What does paying a year in advance for a gym have to do with ‘Odyssey’?…Why Odysseus escaped the Sirens unharmed [Iltassangpi Storynomics] - 경향신문

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What are the archetypes behind ‘Star Wars’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’, ‘Interstellar’, and ‘Galaxy Express 999’? The <Iliad> and <Odyssey> by Homer are prime candidates. Meaning “the song of Odysseus,” the <Odyssey> is a tale of wandering and homecoming. It chronicles the ten-year journey of the Trojan War hero Odysseus as he returns to Ithaca, where his family lives.

At the heart of that journey lie adventure, temptation, faith, betrayal, growth, waiting, and family love. Hence adventure novels, road movies, coming-of-age fiction, and fantasy literature are widely regarded as inheriting the journey structure of the <Odyssey>.

The Trojan War is thought to have actually occurred in the early 13th century BCE. Lacking a standard writing system at the time, Greeks turned the war’s detailed events into eight long songsepicspassed down orally. Of these, the two songs that have survived intact are <Iliad> and <Odyssey>. Once committed to writing, they were adopted by Greece and Rome after the 5th century BCE as official recitation workslong before Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje were founded on the Korean Peninsula. The <Iliad> and the <Odyssey> became school texts to be memorized, copied, annotated, and tested.

In Hermann Hesse’s novel <Beneath the Wheel>, one of the main subjects Hans studies to pass the seminary entrance exam is the <Odyssey>. The two works became foundational to Western language and literature, ways of thinking, and value systems.

As oral literature performed by storytellers who played instruments and sang with rhythm and melody, the <Iliad> and <Odyssey> are structurally similar to Korea’s chang or pansori. It is uncertain whether Homer, credited as the author, was a real person. One account calls him a blind bard; another says the oral form passed from mouth to mouth was itself called Homer.

The <Odyssey> is a long epic of 12,110 lines. The tale of the one-eyed giant Cyclops, son of Poseidon; the story of Circe, who turned Odysseus’s men into pigs; the prophecy of the blind seer Tiresias; the goddess Calypso, who loved Odysseus; and the Sirens, who lure sailorsthese are particularly well known.

Among these episodes is one that draws the attention of behavioral economics: the Sirens. Circe warns Odysseus, “You must pass where the Sirens sing. If you hear their song, you will be bewitched, abandon your ship, and meet your death.” Odysseus orders his men to plug their ears with wax earplugs, but he himself does nothis curiosity has made him want to hear the Sirens’ song.

Instead, Odysseus commands the sailors to bind him tightly to the mast. Even if he begs to be released, they are not to listen, but to lash him even more firmly.

Odysseus screaming “Untie me!” upon hearing the Sirens’ song

At last the ship passes the Sirens, and, having heard their song, Odysseus screams to be untied. But the sailors with earplugs cannot hear him, and, as ordered earlier, they cinch the ropes restraining him even tighter. Odysseus’s ship finally escapes the Sirens unharmed. From this episode comes the term ‘Ulysses Contract’.

Ulysses is the Latin name for the Greek Odysseus, changed as the Romans adopted Greek mythology. A Ulysses contractliterally an Odysseus contractrefers to the act of imposing constraints in advance on your present self so that your future self cannot act impulsively or irrationally.

People often find that present and future preferences diverge. For example, a resolution to diet fizzles out after a few days. Vows to quit smoking or drinking often last only a short while. How can one avoid giving up easily midway? One method is to prepay a year of gym dues, or to promise family members you will pay them $75 (100,000 KRW) if you drink or smoke.

Film <Odyssey>Courtesy of Universal Pictures, Naver MovieA Ulysses contract is often cited as a way to address weak self-control that readily yields to temptation; in behavioral economics this is called a commitment device. Economists note that, to achieve long-term goals, binding yourself with a Ulysses contract can be more effective than relying on free will. In short, do not trust your future self; have your present self tie down your future self.

Submitting in advance a refusal of life-sustaining treatment is also a kind of Ulysses contractit binds you ahead of time so that you will not change your mind later.

Then what was the Sirens’ song that Odysseus heard?

“Come this way. Lend your ear to all the knowledge of this world, refined and contained in our beautiful song.”

The Sirens’ song was not merely beautiful; it was a temptation appealing to intellectual desire. Humans harbor a powerful urge to possess more knowledge than they need, and when that desire becomes excessive, they may lose the path they ought to take. In other words, the Sirens’ song can be interpreted as a warning to modern civilization that uncontrolled science and technology may drive humanity toward ruin.

Courtesy of Universal Pictures, Naver MovieA Ulysses contract is often cited as a way to address weak self-control that readily yields to temptation; in behavioral economics this is called a commitment device. Economists note that, to achieve long-term goals, binding yourself with a Ulysses contract can be more effective than relying on free will. In short, do not trust your future self; have your present self tie down your future self.

Submitting in advance a refusal of life-sustaining treatment is also a kind of Ulysses contractit binds you ahead of time so that you will not change your mind later.

Then what was the Sirens’ song that Odysseus heard?

“Come this way. Lend your ear to all the knowledge of this world, refined and contained in our beautiful song.”

The Sirens’ song was not merely beautiful; it was a temptation appealing to intellectual desire. Humans harbor a powerful urge to possess more knowledge than they need, and when that desire becomes excessive, they may lose the path they ought to take. In other words, the Sirens’ song can be interpreted as a warning to modern civilization that uncontrolled science and technology may drive humanity toward ruin.

After innumerable hardships, Odysseus returns to Ithaca. But this is not the end. In his absence, outsiders have taken over his hall, and he must protect his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus uses his wits to drive out the intruders and completes his homecoming.

Christopher Nolan’s <Odyssey> has surpassed 11 million moviegoers. It is welcome that the <Odyssey>, the root of Westernand indeed moderncontent, now seems to be gaining full recognition domestically.