Odyssey NOW - and *The Greatest Hero Of Them All* in autistic perspective

Behind a lot of what I do as a classicist lies the following duality – and this includes my work on autism and classical myth. On the one hand, classics is associated with elitism as a highly traditional subject, connoting public schools and ivory towers. The very name of the subject reinforces this sense that it is for a few and keeps out others. Yet when people come to the study of classics they often find that it is ‘for them’. Often, for example, when I ask new undergraduate students how they came to a classical degree, they say that it was through encounters as children with classical myths – which engaged their imagination and to which they could relate their own experiences, fears and desires. And I have many times taught first year History students who are taking classical modules not through choice but because it is a requirement of the syllabus that they study at least one ancient subject. Some of these students unexpectedly discover that the subject engages them – and that they can find their own ways into the subject. 

Classics carries elitism with it, but it has democratic potential as well. This is especially the case when those new to the subject start to realise that in some sense the classical world is not just a dead one – it is also all around us, for example in the architecture of cities, in Western art and music – both pop and classical - and in adverts and fashion. Think, for instance, Versace’s gorgon-head logo or Kylie Minogue as Aphrodite – or indeed Lady Gaga as Venus. So, by encountering classics there is the potential for anyone to reflect on Western identities and cultures (and potentially non-Western ones as well – this is something I’ll pick up at some point).

In my work for this project, I am picking stories that are created from a long dead past. But these stories have been repeatedly reused and reframed, each time to suit the needs of a particular audience. It is this interplay between foreignness and familiarity and accessibility that I want to engage with and open up.

I am currently reading a book that is demonstrating just how fruitful the ancient world and its stories can be, including for those whose ability to engage with imaginative works can be hard to comprehend. It is a set of resources by Nicola Grove and Keith Park that I am indebted to Adam Ockelford for putting me onto, called Odyssey Now. This work presents a series of interactive games for those with profound disabilities, but which can also be used by any group of people. The games are concerned with developing specific skills, especially at engaging in group work. Grove and Park explain that when they revealed that they were planning resources based around the Odyssey there were some raised eyebrows – in view of the elitist associations it conjured up. But, as they say, they were able to counter such a view easily – because it is the very antiquity of this work that makes it full of potential for stimulating children, and others. And the Odyssey, ancient though it is, has been reworked since antiquity. Grove and Park note, for instance, the success of Tony Robinson in putting out a thrilling and accessible telling of Odysseus, ‘the greatest hero of them all’. Indeed, I recall watching how with enthusiasm Tony Robinson would tell the story, moving between suitable locations as he narrated episodes in the journey of the hero – consisting, I think, of British seaside resorts, but I might be misremembering.

Indeed, so engaging are these stories that it is not a problem if those who use them – whether clients, pupils or teacher and therapists – start with little or no knowledge. However, as Grove and Park set out, rooting the activities in a story with such a heritage can open up cultural experience to those whose access to intellectual life is different from many other people’s.  As Vygotsky, said (as quoted on p. 2 – Vygotsky, pioneer in cultural-historical psychology):

human learning presupposes a specific social nature and a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them (Mind in Society, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 1978: 89 – published posthumously).

So – any instance of art, music, storytelling can engage the imagination and extend people’s experience but there are particular opportunities that classical stories provide that can be of value.

Grove and Park also say something that resonates with my own experience as I have tried out my initial plans on others. This is that teachers and other professionals can benefit from new ideas for their sessions with pupils and clients. Dramatherapists and specialist autistic school teachers I spoke to a few years ago said something comparable – namely that they welcome new resources that open up new possibilities for engaging their clients.

I am going to draw from stories from antiquity that, like the Odysseus story, have been repeatedly reworked – so much so that the stories in question are very much part of Western culture. These are the stories about the hero Herakles (Hercules in Roman stories and many modern reworkings), a figure whose struggles against the odds see him draw on skills that are associated with physical strength and also – like Odysseus – with cleverness/cunning. He often works alone, but also frequently with others, who are likewise intriguing figures – from his sidekicks to the deities who interact with him (and at least one of these deities, Athena, counts arguably as a sidekick), to the monsters and other extraordinary beings that he encounters. Thus, as well as focusing on Herakles the hero and his ‘Herculean labours,’ it is possible to switch the focus and see things from the point of view of the monsters and so forth – from monsters like the Hydra and its many heads and the race of warrior women, the Amazons. Herakles is also a traveller, like Odysseus, so there is potential for thinking about travel to other locations – all full of difficulties and dangers. The new places reached are strange and wonderful – and, like the journeys that got him there, they are full of dangers for the hero to negotiate.

In the 18^th century, the story of Hercules was used not least for its educational potential – to teach how to lead a suitably good life by making the right kind of choice between competing options. (More on this in future postings.) I am going to explore how, right now in the 21st century, the educational possibilities are likewise rich.

Grove and Park identify a set of areas that their activities based around Odysseus’ story can stimulate, including:

Eye gaze; exchanges and turn-taking; contingent vocalisation; gaining attention; anticipation; and elicitation of states of feeling which contrast with one another (p. 6)

I am going to show how the Herakles story has similar potential, starting with the very story that especially engaged those concerned in the 18^th century with the education of the young. This is choice Herakles faces when, on a journey, he reaches a crossroads and needs to pick between two very different paths. He never chooses the third one, incidentally, which would be turn back the way he came. I would hope that, just as Herakles finds it hard to choose the right way forward, but never turns back to the original starting point, so those who use these materials will be able to deal with new opportunities, difficult though these may be. More soon!