Hair pulling in ancient literature - Part Two (continued) : Homer's Odyssey

At the end of Book X, following great suffering and hardship, Odysseus' men finally believe they will set sail for home. But the way back to Ithaca not to be a simple one.  Odysseus learns (from Circe, the witch) he must consult with the spirit of the blind prophet Tiresias to learn the route home.  For his men, knowing that they are finally going home but realising that they must do so by such a painful circuitous route precipitates hair pulling behaviour.


"The men were broken-hearted as they heard me, and threw themselves on the ground groaning and tearing their hair, but they did not mend
matters by crying. When we reached the sea shore, weeping and lamenting
our fate, Circe brought the ram and the ewe, and we made them fast
hard by the ship. She passed through the midst of us without our knowing
it, for who can see the comings and goings of a god, if the god does
not wish to be seen?

The first inference of this quote is that hair pulling is being practised to produce a cathartic effect, so that the extra pain of yanking hairs will magnify their distress to a high point, after which it will be alleviated.  In other words, by raising their pain levels over and beyond that which has been caused by their disappointment some kind of benefit is expected.  Alternatively, hair pulling occurs unconsciously but the body aims at the same effect.  If unconscious, which seems most likely, the pulling seem sto stem from the postponement of the fulfillment of their desire.   The goal of returning home remains but gratification has been postponed and it is the sense of being thwarted when the end seemed so close that appears significant here.   Maybe the sailors’ sufferings would be less great if the possibility of returning home had never been dangled so agonisingly in front of them.  For this would have led to acceptance and resignation of the kind that will allow for some kind of adaptive response.  But here, the men are caught in two minds - unable to cease dreaming of home and yet unable to realise this dream.  It is this contradiction in their minds that appears to facilitate hair pulling.

The other mention of hair pulling in The Odyssey features in Book XXIV, when Agamemnon's ghost and that of Achilles argue over who had the better death.  Agamemnon recalls how:

We fought the whole of the livelong day, nor should
we ever have left off if Jove had not sent a hurricane to stay us.
Then, when we had borne you to the ships out of the fray, we laid
you on your bed and cleansed your fair skin with warm water and with
ointments. The Danaans tore their hair and wept bitterly round about
you.

 Therefore, in both The Odyssey and The Iliad, hair pulling emerges as a means by which (a) energy is either discharged cathartically or (b) a means by which neurochemical change occurs that ultimately produces a state of calm and from this more constructive and considered actions may ensue. Since The Odyssey is not a work of psychology, Homer probably uses hair pulling as something of a dramatic cliche - for his audience would have instantly identified with the passion and tension that any reference to hair pulling implied.

More examples of hair pulling and self directed behaviour in ancient literature will follow in later posts.