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    Labour MP blasts ‘coked-up yobbery’ of far right protestors as she hits out at ‘disaster’ of asylum hotels

    Labour MP blasts ‘coked-up yobbery’ of far right protestors as she hits out at ‘disaster’ of asylum hotels

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    Blow for Scottish Conservatives as MSP quits party in protest at ‘reactionary politics’

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    SNP Government ‘failing stroke patients’ as average treatment waiting time over two hours

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    MSP demands Donald Trump pay up to cover costs of policing for Scottish visit

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    Glasgow domestic waste sent to Spain as part of SNP council recycling drive

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    Scots selling counterfeit goods less likely to face prosecution as conviction rate plummets

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    Librarian cuts at Glasgow schools will ‘rob kids of opportunities’ as SNP Government urged to intervene

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    Nicola Sturgeon agrees to TV special as ex-SNP leader to be grilled on ‘striking revelations’ in new book

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    Donald Trump diary reveals exact time he will arrive in Scotland

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    Scots ‘forced to wait years’ for hernia operations as NHS struggles to meet demand

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    System must work to protect public as report finds chances missed with Southport killer

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    NHS in Scotland ‘stuck in analogue age’ as health boards shell out millions on pagers

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      Bank of England hikes interest rates to 1.25%

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      Hiring activity in Scotland slows amid steep decline in staff availability

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      Scotland’s plunging coefficient faces threat from Sweden as Champions League abyss awaits

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      Rangers brutally mocked by Belgian big mouth as rebuilding Brugge told UCL rivals aren’t ‘serious’

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      Jamie Vardy handed Celtic transfer pitch as two deals reach endgame

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      Etienne Youte breaks cover as Celtic issued Jakob Breum red flag before key transfer deadline

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      Lyall Cameron slammed for ‘disrespect’ as Rangers new boy comes under fire for Dundee ‘jibes’

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      Celtic risk blowing £1.6m transfer windfall as defensive duo head out on loan – Parkhead news bulletin

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      Kieran Tierney genius exposes ‘sloppy’ Ajax as Celtic earn rival acclaim despite Como Cup hammering

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      Andrej Bacanin makes Celtic transfer intentions clear amid Rangers claim as direct link with Lennon Miller emerges

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        The top state schools in Wales for GCSE results

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        Labour MP blasts ‘coked-up yobbery’ of far right protestors as she hits out at ‘disaster’ of asylum hotels

        Labour MP blasts ‘coked-up yobbery’ of far right protestors as she hits out at ‘disaster’ of asylum hotels

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        Blow for Scottish Conservatives as MSP quits party in protest at ‘reactionary politics’

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        SNP Government ‘failing stroke patients’ as average treatment waiting time over two hours

        MSP demands Donald Trump pay up to cover costs of policing for Scottish visit

        MSP demands Donald Trump pay up to cover costs of policing for Scottish visit

        Glasgow domestic waste sent to Spain as part of SNP council recycling drive

        Glasgow domestic waste sent to Spain as part of SNP council recycling drive

        Scots selling counterfeit goods less likely to face prosecution as conviction rate plummets

        Scots selling counterfeit goods less likely to face prosecution as conviction rate plummets

        Librarian cuts at Glasgow schools will ‘rob kids of opportunities’ as SNP Government urged to intervene

        Librarian cuts at Glasgow schools will ‘rob kids of opportunities’ as SNP Government urged to intervene

        Nicola Sturgeon agrees to TV special as ex-SNP leader to be grilled on ‘striking revelations’ in new book

        Nicola Sturgeon agrees to TV special as ex-SNP leader to be grilled on ‘striking revelations’ in new book

        Donald Trump diary reveals exact time he will arrive in Scotland

        Donald Trump diary reveals exact time he will arrive in Scotland

        Scots ‘forced to wait years’ for hernia operations as NHS struggles to meet demand

        Scots ‘forced to wait years’ for hernia operations as NHS struggles to meet demand

        System must work to protect public as report finds chances missed with Southport killer

        System must work to protect public as report finds chances missed with Southport killer

        NHS in Scotland ‘stuck in analogue age’ as health boards shell out millions on pagers

        NHS in Scotland ‘stuck in analogue age’ as health boards shell out millions on pagers

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          Salesforce boss Marc Benioff joins Weev.

          What is a virtual office and why you need one in Central London – Your Company Formations Ltd

          What is a virtual office and why you need one in Central London – Your Company Formations Ltd

          Inflation rises again to new 40-year high

          Inflation rises again to new 40-year high

          Bank of England hikes interest rates to 1.25%

          Bank of England hikes interest rates to 1.25%

          Hiring activity in Scotland slows amid steep decline in staff availability

          Hiring activity in Scotland slows amid steep decline in staff availability

          Scottish retail footfall growth ‘worst in UK compared to pre-pandemic’

          Scottish retail footfall growth ‘worst in UK compared to pre-pandemic’

        • Sports
          Raging Fabrizio Romano fires back at fan for branding him a ‘fraud’

          Raging Fabrizio Romano fires back at fan for branding him a ‘fraud’

          Scotland’s plunging coefficient faces threat from Sweden as Champions League abyss awaits

          Scotland’s plunging coefficient faces threat from Sweden as Champions League abyss awaits

          Rangers brutally mocked by Belgian big mouth as rebuilding Brugge told UCL rivals aren’t ‘serious’

          Rangers brutally mocked by Belgian big mouth as rebuilding Brugge told UCL rivals aren’t ‘serious’

          Jamie Vardy handed Celtic transfer pitch as two deals reach endgame

          Jamie Vardy handed Celtic transfer pitch as two deals reach endgame

          Etienne Youte breaks cover as Celtic issued Jakob Breum red flag before key transfer deadline

          Etienne Youte breaks cover as Celtic issued Jakob Breum red flag before key transfer deadline

          Lyall Cameron slammed for ‘disrespect’ as Rangers new boy comes under fire for Dundee ‘jibes’

          Lyall Cameron slammed for ‘disrespect’ as Rangers new boy comes under fire for Dundee ‘jibes’

          Celtic risk blowing £1.6m transfer windfall as defensive duo head out on loan – Parkhead news bulletin

          Celtic risk blowing £1.6m transfer windfall as defensive duo head out on loan – Parkhead news bulletin

          Prince William’s firm five-word statement to Chloe Kelly about Euros goal uncovered by lip reader

          Prince William’s firm five-word statement to Chloe Kelly about Euros goal uncovered by lip reader

          Kieran Tierney genius exposes ‘sloppy’ Ajax as Celtic earn rival acclaim despite Como Cup hammering

          Kieran Tierney genius exposes ‘sloppy’ Ajax as Celtic earn rival acclaim despite Como Cup hammering

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          Andrej Bacanin makes Celtic transfer intentions clear amid Rangers claim as direct link with Lennon Miller emerges

          Rangers strongest XI for Panathinaikos as Thelo Aasgaard injury blow opens door for Euro history-maker

          Rangers strongest XI for Panathinaikos as Thelo Aasgaard injury blow opens door for Euro history-maker

          Celtic could ‘renew interest’ in Evan Ferguson as transfer hijack follows Yamada hint and Ambrosino U turn

          Celtic could ‘renew interest’ in Evan Ferguson as transfer hijack follows Yamada hint and Ambrosino U turn

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            Shoppers leave Sky for ‘easy to use’ TV recorder that lets you watch telly for free

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            Changing the way you walk could help knee arthritis and delay surgery

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            Tesco recalls popular beauty and skincare product over nasty infection risk

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            DWP urges people in their 60s to check State Pension age before changes start next year

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          Odyssey by Stephen Fry – the tales of return from the Trojan war are charmingly retold but at an uncomfortable cost

          by BP Author
          October 4, 2024
          in World
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          Stephen Fry’s Odyssey is the final instalment in his retellings of Greek myth that began with Mythos. Here, Fry tells us, we move away from the turbulent creation of the gods and the swashbuckling heroes of old, into “a profoundly human story”: a tale of one man’s journey home “to a world of farm and family”.

          But it turns out that, somewhat surprisingly, the “hero” who is looking for home isn’t only Odysseus. In Odyssey’s first half, despite the title, we find the Odysseus story interweaving with those of Agamemnon, Ajax (the one who raped Cassandra and caused Athena’s wrath upon the returning Greeks), Menelaus and Helen, and even the Trojan, Aeneas. So this story isn’t just about an Odyssey: it’s about many returns home.

          And this is true to the world in which the Homeric epics were composed. We know that there were multiple oral tales of different “returns” (“nostoi” in Greek) from the Trojan war. Each of the Greek heroes who were said to have sailed back from Troy – Agamemnon, king of the Greeks, for example, or Menelaus, husband of Helen – likely had their own return poem. It’s a great tragedy that the Odyssey is the only one of the return epics we have left to us.

          We all know, by now, the charm and wit that Fry brings to his myth retellings; and, for many readers, this will be a delightful entry point to the story of the Odyssey, as well as the other return myths. It offers up a palatable and entertaining version of Homer’s epic, sprinkled with the stories of Agamemnon and the House of Atreus. It sparkles with Fry’s trademark light-hearted style and, sure as anything, delivers a ripping good yarn.

          The individual heroes are woven with insight and a lightness of touch, while a certain roguishness characterises much of the humour – for example, when Odysseus and his son Telemachus poke their tongues out at each other when they meet. And, as one would expect from the former presenter of QI, there is an abounding delight in exploring etymologies, often in lengthy footnotes (just to give an example: one covers everything from a Greek hero to the genus of albatrosses). The infectious enthusiasm for knowledge is contagious and Fry manages to carry off even a 12-line footnote.

          Yet the simplification of the tales – and Fry seems, at times, to be well aware of it – comes at a cost; particularly in a certain bluntness of characterisation, and especially when it comes to women. For instance, in the tale of Agamemnon’s homecoming where he returns to Greece and his wife Clytemnestra kills him in revenge for his sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia. In Fry’s retelling Agamemnon is presented very much as the good father who was simply doing his duty by killing his daughter; while Clytemnestra is the bad mother who is glad to have got rid of her children.

          Meanwhile, Odysseus’ famous return to Ithaca after 20 years is also portrayed with a twist. In the Odyssey, Odysseus comes home in the guise of a beggar and finds Penelope beset by suitors who believe he has died. Penelope proposes a bow competition, the winner of which will have her hand in marriage. Odysseus wins and takes violent revenge upon the suitors.

          In Fry’s retelling this story becomes a romantic fairytale with the hero sweeping in and reducing the thankful wife to her knees, rather than the altogether more complex drama of myth. There is no discomfort at Odysseus’ infidelity. There is no suggestion that Penelope might have worked out that the beggar in disguise was Odysseus. At one particularly uncomfortable moment, Fry makes Odysseus come up with the idea of the contest of the bow (it was absolutely Penelope’s, via Athena). Above all, however, he excises Telemachus’ horrendous hanging of the 12 enslaved women (for the “crime” of being raped by the suitors). Instead, Fry presents these women as “enjoying very special relationships with certain of the suitors”.

          Fry’s Odyssey is an entertaining retelling that thrums with Fry’s charming, quick-witted prose. It is, indeed, a tale in search of “a hero”. But the Odyssey is not, in the end, a simple tale of a hero who finds his way home.

          To present Odysseus as the ingenious mastermind behind the contest of the bow (not Penelope) and the faithful husband on his return; to present Telemachus as the eager son who doesn’t commit an awful slaughter of raped enslaved women, is to create a certain view of the Odyssey.

          It’s a familiar one, to be sure. But it is worth remembering that the Odyssey itself contains other avenues; that it has other – to quote Margaret Atwood who herself re-imagined the story from Penelope and the twelve hanged women’s perspective – “darker alleyways”. I wonder what we are to make of the fact that, in Fry’s Odyssey, some of them are left unexplored.


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