Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

Hide and Seek with the Homeric Narrator in the Iliad and the Odyssey 5
description, Homer finds the need to insert knowledge beyond Odysseus’ scope
in order to better inform the narratee.
Throughout the Iliad and the Odyssey there are instances when the
Homeric narrator gives up his reluctance to step into the foreground. In Book 1
of the Odyssey the narrator employs paralepsis, offering the narratee additional
information of which the characters themselves are unaware:
Now far the first to see Athene was godlike Telemachos, as he sat among the
suitors, his heart deep grieving within him, imagining in his mind his great
father, how he might come back and all throughout the house might cause the
suitors to scatter, and hold his rightful place and be lord of his own possessions.
With such thoughts, sitting among the suitors, he saw Athene and went
straight to the forecourt, the heart within him scandalized that a guest should
still be standing at the doors. (Od. 1.113-120)
Despite the fact that Athene is disguised as Mentes, the Homeric narrator
refers to her as “Athene.” This serves as a means of revealing her true identity to
the narratees, even though Telemachos believes she is Mentes. This becomes
clear at the end of the passage, when the Homeric narrator describes Telemachos
as “scandalized that a guest should still be standing.” The use of the word
“guest” makes it clear that Telemachos is unaware of her identity. Nevertheless,
Homer informs the narratees in order to clarify the story and make it more
intriguing.
Likewise, in Book 3 of the Iliad, Homer employs paralepsis for the sake of
clarification. “Next again the old man [Priam] asked her [Helen], seeing Odysseus:
‘tell me of this one also, dear child; what man can he be. . .’” (Il. 3.191-2).
Though we view the scene essentially through the eyes of Priam, seated upon
the Trojan walls, the Homeric narrator adds information, revealing the identity
of Odysseus to the narratee. The very fact that Priam does not recognize
Odysseus and must ask who he is demonstrates that Homer employs paralepsis,
adding information and his own perspective as clarification for the narratee.
In Book 16 of the Iliad, the Trojans see Patroklos in Achilles’ armor and
assume it is Achilles himself. Though the scene is focalized through the eyes of
the Trojans, Homer steps into the foreground and uses paralepsis, conveying
additional information, which is unknown to the Trojans. “But the Trojans,
when they saw the powerful son of Menoitios himself and his henchman with
him in the glare of their war gear, the heart was stirred in all of them” (Il.
16.278-9). The Trojans are not aware that the man wearing Achilles’ armor is
Patroklos. Hence it is clear that the addition of the words “son of Menoitios” is
used for the sake of clarifying his account.
Through the study of focalization in the epics, it becomes clear that the
Homeric narrator manipulates our knowledge. He focalizes scenes through characters
in order to remain less visible. Nevertheless, these temporary lapses of the
omniscient narrator—that is, the narrator who perceives the thoughts and sentiments
of the characters—result in a type of restriction. The narratees’ perception