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The Concept of Civilization in Homer's Odyssey
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Authored by Frank Redmond, 2005
The Phaeacian way of life, in juxtaposition to the Cyclopean way of life, is structured, sophisticated, and harmonious; in a word, civilized. The Phaeacians live in a society where everything works together as a structured whole. Thus, their society is lawful and cultured, whereas the Cyclopes' is precisely the opposite. Furthermore, their society has many technai [arts], which is something that the Cyclopes as a whole lack. It is precisely these basic attributes - law, organization, and craftsmanship - that make civilization possible, for without them barbarism easily rears its ugly head.
The most important institution of Phaeacian civilization is the assembly. Their whole civilization revolves around this one focal point. The men not only come together in assembly to discuss the common law and order of Phaeacia, but they also come together to participate in each others' pleasure and the pleasures of excellent food, drink, and dancing. However, they do not go about pleasuring themselves like the Cyclopes who engorge themselves on primitive foods and human flesh. In contradistinction, the Phaeacians indulge in “pears and pomegranates, apple trees with glossy fruit, sweet figs and luxuriant olives” (8.112-4) and luxuries like “the chine of a white-tusked boar with rich fat” (8.474-5). They eat the fruits of civilization that they have reaped for themselves through the art of cultivation. In contrast, the Cyclopes are so primitive that they even lack the rudimentary art of farming and cultivation - “The Cyclopes, a fierce, lawless people … never lift a hand to plant or plough but just leave everything to the immortal gods. All the crops they require spring up unsown and untilled” (9.107-10). It is also evident that the Cyclopes lack any sense of communal law or justice. Rather, the Cyclopes “have no assemblies for the making of laws, nor any established legal codes, but live in hollow caverns in the mountain heights, where each man is lawgiver to his own children and women” (9.111-4). We can infer from this statement that the Cyclopes, therefore, live in a state of absolute anarchy where each man is for himself. Because they lack a centralized assembly of law and culture, the Cyclopes cannot reap the benefits of civilization, namely leisure and pleasures. Instead they will perpetually find themselves in a situation of bellum omnium contra omnes, living aloof in their own lawless ways.
Furthermore, unlike the Cyclopes who wall themselves inside their own caverns and have no interest in their neighbor's affairs, the civilized Phaeacians are proud to come out to revel in each other's company. The Phaeacians actively encourage the art of storytelling and conversation. This activity allows the men of the assembly to intellectually and artistically connect with one another, an activity totally alien to the Cyclopes. The gratitude and appreciation that the Phaeacians have for the art of a man like Demodocus would be incomprehensible to the Cyclopes. The Phaeacians' ability to be intellectually engaged, rather than just instinctually engaged like the Cyclopes, makes them civilized.
But what of the competitive games that the Phaeacians hold? Do they not disrupt the harmonic and civilized nature of their society? No. Rather, what makes the games of the Phaeacians civilized is the fact that they proceed in an orderly manner and are a communal activity. As Homer indicates: “The Phaeacian nobility … set out to see the games. They all made for the place of assembly and were followed there by a vast crowd” (8.107-8). As we can see, this is no random, sordid affair, but a well-managed gathering with the oversight of the nobility. The Cyclopes, on the other hand, would be completely unable to hold an event like the games since they lack the centralization of the Phaeacians. The Cyclopes would not compete with one another as much as they would try to violently usurp and overcome one another in an effort to win. Their games would be a messy, chaotic affair without rules and regulations. Furthermore, for the Phaeacians, the games are a place where men go out to show off their cultivated skill at a particular game. There is a grace and excellence involved in the Phaeacian's approach to sports; intelligence and expert skill is required to excel in Phaeacian sports. If the Cyclopes were to compete with one another, no skill would be necessary since only brute strength and irrational brawn would be needed to win. As Alcinous so manifestly says: “I want you [Odysseus] to be able to tell your noble friends that Zeus has given us too certain skills, which we have possessed from our forefathers' time to the present day. Though our boxing and wrestling are not outstanding, we can run fast and we are first-rate seamen” (8.244-7).
The Phaeacians are also, importantly, a god-fearing people who aid strangers along their way; this attribute separates them from the savage, arrogant attitude that the Cyclopes have towards strangers. The Phaeacians respect the will of Zeus, who is the god of strangers, and help strangers, like Odysseus, when they arrive to their island. In juxtaposition, in their savagery, the Cyclopes denounce their duty to Zeus, and in turn, their duty to strangers. Like Polyphemus puts it: “We Cyclopes care nothing for Zeus with his aegis, nor for the rest of the blessed gods, since we are stronger than they are. I would never spare you or your men for fear of incurring Zeus' enmity, unless I felt like it” (9.276-9). Only a barbaric culture like the Cyclopes' would have the gall to refuse to assist a stranger and to repudiate the power of Zeus. In contrast, the Phaeacians try to make Odysseus feel as homely as possible in their kingdom before sending him on his way. Arete provides him graciously with a bed furnished with the finest of garments and blankets; additionally, he is given food, a bath, and cheerful company.
What also makes the Phaeacians more civilized than the Cyclopes is their sophisticated art of seafaring. The Cyclopes' inability to sail, let alone get off their own island, makes them uncivilized. The Cyclopes are prisoners to their own island home since they lack the intelligence and technical craft to venture out further, even to the fertile island found adjacent to theirs. As the text says: “Not very far from the harbor of the Cyclopes” country .. there lies a luxuriant island. […] The Cyclopes have nothing like our ships with their crimson prows; they have no shipwrights to build merchantmen that could give them the means of sailing across the sea to visit foreign towns and people, as other nations do. Such craftsman would have turned the [adjacent] island into a fine colony for the Cyclopes“ (9.118-9; 9.124-130). As can be inferred, not only are the Cyclopes not capable of sailing, they are devoid of any sophisticated art or craft that would advance their civilization beyond its present cradle-like state.