Zeus’ Law
Recently, I became one of the millions around the world who have seen Christopher Nolan’s new retelling of the ancient tale of The Odyssey. I was particularly touched by one central theme running throughout the film, the recounting of Zeus’ Law or the Rule of Zeus, the thread that ties actions to losses and omissions to fate.
Zeus Law, or xenia, is very like what we have come to call the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In this case, it requires that the stranger coming to your door be taken in, fed, bathed and given rest, without question. Zeus instructs us to offer all of this even before asking the name or journey of the stranger, as the visitor may, indeed, be a god in disguise. The traveler, for their part, is also required to be respectful and peaceful, and to offer the host entertainment in the form of stories, music, and invention, in return.
It is the egregious violation of this rule that brings virtually everyone in the story to pain, loss, and ruin, including Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, who, although she follows the rule and hosts hordes of suitors for years, still suffers from their behavior. The suitors fail to follow the rule as they mock, insult and injure those beneath them. For their punishment, they wait for twenty or more years to see who among them will be chosen as Penelope’s new husband, not realizing that, since she has promised she will choose one just as soon as she finishes her weaving, she spends each night pulling out the weaving work of each day. Oh, and they don’t end up too well, either.
The greatest violation and punishment, however, falls to Odysseus, who has left his kingdom of Ithaca to lead an army to destroy the city of Troy to punish them for the sin of capturing and taking the beautiful Helen from her husband Menelaus. Although, as Odysseus theorizes at one point, this seems to be only an excuse to cover the real reason for the invasion, which is to secure the riches of Troy for Menelaus, himself.
Still, Odysseus raises an army through the use of lottery tokens and sets sail for Troy. For ten years, his army is unable to pierce the fortress/city. Finally, in a clear violation of Zeus’ Law, and one that he comes to greatly regret, Odysseus sends a young boy whose family was paid by a more wealthy family to take the place of one who drew a token, to inform the Trojans that the Greeks have surrendered and sailed away, leaving a striking peace gift to signify their apology, a beautiful immense sculpture of a rearing horse.
It is a ruse, of course, as inside the horse are dozens of Greek soldiers and Odysseus, himself, and, though many are drowned inside the horse as the rising tide swamps it where it stands in the surf, many survive, as the Trojans drag the huge statue inside the city gates. That night, the Greek soldiers emerge from the horse and open the gates to thousands more. They sweep through in a mad rage of destruction, decimating the city and its population. They rape priestesses at Athena’s Temple, kill wantonly and burn, burn, burn.
You can see the beginnings of regret in the eyes of Odysseus as he watches Troy tumble and burn. Why? He has violated the sacred rule of Zeus by tricking and destroying a trusting host and begins to contemplate the fate he has sealed for himself and every one of his men. Worse, he has set into motion the possibility that all will feel free to follow his example, thus destroying the fragile peace that Zeus has crafted through his Law.
And such is, indeed, his destiny and his punishment. He is forced to travel through many more trials, most of them connected, in some way, to violations of the Law, including angering Poseidon by tricking and maiming the Cyclops, one of Poseidon’s sons. As his punishment, Poseidon’s realm becomes an unrelenting foe, hostile and fatal.
After viewing this epic, we ask ourselves, “Why remind us of this story now?” I can think of dozens of lessons to be grasped and acknowledged, but I wonder if the key lies in Zeus’ Law, itself. Might the many punishments we now suffer be due, in part, to the violations by our president of this basic Rule?
“I lift my lamp above the golden door.” So says the inscription on our Statue of Liberty. All are welcome. Well, not really. The invitation is a trick. Enter and you will be arrested, beaten, imprisoned, chained and hastily deported to a cruel prison in a random foreign country not your own. Enter and be welcomed with a special status, only to have it suddenly withdrawn, allowing you to be captured and transported back to a country currently in turmoil and filled with danger.
Zeus is angry and has cursed us with a madman who enriches himself while we languish. Anybody know the way to his nearest temple, or that of his daughter, Athena, to make some offerings?
And, as to our world-famous welcoming Statue…France, to their credit, has not yet asked us to give it back.
The Innocent Soldier
As mentioned above, one key figure in the Odyssey, indeed, virtually the first to be seen in the movie, is the young man, Sinon, who takes the place in Odysseus’ army of a man whose family paid to keep him from going to war. Sinon is central to Odysseus’ guilt, as well. Odysseus carries Sinon’s conscription token with him all the way home, after the boy’s death, in order to tell his family of his bravery.
More importantly, it is Sinon who is sent to tell the Trojans of the surrender and gift of the supposedly fleeing Greeks. He is unaware at the time that the beautiful horse is a trap and goes in good faith. After his death, as Odysseus’ travels require him to visit even Hades, itself, Sinon and many others who are dead because of this war rise up to remind Odysseus of the consequences of his decisions, and Sinon begs him to bring his draft token home. The acts of allowing rich families to pay poor families to keep a son out of the military, and the tricking of this innocent boy are two more strokes against Odysseus.
Again, a parallel. A phony claim of bone spurs keeps our duplicitous dictator safe from war. Kash Patel never served. Indeed most of the president’s hapless cabinet never served, leaving others to bear the burdens and death of wars the cabinet members never fought. This includes, of course, the current war, where young men and women are sent to fight the fights of these cowardly cabinet members as they continue to support a clearly disastrous, idiotic and destructive misadventure, instead of trying to stop it. Who will avenge those sent to fight in our current times?
There is a reason we return to the ancient tales. As William Faulkner wrote in his novel Requiem for a Nun, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
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