On Odysseus’s journey to the Land of The Dead in The Odyssey, he is confronted by Elpenor, his comrade who died because he fell off of a roof while he was drunk. Elpenor threatens Odysseus with a curse if he does not return to his body and bury it. Odysseus agrees and redirects his path away from Ithaca, his home, to Aeaea where Elpenor vanished. Odysseus postponing his journey is an obstacle which represents the ancient Greek society’s fear of dying without honor and being forgotten, even if one is an average person.
Elpenor troubles Odysseus’s crew by forcing them to bury him so he will be honored. His death is not for a noble cause, but Elpenor still wants to be honored for his life’s accomplishments. He has fought amidst his comrades in the battle of Troy and has rowed the boats’ oars until exhaustion, yet his body is left “unwept, unburied” (Homer 251). He is infuriated that in return for his great sacrifices in battle his burial is regarded as an inconvenience. Elpenor makes the importance of being honored with a proper ceremony very clear to Odysseus. The invigorated soldier threatens him with a curse that will “draw God’s fury on [Odysseus’] head” (Homer 251). This ultimatum for Odysseus emphasizes the Greek’s fear of dying without honor. Elpenor, although he is a soldier “none too brave in battle, none too sound in mind” (Homer 247), is willing to harm his former captain to receive a proper burial. Odysseus, who has saved him from death on many occasions including from a cyclops and witch, grants Elpenor’s wish and returns to bury his body (as seen from the picture on the right).
Another reason for Elpenor’s insistence on an honorable burial reflects the Greeks’ inherent fear of not being remembered post-mortem. Most humans want a legacy and wish that the ones they leave behind will think of them. Elpenor desperately pleads to his captain; “My lord, remember me, I beg you!” (Homer 251). In his long request, Elpenor asks to be buried by the port of Aeaea, the island on which he has died. His sole reason for this wish is, “So even men to come will learn my story” (Homer 251). Elpenor is a common and unexceptional soldier whose mediocrity is seen when Odysseus tells about Elpenor’s request to others. Odysseus remarks that he was staring at “[His] comrade’s phantom dragging out his story” (Homer 252). The word “dragging” has negative connotations that imply Odysseus' true outlook on the situation. He believes Elpenor’s story has ended, and that there is no need to exhaust it any further. Elpenor is a soldier whose life has very little impact up until his death, yet he still yearns to be remembered. His aspiration of being known after death reflects the Greeks' fear of being lost throughout history.
Elpenor's request that Odysseus alter his course and return to Aeaea to bury his body in a righteous burial represents ancient Greek society’s fear of dying without honor and being forgotten.