Where is Odysseus from? Old European tradition in world literature

The Odyssey is a well known ancient classic of world literature. It is usually compared to the Iliad, also an epic poem. Epic literary works such as these portray heroes and their valiant deeds.

Are the Odyssey and the Iliad genuinely Greek works? The question may seem odd to most people. After all, these epics are considered specifically as part of the Greek literary canon. But in the case of the Odyssey it's not quite so simple, and new studies have provided surprising results. There is reason to contest the Odyssey's Greek origins, as new evidence indicates that it stems from Old European tradition instead.

Can we claim that the Odyssey was originally a part of Old European literary heritage? Not quite, since the literary tradition of that period is unknown. Old Europeans were skilled in penmanship and many hundreds of writings have been preserved from that era, but they are short texts about ritual practices. Still, they most certainly had stories, and their themes and plots would have influenced later mythical traditions. This continuity can be proven even without textual evidence. Methodically speaking, proving this could be compared to a lawsuit where, lacking direct evidence, one is convicted of a crime based on circumstantial evidence instead. When examining the Odyssey, several linguistic criteria can serve as circumstantial evidence:

Origin of the name

Different variants were used in the Ancient Greek texts, such as Odysseus, Olys(s)eus (Ulysses in Latin), Olytteus, Oulixeus (Ulyxes in Latin). An Indo-European source cannot be reconstructed for these name forms, as they come from a pre-Greek period, i.e. Old Europe.

The bards' instruments

Epic poems was not just recited, their tales were also sung. The bards had instruments of two kinds: one was the kithara (lyre), and the other was the phorminx (cither). Modern historical linguistic research has shown that both of these words are from the pre-Greek era, meaning that the instruments had been in use long before the Greeks' forefathers and mothers arrived on Greek soil. It indicates that the local population, i.e. the descendants of the Old Europeans, had accompanied poetry performances before the Greeks.

Hexameter in classical ancient poetry

Hexameter, a typical meter used in epic poetry, is not a Greek invention either, but comes from Old European culture. Linguistic research points to the pre-Greek period. It is very probable that the Greeks adopted hexameter from the Minoans of Crete. The meter seems difficult and sometimes even clumsy when adapted into Greek. This may indicate that hexameter was originally used for poetry in some other language.

Odysseus the mariner as Greek hero

The heroes of epic literature were nearly always brave fighters, and that is how poets remembered them. A major exception is Odysseus, who is more of a seafarer and adventurer, and is thus an entirely different type of hero. He doesn't build his reputation by swinging a sword, but displays great wit instead.

Seafaring and ship-building were completely unknown to the Greeks' ancestors who came from the Steppe. They learned these arts from the Old Europeans, who already inhabited the area which is now Greece prior to their arrival. Old European mariners traveled along the Aegean Sea and the west coast of the Black Sea. They brought goods from the south to Varna, which was an important trade center at the time. The mariners had plenty to recount from their voyages. Stories emerged with Odysseus as their protagonist. Tales of his adventures were passed on from one generation to the next until they finally gained their new epic, written form in Ancient Greek. Ship-building vocabulary also comes from Old European cultural tradition. Old loan words include agkyra (anchor), kalon (wooden material for ship-building), aphlaston (the stern of a boat and its decorations), stamines (vertical supporting structures for the hull), malthe (a wax mixture for waterproofing the hull) and sipharos (the topsail).

In addition to these, there are more indications supporting the hypothesis that the epic material of the Odyssey stems from pre-Greek times. A surprising outcome is that the epic tradition of antiquity is actually based on two distinct orientations in cultural history: the Old European (the Odyssey) and the Indo-European traditions (the Iliad). It is high time to revise the teachings about ancient literature!

The drawing illustrates a famous scene in the Odyssey where Odysseus nears the isle of the Sirens. He avoids being hypnotized and killed by the Siren song by strapping himself to the mast and plugging his crew's ears with wax.

Harald Haarmann, Virpi Lehtinen and Auli Kurvinen

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