Was Odysseus a true hero, or was he mostly successful from the help of his crew? The famous Givovanni Poggi, ultimately chose how he wanted to show Odyseeus as a hero, even though Odyseeus himself tells his story a different way. Many people to this day take into great consideration the “afterlife” of certain historic text, and how they has been looked at centuries after they has been written. People have many different interpretations of what Homers writing means in current day, and in the past. One piece of artwork, that we saw this evident in is the  Ceiling of the Palazzo Poggi. This artwork shows a total of five scenes of Odysseus’s journey throughout the Odyssey. This artwork is in Givovanni Poggi’s family palace, this palace was famous for its detailed artwork filling the halls and ceilings. In many of the scenes from the Odyssey that were painted, you see that the work differs from what is described in the poem.

For example, in this scene where you see Odysseus attempting to take down the cyclops Polyphemus. The artist Pellegrino Tibaldi shows Odysseus attempting stab Polyphemus in the eye by himself as his crew stands-off in the background hiding. This scene is told much different in the story. “My crew stood firm: some god was breathing courage in us. They took the olive spear, its tip all sharp, and shoved it in his eye. I leaned on top and twisted it as a man drills wood” (252 Wilson). These changes that are seen in this piece of art, differ from what is being told in the original story by showing Odysseus as the only hero. This is not what was described in the poem, as it was a team effort from Odysseus and his crew. This was not the only artwork Pellegrino Tibaldi was commissioned to do for Givovanni Poggi. Poggi was in the process of reconstructing and refurbishing his family’s palace in Bologna. I think Givovanni’s intentions were to have Tibaldi paint this scene with the idea of heroism in mind. This is because Givovanni sees himself as the family hero for the reconstruction of their incredible palace. Givovanni also commissioned many other artists, who painted several portraits of Givovanni throughout the palace. The idea of individual heroism versus teamwork has changed since this poem has been written and these frescos have been painted.

This image was painted by Alessandro Allori and it is representing the same scene of the Odyssey. You can clearly see that Allori wanted to express that this was a team effort coming from Odysseus and his crew. These artists have the power to display what they want with their talent, and this is where we see the narrative of many stories change. One piece displaying team work and one displaying individual success, both coming from the same passage in the same poem.

In today’s world some see the theme of teamwork, as a positive aspect in a human, especially in the sports world. Others think it is more important to have individual success rather than success with a team. Personally, I am a member of a basketball team, and if I were to ever win a championship, I would want to show off a photo with my team and the trophy, not just myself and the trophy. Many other people in today’s world would think otherwise, more self-centered people would want to show off by having just themselves pictured with their success, rather than being pictured with the ones who helped them get there. This is the exact idea we see that is being displayed in this artwork. Odysseus was telling this story, in order to show off in front of the Phaeacians, and he did this to show off his pride in teamwork. Givovanni and Tibaldi took Homers words and the changed them, attempting to show Odyseeus as a hero. I think Givovanni wanted to identify with Odysseus and be seen as an untouchable hero for his family, as Odysseus was for his family. 

Keegan Records

Author

I am from South Kingstown Rhode Island. I am a sophomore at Colgate University where I plan on majoring in Political Science.