Odyssey Study Guide Contents
Book 3: Telemachus visits Nestor | Summary Book III | Notes | Major Characters | Quiz on The Odyssey - Book III
There are three main themes worth mentioning that come up in Book III of the Odyssey. One is hospitality. It is unthinkable not to welcome strangers. They are to be feasted, bathed, and clothed, and only after eating are they to be questioned as to their identities. Assemblies should be held in the morning and not at night. This is obviously a breakable rule, but it is not clear whether breaking it exacerbated the problems the returning Achaeans faced. The third theme is that of sacrifice. Sacrifice is not the same thing as prayer and libation. Libation involves pouring out a liquid, generally wine, but also oil or water. It is an offering for the god. Sacrifice is a much bigger event. A suitably noble animal is ritually killed. Here, the heifer first has her horns covered with a gold foil and then slaughtered. The animal is then cooked and the meaty portion goes to the humans while the fat is burned for the god.
It is worth noticing that Aegisthus and not Clytemnestra, although she is insinuated, is named as the slayer of Agamemnon. This version of events shows Aegisthus and Clytemnestra ruling for seven years after the death of Agamemnon until Orestes comes to seek revenge in the 8th year.
