Why would Odysseus turn down immortality?
My new article in Jung Journal is free to read—and a second is already under review
A note from Cody Peterson, founder of Seba
In Homer’s Odyssey, Calypso offers Odysseus a life without aging or death. He chooses the dangerous journey home.
Nolan’s Calypso tells him, “This could last forever.” But Homer makes the offer explicit: his Odysseus remembers his home, knows more suffering awaits him, and still refuses her offer.
Why would anyone make that choice?
That is the question that runs through my new essay, “The Iron Thūmos and the Empty Vessel: A Homeric Response to ‘Answer to Job,’” now published in Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche.
Jung argues that God must become human. I turn to Homer to ask what a mortal life supplies that a god lacks—and what takes shape in us through permanent loss, radical uncertainty, and utter powerlessness.
The essay is open access. You can read the whole thing online or download the PDF free from Taylor & Francis:
This is the beginning of a larger inquiry. A second essay is already under review at another journal, carrying the argument further into Homer’s language of feeling, endurance, and value. I’m looking forward to sharing more as it develops.
I’ve also put together a short reading companion on Seba with three questions to take into the essay.
Warmly,
Cody
Founder, Seba
