Demodocus (Odyssey character)

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In the Odyssey, Demodocus (Greek Δημοδόκος, Demodokos) is a poet who often visits the court of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians on the island of Scherie. During Odysseus' stay on Scherie Demodocus performs three narrative songs. Two of these, from the cycle of the Trojan War, are

the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles
the story of the Trojan War

Both of these performances are curtailed because Odysseus (who has not yet revealed his identity) is distressed at reliving his own experiences in this way. Demodocus' other song, which is performed in the market-place of Scherie to the accompaniment of dancing, is

the love affair of Ares and Aphrodite

This amusing tale gives pleasure to all its hearers.

Demodocus is described as blind: "A servant presently led in the famous bard Demodokos, whom the muse had dearly loved, but to whom she had given both good and evil, for though she had endowed him with a divine gift of song, she had robbed him of his eyesight". It may well have been on the basis of this portrayal, seen as a self-portrait, that Homer (usually identified as the author of the Odyssey) was said by many later Greeks to have been blind.

Demodocus (Odyssey character)

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See also