{"id":143226081,"date":"2024-04-24T12:30:40","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T12:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=143226081"},"modified":"2024-04-24T12:30:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T12:30:40","slug":"the-epics-want-you-to-remember-some-guys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=143226081","title":{"rendered":"The Epics Want You To Remember Some Guys"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8220;I beg you by those you left behind, so far from here, \/ &#8230; my lord, remember me, I beg you! Don&#8217;t sail off \/ and desert me, left behind unwept, unburied, don&#8217;t.&#8221; &#8211; Elpenor, &#8216;The Odyssey&#8217;<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/shipwreckedsailor.substack.com\/p\/the-internet-is-a-nazi-bar\">Nazis unwelcome: here\u2019s my post about moving this blog off of Substack soon<\/a>. I might put this stinger on every post until then to try to irritate <a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/@hamish\/note\/c-45811343\">Nazi Sympathizer Hamish McKenzie<\/a>. I might forget\/get bored and stop. Not today though!<\/em><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cotton Xenomorph\u2019s <em>\u201cCryptids and Climate Change\u201d issue continues, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cottonxenomorph.com\/journal\/2024\/4\/20\/morning-routine\">\u201cMorning Routine\u201d by Ben Gibbons<\/a> getting us more in touch with nature as we journey on<\/em> <em>our literary <\/em>Nostromo.<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With apologies to <a href=\"https:\/\/the-distraction-a-defector-podcast.simplecast.com\/\">David Roth and Drew Magary over at <\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/the-distraction-a-defector-podcast.simplecast.com\/\">Defector<\/a><\/em>, I\u2019d like to highlight one of my favorite aspects of the Homeric bloodfests: the \u201cThis Stanza Is Here To Honor This Guy\u201d stanza. <em>The Iliad<\/em> is framed by the rage of Achilles, as I talked about\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/shipwreckedsailor.substack.com\/p\/friday-links-repent-for-the-sun-shall\">a few Fridays ago<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/thus-the-line-break-read-homer-writer-of-epics\/id1524056726?i=1000653334145\">yesterday\u2019s <\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/thus-the-line-break-read-homer-writer-of-epics\/id1524056726?i=1000653334145\">The Line Break<\/a><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/thus-the-line-break-read-homer-writer-of-epics\/id1524056726?i=1000653334145\"> podcast<\/a>\u2014but in between is nonstop brutal war and everyone has have their family lineages and brief eulogies shouted out. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What I was trying to get at on the podcast was: if you\u2019re writing the rage the Achilles in the 21st century, well, Achilles and his grievances are conspicuously absent from a huge chunk of the poem. You\u2019d trim a bunch of this fat off.  What <span class=\"mention-wrap\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Bob Sykora&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:4418940,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/08735bc3-9219-47e9-bb05-a72e3369d2f9_813x960.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;3c3757d8-e427-4437-8150-b235b16866f7&quot;}\" data-component-name=\"MentionToDOM\"\/> called \u201cthat one book where they\u2019re listing off everybody and their ships.\u201d The texts seem insistent on giving as many people their due as possible, though. The only way I can think to read it is that this had some import in a society with a mostly oral tradition, and certainly in a society so concerned with lineages. You have to remember your neighbors, allies, those past. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s look at a few and see if we learn anything. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <em>The Iliad<\/em>, Book 4, \u201cThe Truce Erupts In War\u201d(translated by Robert Fagles)<\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">And Telamonian Ajax struck Anthemion\u2019s son, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">the hardy stripling Simoisius, still unwed\u2026<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">His mother had borne him along the Simois\u2019 banks<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">when she trailed her parents down the slopes of Ida <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">to tend their flocks, and so they called him Simoisius.<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">But never would he repay his loving parents now<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">for the gift of rearing\u2014his life cut short so soon, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">brought down by the spear of lionhearted Ajax. <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">At the first charge he slashed his right nipple <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">clean through the shoulder went the brazen point<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">and down in the dust he fell like a lithe black poplar<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">shot up tall and strong in the spreading marshy flats, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">the trunk trimmed but its head a shock of branches. <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">A chariot-maker fells it with a shining iron ax<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">as timber to bend for handsome chariot wheels<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">and there it lies, seasoning by the river\u2026<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">So lay Anthemion\u2019s son Simoisius, cut down <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">by the giant royal Ajax. <\/pre><\/div><\/blockquote><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Look, your son? Simoisius? We all liked him. He was beautiful, like a tree. How did he fare on the battlefield? Like a tree that a <em>chariot-maker<\/em> cuts down. But he makes a beautiful spoke on the chariot wheel! <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/85c9309d-2b9e-4bfd-b741-be0e0caaed02_409x599.png\" alt=\"File:Getty Open Image kleophrades-painter-attic-panathenaic-amphora-greek-attic-490-480-bc depicting four horse chariot race 00871101.png\"\/><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Book 5, \u201cDiomedes Fights The Gods,\u201d has a litany of seconds-after-they\u2019ve-fallen elegies. Really could just type up the whole book to illustrate my point. Here\u2019s one:<\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">Meriones killed Phereclus\u2014son of Tecton, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">son of the blacksmith Harmon\u2014the fighter\u2019s hands<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">had the skill to craft all kinds of complex work <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">since Pallas Athena loved him most, her prot\u00e9g\u00e9<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">who had built Paris his steady, balanced ships, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">trim launchers of death, freighted with death<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">for all of Troy and now for the shipwright too: <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">what could the man know of all the gods\u2019 decrees? <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">Meriones caught him quickly, running him down hard<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">and speared him low in the right buttock\u2014the point<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">pounding under the pelvis, jabbed and pierced the bladder\u2014<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">he dropped to his knees, screaming, death swirling round him. <\/pre><\/div><\/blockquote><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Skilled enough to build Paris\u2019s ships (I assume he did? Could be reading antecedents wrong?), present enough to die in Paris\u2019s war. Ignore those military recruiters in your high school cafeteria, kids! The United States Government\u2014like coward Paris\u2014does not give one single rat\u2019s ass about you and your service. Speaking of asses, poor Phereclus. Recorded by the poet for all of history as dying thanks to an ass-stab. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/cbf39db1-b5d0-4ebb-b1aa-80f1d0a10daf_794x596.jpeg\" alt=\"2024 Pop Art Butt 02 4x4 Acrylic Painting image 1\"\/><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <em>The Odyssey<\/em>, the main inspiration for this article. This dude is perhaps the second-most pathetic figure in Homer (after Paris)\u2014yet also the most relatable for the 16-24 demographic. Elpenor is a guy with a name that feels like you got a stress ball stuck in your throat, and he\u2019s introduced in Book 10: \u201cThe Bewitching of Queen Aeaea\u201d like this: <\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">There was a man, Elpenor, the youngest in our ranks, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">none too brave in battle, none too sound in mind. <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">He\u2019d strayed from his mates in Circe\u2019s magic halls<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">and keen for the cool night air, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">sodden with wine he\u2019d bedded own on her roofs. <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">But roused by the shouts and tread of marching men, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">he leapt up with a start at dawn but still so dazed <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">he forgot to climb back down again by the long ladder\u2014<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">headfirst from the roof he plunged, his neck snapped<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">from the backbone, his soul flew down to Death. <\/pre><\/div><\/blockquote><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Great work, everybody. Hey, you go to war with the army you have, right Rumsfeld? <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/9cbff92e-b911-45e4-9d54-f9f73a75db31_1170x1448.jpeg\"\/><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the very next book, \u201cThe Kingdom of the Dead,\u201d Odysseus has to travel\u2014you\u2019re not gonna believe this\u2014to the underworld, where the dead live. Who is the first person he speaks to? His mother, maybe? His fallen comrades from the war? Nah, dude, <a href=\"https:\/\/bigcitygreens.fandom.com\/wiki\/Itchaboi\">itchaboi Elpenor<\/a>! I\u2019ll copy his speech in full, since it\u2019s all he goddamn gets in these codexes: <\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">\u2018Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, old campaigner, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">the doom of an angry god, and god knows how much wine\u2014<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">they were my ruin, captain\u2026I\u2019d bedded down<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">on the roof of Circe\u2019s house but never thought<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">to climb back down again by the longer ladder\u2014<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">headfirst from the roof I plunged, my neck snapped<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">from the backbone, my soul flew down to Death. Now, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">I beg you by those you left behind, so far from here, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">your wife, your father who bred and reared you as a boy, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">and Telemachus, left at home in your halls, your only son. <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">Well I know when you leave this lodging of the dead<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">that you and your ship will put ashore again <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">at the island of Aeaea\u2014then and there, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">my lord, remember me, I beg you! Don\u2019t sail off<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">and desert me, left behind unwept, unburied, don\u2019t, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">or my curse may draw god\u2019s fury on your head. <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">No, burn me in full amor, all my harness, <\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">heap my mound by the churning gray surf\u2014<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">a man whose luck ran out\u2014<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">so even men to come will learn my story.<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">Perform my rites, and plant on my tomb that oar<\/pre><\/div><div class=\"preformatted-block\" data-component-name=\"PreformattedTextBlockToDOM\"><label class=\"hide-text\" contenteditable=\"false\">Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published<\/label><pre class=\"text\">I swung with mates when I rowed among the living.\u2019<\/pre><\/div><\/blockquote><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What does it mean to include this passage? The intentionalist critic would probably say something about how important it was to ancient Greeks that people get proper funeral rites. How Odysseus, as king, has an obligation to even the most dip of shit and dumb of ass members of his crew. \u201cHey, I got drunk and forgot I was on a roof. I forgot you had to use a ladder to get off of a roof. I forgot so hard I broke my neck. Please don\u2019t condemn me to an eternity of torment because I woke up in a strange place and hadn\u2019t had my coffee yet.\u201d Okay, quick funeral rites, bathroom breaks for everyone, and then <em>I have got to get home to my wife and son, please<\/em>. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What I\u2019ll say, as a socialist doing reader response criticism for a blog, is this: what you do to the least among you, so too you do unto Jesus. Everyone matters, none are more exalted than the other, and you know what? Accidents happen. Elpenor\u2019s been condemned to an eternity of having his balls busted, but that eternity should happen at a nice hot spring with all his homies and plenty of ouzo or raki, not Hell. You take the time out of your epic journey to go back to the beach and bury Elpenor, because he was your friend, neighbor, comrade\u2014because he was a person, too. Even though he was none too bright or brave in battle, he was still something: <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A guy. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A guy worth remembering. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve been Rick Reilly, thanks for reading <em>Sports Illustrated<\/em>. <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sorry you got an email, <\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chris<\/p><div class=\"subscription-widget-wrap-editor\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/shipwreckedsailor.substack.com\/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}\" data-component-name=\"SubscribeWidgetToDOM\"><div class=\"subscription-widget show-subscribe\"><div class=\"preamble\"><p class=\"cta-caption\">Thanks for reading shipwrecked sailor! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.<\/p><\/div><form class=\"subscription-widget-subscribe\"><input type=\"email\" class=\"email-input\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Type your email\u2026\" tabindex=\"-1\"\/><input type=\"submit\" class=\"button primary\" value=\"Subscribe\"\/><div class=\"fake-input-wrapper\"><div class=\"fake-input\"\/><div class=\"fake-button\"\/><\/div><\/form><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I beg you by those you left behind, so far from here, \/ &#8230; my lord, remember me, I beg you! Don&#8217;t sail off \/ and desert me, left behind unwept, unburied, don&#8217;t.&#8221; &#8211; Elpenor, &#8216;The Odyssey&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143226081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143226081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=143226081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143226081\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=143226081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=143226081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=143226081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}