I’ve been thinking a little about what I’ve said before about Greek writers telling pre-Christian stories. Think for just a second about all the correlations between Odysseus and Christ: both are story teller/riddlers (crafty), both must be away from their people and tested for a time (albeit in different ways), both have a group of foolish companions who aren’t nearly as bright, both must be despised and rejected (particularly, in terms of hospitality), both must descend into Hades before they can return as a king, both do return to their own and their own do not receive them or know who they are. Both Christ and Odysseus return to a bride, whose purity is being challenged by other suitors, both must test the remaining members of their houses for loyalty, both destroy their enemies in connection with a feast (in the Odyssey, the destruction is described as a feast), after the destruction, the word is proclaimed that there is a wedding feast taking place, both are ‘re-married’ to their wives, both are recognized by family and friends by scars, both have old friends dying after they see their return (Jesus: Simeon), both finally return to their father where final skirmishes are put to peace.
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