mention of the solitary males who sleep outside the walls of the house and form a counterpoint to the peaceful couples.

Retiring scenes thus function on two levels: as an integral part of the cyclical rhythm of the epics, and as recurring reinforcement of the epics’ most powerful themes. Parallels from other Indo-European epics complete the discussion.