The first ghost that Odysseus encounters in the After Life is that of Elpenor, a member of his crew who in a drunken stupor has fallen off of Circe’s roof to his death. Elpenor’s corpse remains unburied, and his ghost will not be able to cross the River Styx and find rest until his body has received the necessary funeral rites. He pleads with Odysseus for a proper burial:
Do not leave me unburied, unmourned,
When you sail for home. . . .
Burn me with my armor, such as I have,
Heap me a barrow on the grey sea’s shore,
In memory of a man whose luck ran out.
Do this for me, and fix in the mound the oar
I rowed with my shipmates while I was alive. (Bk. 11, lines 68-75, Lombardo)
Elpenor specifically asks Odysseus to mark his grave with the oar that represents for him and for anyone who visits his grave the story of his life: he was a man of the sea and a companion of the great Odysseus. Odysseus’ first act upon returning from the world upon which Helios does not shine will be to bury his companion.
After encountering Elpenor, Odysseus seeks out and talks to Tiresias, the great prophet who alone among the dead is allowed to retain his true mind (nous) and will now advise him how to avoid the various dangers that await him on his way home and how finally to make peace with Poseidon. To achieve this peace, Tiresias instructs Odysseus to plant an oar in a place where ships and the sea are unknown:
Then you must go off again, carrying a broad-bladed oar,
Until you come to men who know nothing of the sea,
Who eat their food unsalted, and have never seen
Red-prowed ships or oars that wing them along.
And I will tell you a sure sign that you have found them,
One you cannot miss. When you meet another traveler
Who thinks you are carrying a winnowing fan,
Then you must fix your oar in the earth
And offer sacrifice to Lord Poseidon,
A ram, a bull, and a boar in its prime. (Bk. 11, 119-128, Lombardo)
According to Tiresias, only by making his peace with Poseidon will Odysseus be able to return home to stay and live to a prosperous old age. The story of Odysseus planting the oar is not actually included in The Odyssey. Its fulfillment is left to the reader’s imagination. Whenever Odysseus does plant that oar (and he tells Penelope that he will leave soon to do so), he will be marking the end of his life on the sea, his life of adventure that has been dedicated to learning about strange lands and peoples. Odysseus will essentially come home to die, whatever the count of years, having set up his oar to mark the end of his story. Tiresias then foretells the manner of Odysseus’ death:
And death will come to you off the sea,
A death so gentle, and carry you off
When you are worn out in sleek old age, (Bk. 11, lines 132-134, Lombardo)
Odysseus’ actual death is, however, preceded by the metaphorical death of that Odysseus whose life was full of exploits. While Elpenor’s oar represents an actual death, Odysseus’ oar represents a loss of identity. It is yet possible to imagine that Odysseus will begin a new life at home, one that includes the values of home and family, and thereby acquire a new identity as a husband and father.
*It is no doubt also true that Odysseus is extending the realm of Poseidon by planting his oar among folks who are ignorant of the sea. Ironically, Odysseus, who can hear the beat of the sea from his Ithacan bed, must suffer helplessly to the end of his days the sea's call to adventure.