ABSTRACT

Contrary to assertions in the popular press, Homer has not descended to Pluto’s realm, but rather thrives among the living. Readers—many musicians among them—continue to be attracted to Homer’s works, and for the musician, both literary and musical sources mediate the reading of Homer. Within the realm of myth, Apollo is the god, not only of the lyre, but of the bow as well. And Heraclitus, like Homer, recognized the essential relation between the two stringed instruments. Returning to the Phaeacian games, the reader finds Odysseus in the field being drawn by Homer into ever-closer proximity to Apollo. At these sporting events, Homer reveals Odysseus to be, like Apollo, a master of the bow. After landing in Ithaca and assuming the disguise of a beggar, Odysseus recruits the swineherd to be his assistant as he begins his plan to recapture his home.