Food for Thought

A Response to The Odyssey, attributed to Homer

Is the journey the reward? In Phaeacia, Odysseus explains the stomach’s influence. It represents the core of the body. The belly is the guiding force, the gut instinct behind a person. Odysseus chooses to follow his gut and consequently survives every obstacle.

The human form is perfectly functional when all of the constituent parts run in harmony. However, if someone neglects certain pieces the results can be fatal. The belly, hidden away, seems insignificant to a person.

The belly’s a shameless dog, there’s nothing worse. Always insisting, pressing, it never lets us forget- destroyed as I am, my heart racked with sadness, sick with anguish, still it keeps demanding, ‘Eat, drink!’ It blots out all the memory of my pain, commanding, ‘Fill me up!’ (186).

It can seize control of the mind if it is left unattended. If the head is the authority, the decision-maker, what does it mean that it can be so easily swayed by the stomach? The mind can temporarily suppress hunger, but inevitably the hunger will rage up and consume the mind. The head determines the fate of the body, but the stomach provides the foundation for it. If a card is pulled from the bottom of the structure, the carefully crafted house of cards collapses.

A sturdy base can hold up the rest of the framework. Odysseus’ most basic desire is to return home. This is his guiding force. The delectable temptation to journey home is too much for Odysseus to ignore. He yearns for the welcome of a familiar hearth that provides comfort. That is the bounty that he longs to devour. When Calypso holds him on the island, he is essentially useless, “weeping there as always” (155). However, after Odysseus “fortified himself” by restarting his pursuit of home he is able to tread water for days a time (155). Treading water implies keeping the head above the water level. He saves his head by following his gut instinct.

The other element of the stomach is, of course, physical. Food is a basic necessity for life. Therefore, when Odysseus does not eat for those days that he is stranded out at sea, he loses his strength. His mind must go into its unconscious state to escape from the pain of his empty belly. Athena sent “sleep in a swift wave delivering him from all his pains and labors” (167). However, she must wake, guide and hide him until he is nourished. “The awesome goddess poured an enchanted mist around him” (180). It requires external influence to overcome the nagging of an empty stomach.

A well-nourished body can endure strife. A neglected belly can become the Achilles’ heel of even the strongest man. It erases memory and reason, reverting man back to a savage state. Odysseus’ epic journey home proves trying. However, isn’t the sweet satisfaction of satiating that hunger rewarding enough to justify the trials? There is little that is more comforting than a full stomach. Odysseus’ ultimate feast is his homecoming.