Literary Discussions

Only today does it dawn upon me, after all these years, the puzzling irony that when Odysseus travels to Hades and speaks to the soul of Achilles, Achilles says that it is better to be a humble person alive upon the earth than king of all the dead. No mention whatsoever is made of the possibility of rebirth. Perhaps by Plato's time there was some influence from India. The Noble Lie of the Republic seems to describe a caste system similar to the Hindu Varnas (and the word Varna has the same root as VARNISH, and suggest that color, hue, race is an inherent part of the caste system. )  In the Iliad the battlefield dialogue between Glaukos and Diomedes suggests that all a person can hope for is a glorious memory in the lore of future generations.  Camus utters such a potent phrase in his Sisyphus essays; "that paltry eternity, posterity" .  Odysseus' rejection of Circes' offer of eternal life is such a contrast to the Christian and I suppose Egyptian desire for immortality.