Homeric Parallels in Ulysses’ Hades Chapter: Analyzing the Journey into Death and Return to Life

The ultimate danger lies within death; he worst failure in a journey is when the hero falls to the fiery grasp of Hell. Much like Odysseus - a Greek hero whose tale can be found in The Odyssey - Leopold Bloom travels into Hades in episode six of Ulysses. The theme of death is a constant recurrence throughout Ulysses, and "Hades", as its name implies, is the one chapter where death reigns. But "Hades" centers more on escaping Hell and returning to the land of the living. The heroes, in the face of death, come back to life. Odysseus and Bloom are mirrored characters, and they both have managed to escape the Underworld.

This essays main goal will be to analyses the Homeric parallels between Odysseus' journey in the Underworld and Bloom's travel to Payday Diagram's funeral, a real-life journey into the depths of Hell. First of all, the Homeric parallels in episode six begin with the use of the number eleven. (l should note right away that the funeral for Payday Digamma begins at eleven a. M. ) Eleven is an essential piece of the episode, since it is a number that represents sin and death. To understand why eleven is considered a bad number, we must go back to old times.

In ancient societies, pacifically Christian and/or Catholic cultures, the Decoupage, or the Ten Commandments, was used as a reference into writing laws. The number ten was considered a holy number, because there were ten fundamental laws to be followed in Catholic communities. Seeing as the number eleven oversteps ten, it was considered by many to be a "transgression of law and of sin" (Saint- Augustine, 464). Both Homer and Joyce were aware of the symbolism of the number eleven. The two authors went out of their way to weave the number into their works.

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However, the two writers did not use eleven as a symbol of in, but rather death. For example, in Homers The Iliad, Achilles grants the Trojan eleven days to complete Hectors funeral rites before the battle recommences. (Bell, 404) If we were to compare The Iliad with The Odyssey, we would see a similarity in the funeral rites. When Odysseus descends into the Underworld, he meets the ghost of one of his men, Lovelorn, who had fallen to his death when he fell asleep in the tower on Circle's island. Lovelorn begs Odysseus to give him a proper funeral, just as Hector had received.

Let's now switch over to Ulysses: because Diagram's funeral begins at eleven 'clock, Digamma is a parallel to Lovelorn, who is a parallel of Hector. These parallels explain why Joyce uses the number eleven in "Hades". But enough about numbers. Lees discuss parallels in the novel. Joyce has a habit of linking each chapter in some way or another. By this, mean themes and concepts from previous chapters parallel chapters further on in the novel. For example, "Sirens" focused on the element of sound, whereas "Cyclops" contrasts and concentrates on sight. Similarly, "Hades" is a parallel to "Protests" with its life and death themes.

At the beginning of episode three, the themes of life and earth appear immediately. Stephen encounters a midwife carrying a bag; he thinks the bag holds a "miniskirt with a trailing nevermore, hushed in ruddy wool. " (3. 36) Midwives are seen as a symbol of birth, because they assist women giving birth. However, the chapter's theme quickly switches when Stephen realizes the baby is deceased. The "ruddy wool" solidifies this mood change; in chapter four, we learn that Bloom's son, named Rudy, had passed away around ten years ago. Rudy had been buried in a "ruddy red" wool sweater.

With Stephen thinking of his dead mother, and his seeing a dead dog n the beach, the concept of death is present throughout the episode. By contrast, "Hades" begins with an immediate mention of death. Bloom, Martin Cunningham, Simon Deals and Jack Power are heading to Payday Diagram's funeral. Just like when we get a glimpse of death in the 'life chapter' "Protests", we get a glimpse of life in the 'death chapter' "Hades". As Bloom climbs into the carriage to get to the cemetery, he wipes off bits of crumbs on his suit. These crumbs are a reference to the "potted meat" (17. 124-5) we see on Molly's bed; the crumbs are a metaphor for copulating, and thus birth and fife. The main difference between "Protests" and "Hades" is that, in episode six, the theme of death is far more elaborated. From the coffin-tight carriage the men travel in, to the cattle being shipped off to the slaughterhouse, to the mention of Bloom's father's suicide, to the rats crawling out from the graves, Joyce has created a real-life depiction of Hell. What is scary about this episode is the fact that, given the God of Death's reputation in Greek and Roman literature, if Bloom really is descending into Hades, he may not make it out.

Greek mythology describes Hades as the God f the Dead. According to legends, the lord of the Underworld kept a close eye on the dead souls, ensuring they do not flee the Underworld. One of Homer's plays, The Odyssey, recounts Odysseus managing to escape from Hades. Odysseus was lucky, since not many heroes have succeeded in escaping the Underworld. The very fact that anyone had been able to break out of the Underworld is a miracle. With this in mind, we are left to wonder if Bloom can make it out of the cemetery 'alive'. The descent into Hell is seen as a dangerous, but also heroic act, especially in Greek and Roman literature.

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