Background
I'm slowly reading The Odyssey with a friend. There is a great line by Achilles that reminded me of John Milton's Satan from Paradise Lost. These literary giants have opposing ideas about what it means to rule in hell.
Introduction
Is it better to reign in hell or serve in heaven? How important is having glory if the cost is dying young/younger?
Milton's Satan on Reigning in Hell
"The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n. [ 255 ]
What matter where, if I be still the same,
And what I should be, all but less then he
Whom Thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free; th' Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: [ 260 ]
Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n.
But wherefore let we then our faithful friends,
Th' associates and copartners of our loss [ 265 ]
Lye thus astonisht on th' oblivious Pool,
And call them not to share with us their part
In this unhappy Mansion, or once more
With rallied Arms to try what may be yet
Regaind in Heav'n, or what more lost in Hell? [ 270 ]"
Homer's Achilles on Reigning in Hell
"βουλοίμην κ᾽ ἐπάρουρος ἐὼν θητευέμεν ἄλλῳ,
ἀνδρὶ παρ᾽ ἀκλήρῳ, ᾧ μὴ βίοτος πολὺς εἴη,
ἢ πᾶσιν νεκύεσσι καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσειν."
"I would rather be a laborer working for another man—some poor man who has little to live on—than rule over all the dead who have perished." GPT Literal Translation
A Brief Look at Milton's Interpretations
One way to read Satan is as the hero of Paradise Lost. Satan is the individualistic, defiant hero representing personal freedom. "The mind is its own place." Even if in Hell, in Paradise Lost, Satan has freedom to choose.
The flip side is that Satan is a tragic figure. Satan has deluded himself into thinking the ideas from the previous paragraph are great. His love for his personal freedom creates his downfall. Satan is delusional about the reality of his situation.
Another interpretation that blends the previous two ideas is that Satan is a political allegory for Milton. Milton was a political activist who supported Oliver Cromwell in the Puritan revolution against the monarchy. The monarchy was abolished and King Charles executed. After Cromwell's death, the monarchy was restored and Charles II became king. Milton was arrested, briefly imprisoned, and placed on house arrest. Milton is the fallen and tragic hero. Satan is an allegory for Milton.
Obviously, readers can choose for themselves how to interpret Satan's statement.
A Brief Look at Homer's Interpretation In Homer's Illiad, Achilles is given the choice between two fates. In book 9, Achilles tells Odysseus, Phoenix, and Ajax:
"For my mother the goddess, silver-footed Thetis, tells me
that two fates sweep me on to my death. If I stay here and fight,
I shall not return alive, but my glory will be undying forever.
If I return home to my dear fatherland, my glory is lost,
but my life will be long, and death will not come to me quickly."
According to what Achilles says, he gets to choose. He eventually chooses
kleos (glory) after his friend Patroclus is killed in battle by Hector. Achilles dies young but his glory lives on. (He was played by Brad Pitt in Troy!)
In The Odyssey, when Odysseus goes to the underworld, Achilles has a change of heart or mind, or whatever the dead possess. As the dead, Achilles regrets his kleos. Not only would he have preferred his long peaceful life, he would even prefer the life as a servant of a poor man.
The literal reading is Achilles thinks kleos is overrated: life is greater than kleos.
Another idea, is that The Iliad and The Odyssey are different stories with different main ideas. The Iliad is a story about the heroics of war and glory of dying in battle. Where The Odyssey is about life and nostos (homecoming). Achilles is a foil character for Odysseus.
Another reading is that death striped Achilles of his identity. All his strength, power, and agency are gone. Achilles went from being the baddest dude on the planet to just another dead guy. He has no power or agency. He's just dead, so he is bitter. A interesting note, the other characters in the underworld do not share Achilles's dread, bu they other characters were Achilles.
The funnest interpretation is that Achilles is just an angry asshole. If you continuing reading the passage, Achilles seems like his angry self from The Iliad. Achilles is rage and anger, so why shouldn't he be mad and bitter in the underworld?
Conclusion
I love all the passages and lines shared above. I love Miltion's take on Satan. I love Satan's desire for freedom. I love his defiance. I also love how Achilles possibly regrets his kleos.
It's not an easy choice for me. I want to be remembered when I'm dead. I do not like the idea of being forgotten, but I don't like the idea of dying either.
If given Achilles original fates, I'd choose a long forgettable life. I agree with Satan that the mind is a place. We can create a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven. I'll take my chances with a long life.
The Odyssey Book 11 lines 489-491 Translations
Samuel Butler (1900) – More Direct, Readable
"Say not a word," he replied, "in death’s favor; I would rather be a paid servant in a poor man's house and be above ground than king of kings among the dead."
Robert Fitzgerald (1961) – Formal and Poetic
"Let me hear no smooth talk of death from you, Odysseus,
light of councils. Better, I say, to break sod as a farm hand
for some poor country man, on iron rations,
than lord it over all the exhausted dead."
Richmond Lattimore (1965) – More Literal, Preserves Greek Structure
"O shining Odysseus, never try to console me for dying.
I would rather follow the plow as thrall to another
man, one with no land allotted him and not much to live on,
than be a king over all the perished dead."
Robert Fagles (1996) – Lyrical and Poetic
"No winning words about death to me, shining Odysseus!
By god, I’d rather slave on earth for another man—
some dirt-poor tenant farmer who scrapes to keep alive—
than rule down here over all the breathless dead."
Emily Wilson (2018) – Modern, Iambi"Odysseus, don’t try to sell me on death.
I’d rather be a hired hand back up on earth,
Slaving away for some poor dirt farmer,
Than lord it over all these withered dead."
The Iliad, Book 9, lines 410–416 English Translations:
Richmond Lattimore (1951):
"For my mother the goddess, silver-footed Thetis, tells me
that two fates sweep me on to my death. If I stay here and fight,
I shall not return alive, but my glory will be undying forever.
If I return home to my dear fatherland, my glory is lost,
but my life will be long, and death will not come to me quickly."
Robert Fagles (1990): "Two fates bear me on to the day of death.
If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy,
my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies.
If I voyage back to the fatherland I love,
my pride, my glory dies…
true, but the life that's left me will be long,
the stroke of death will not come on me quickly."
