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IN BRIEF
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Mark Alizart, contemporary philosopher, proposes a bold and deeply original reinterpretation of Homer’s Odyssey, drifting away from the traditional narrative of the hero yearning for his home to view it as an astral, esoteric, and symbolic tale. In his essay “Astrologiques”, Alizart invites readers to take a different look at Ulysses and his journey, placing him under the sign of the balance between the Moon and the Sun, and the mystery of time. Through this vision, Ulysses’ figure reveals itself as something much more than a mere hero: he becomes the symbol of a game of oppositions to reconcile, a changing being, almost moody, tasked with realigning celestial cycles, in a quest for order and harmony. This article proposes to explore the main lines of this new interpretation, its implications, and the contemporary significance of this revisited myth.
A myth under the sign of the stars
The classic interpretation of the Odyssey has relied for centuries on the image of a man torn by absence, desperately seeking to return to his homeland, his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Mark Alizart, however, offers us a radically different approach: one where Ulysses’ journey is not so much a geographical path as a great astral odyssey. According to Alizart, the narrative’s true purpose is the transmission of archaic knowledge about time and the cycles of the sky, at a time when the sundial did not yet exist.
In this light, Ulysses’ long wanderings should not simply be understood as the chronicle of a difficult return but as an illustrated representation of an astral cycle – perhaps the Moon itself, which takes nineteen years to return to the same point in the sky, according to ancient lunar cycles. Ulysses’ journey, in this reading, evokes human attempts to decipher celestial movements, synchronize lunar time with solar time, and establish order in the perception of the world.
The moody hero, a sacred anti-hero
In this interpretive tradition, Ulysses appears less as a conventional hero than as a hybrid, ambivalent, even troubled figure. Alizart describes him as an anti-hero, a “trickster” whose personality constantly evolves, shifting from clever to goofy, from furious to wandering. This instability, explained by the deep connection between Ulysses and the Moon – the celestial body of change, phases, and fleeting madness according to popular tradition – places the Ithacan traveler at the crossroads of opposites.
The etymology of the name Ulysses evokes notions of trouble and contrariness. He would be this “moody” one, this man of a thousand faces, whose fate oscillates with the astral cycles. His mission is not solely to find his homeland but to unite the Moon and the Sun, to realign calendars, to restore balance between the discordant forces that govern life, just as, symbolically, during the solstices or Saturnalia, it would involve driving away demons and reversing roles to restore cosmic harmony.
The oral tradition, the myth, and the enigma of time
Homer’s work emerges from a millennia-old oral tradition, far predating the birth of the book and literature as we understand it today. More than 15,000 verses, transmitted orally, carried encoded knowledge about the relationship of men to time, seasons, and stellar cycles. According to Mark Alizart, the Odyssey is therefore not a mere adventure novel but a foundational text designed to transmit the keys to deciphering the sky.
Like the epic of Gilgamesh, the Old Testament, or the Gospels, which also contain an astrological dimension, the island of Ulysses, the monsters, the storms, and the gods are all metaphors intended to explain the wonders and disorders of the firmament. Ulysses’ entire wandering can thus be viewed as a quest for concord, for “re-tuning”, of a world where human lunar time can articulate with solar rigor to ensure order down here.
Harmonizing opposites: cosmic reconciliation
Throughout the text, Mark Alizart emphasizes an essential idea: the work of the Odyssey, and of Homer, is to harmonize opposites, to heal the discordances of the world. Ulysses, wandering star, sacred fool during solstitial festivals, embodies this point of passage, this relay between the madness of the Moon and the rationality of the Sun. That is why he can be revealed as sometimes Dionysian, sometimes cunning, small, imperfect, but always bearing the promise of a return to order.
A possible etymology of the name Homer, “the harmonizer”, serves as a reminder of the profound vocation of the narrative: to offer, under the guise of a travel tale, a lesson on harmony. It is also this operation of fusion of opposites that ensures the longevity of the myth, its relevance, and its symbolic richness, allowing it to serve as a guide in understanding the cycles of nature and human life.
Seeing the Odyssey differently: opening up to other readings
Mark Alizart ultimately invites his readers to abandon the beaten paths of classical criticism to explore new interpretive horizons. What if Homer, behind the figure of the blind bard, had been a woman? What if the Odyssey was primarily a codex of practical astrology intended to guide man through the fog of time? This renewal of perspective is also a way to remind us that beneath the slow litany of the journey lie a thousand travels, a thousand facets: those of imagination, ancient science, cosmic poetry.
Curious about other mysterious territories? This renewal in understanding myths invites exploration beyond appearances and discovering other unsuspected pearls: explore the hidden gems of the Ionian Islands, be inspired for the next Valentine’s Day with romantic gifts for travel lovers, or discover the treasures of Croatia, the hidden pearl of the Mediterranean. For those looking to explore history in a charming home, the Pastel Villas in Normandy provide a perfect setting. As for those wondering about the future of travel, find out if printed travel guides are about to disappear.
