On Odyssey 10.274-335

The presentation here has developed since the original post, so do have a watch.

My partner suggests a possibility for the moly (μῶλυ) which intrigues me greatly, so I thought I should record it for the stimulus it might also give you. What if the μῶλυ was a fungus? The difficulty of the extraction could have to do with the extensive mycelial network of such creatures, seemingly endless, which constitutes the ‘roots’ (and brains) of the fungi. The mushrooms are merely the fruiting bodies—often beautiful, often hazardous, and often white. This possibility would also explain Homer’s (Odysseus’) complete lack of interest in the stem, leaves, or other greenery that comes with plants. It is only root (ῥίζη) and flower (ἄνθος), both of which should have been as ready metaphors for Homer as for us. (We say ‘fruiting’ bodies in reference to fruitless fungi). As I emphasise, Homer’s single use of φύσις (‘nature’) is close to its root sense (pun warmly welcomed): it refers to biotic ‘growth’ and emergent sprouting, not necessarily confined to that of herbs and other plants.

For all we know, Homer invented the word which has changed the world, for what might seem, to many, a throwaway use. But Hermes was showing Odysseus something when he showed him the ‘sprouting’ of the moly; perhaps the Greek speakers who looked over Odysseus’ shoulder at this word and this growth, saw also, and yearned after, what they and modern science came to worship: the action of Nature. Homer did not just invent a word in φύσις; he pointed the way, like Hermes the guide.

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What if the moly was a psychedelic mushroom? Could Odysseus’ stimulated state have been the proof against Circe’s drugs—perhaps also, some of them, mushrooms? The authors of the scientific paper cited in the ‘moly’ article in Wikipedia propose the opposite: that the transformations seemingly induced in Odysseus’ men were psychedelic states, and that the power of the moly was anti-psychedelic.

For the whole passage performed in Homer’s Greek hexameters and my English linear prose, please see the previous post of ‘Homer in English’:

Here we go! As Fabrizio Romano likes to say. (He’s a pundit on football transfers.) Tune in next time: Odysseus is about to get in Circe’s bed.

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