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It was all about the importance of hosting, because you never knew who was the stranger coming at your door.
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By
Writer, Editor, Nonprofit Director
The Parthenon in Nashville is a聽full-scale replica of the fifth-century BCE temple to Athena in Greece. Constructed partially from plaster for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition and reconstructed with permanent materials in 1920, Nashville鈥檚 Parthenon celebrates the city鈥檚 self-styled reputation as the 鈥淎thens of the South.鈥 It receives about 300,000 visitors each year, from students on field trips to church groups and tourists from around the world. It鈥檚 not uncommon to see a wedding party posing at the feet of the shining, 42-foot-tall statue of Athena that stands in the naos.
When Nashville artist and educator Lisa Bachman Jones was invited to exhibit a series of her watercolors in the Parthenon鈥檚 museum gallery a few years ago, she saw an opportunity to make something specific to the site. A new translation of聽The Odyssey聽had just been published by Emily Wilson鈥攖he first English translation by a woman. She decided to read it and see what came to the surface.
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Three years later, 鈥The Odyssey: A Retelling鈥 interprets the ancient text in 28 works. As Jones began reading The Odyssey, she assumed it was a story about a man making his way home and over-coming many ob-stacles. When she dived into the work, she realized, 鈥淥h no, this is about a whole network of people,鈥 she says. Odysseus 鈥渢hinks he鈥檚 the one making it happen. His pride certainly comes through. But, as the reader, I know鈥攁nd as I assume the original audience that would have been listening knew鈥攊t was all about the importance of hosting, because you never knew who was the stranger coming at your door. It could be Zeus himself. And that was fascinating.鈥
Jones has a special term for hospitality worthy of a god. When extreme generosity is offered to guests, even if they are strangers, she calls it 鈥渞adical hospitality.鈥
鈥淲hat also struck me is how you would be fed, bathed, and have a good night鈥檚 sleep [before] you鈥檙e finally asked, 鈥榃ho are you? Where did you come from?鈥欌
The primary character who supports Odysseus is the goddess Athena, and the piece of art devoted to her is centered on the gallery鈥檚 back wall.聽Shapes of Athena聽is the only illustrative piece in the exhibition. Jones uses watercolor, ash, and wax to show the many forms the goddess takes to help Odysseus return home. The shape of the paper reflects the pediments of the Parthenon, and the linear proximity of the figures evokes the long journey Odysseus makes.
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Jones seems most interested in the women of The Odyssey and their work. Both Penelope (Penelope鈥檚 Room) and Helen (Helen鈥檚 Storeroom) are recalled using unfinished needlepoint that Jones鈥檚 grandmother collected from other women. The Parthenon hosted a virtual symposium with University of Tennessee classics professor Justin Arft, who notes the significance of weaving in The Odyssey and of textiles in Jones鈥檚 exhibition.
Weaving, says Arft, is a powerful tool, both as an art form and also as a means of deception. 鈥淚t is the women of the epic鈥攂eginning with Athena, but also ranging from Helen, Penelope, Queen Arete and her daughter Nausicaa, and their networks of enslaved women鈥攚ho are most aligned with the process of making in the epic, if not making the epic itself by their actions, without which Odysseus would probably be dead or inglorious,鈥 Arft explains.聽Nausicaa鈥檚 Laundry听补苍诲听Ogygia Filled With Wings聽both use this ancient art form.
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Among the most striking works is Beautiful, Dreadful, which interprets the Circe episode in the poem. Jones painted the island of Aeaea on pulp she made from mail and miscellaneous paper around the house. Beside the painting, a thick, wavy braid of yarn, hair, and wire makes the shape of a crescent moon. After Circe turns Odysseus鈥檚 men into pigs, Jones notes, she still feeds them the pigs鈥 favorite food. In the end, it is Circe who teaches Odysseus how to pass through Charybdis and evade Scylla. She is, one could argue, a good host.
But not everyone follows the rules. Suitors lurk in Odysseus鈥檚 halls, drinking his wine, feasting on his cattle, and sleeping with his slaves. They give nothing in return; instead, they bring shame upon the Ithacan鈥檚 house. Jones interprets them in The Suitors鈥 Mouths, a sculpture that resembles the head of a goat, wrapped in fabric that鈥檚 printed with raw meat. A crushed silicone cup stands in for the insatiable mouths of these trespassers.
On the whole, 鈥淎 Retelling鈥 is an ode to the people who help Odysseus on his journey. They are gods and mortals, kings and slaves. 鈥淣obody does anything on their own,鈥 says Jones. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 not to take away from Odysseus and what he did. He wouldn鈥檛 have done it without the support of others. . . . That connectivity is really important to me.鈥
Originally to the by 44:1 (Winter 2023).