A Motif of Border Crossing in Ancient Literature

The crossing of borders and boundaries can happen through many different and unique ways. Whether one crosses literal divides, such as mountains, rivers, and walls, or social divides, such as discrimination against gender and culture or the border between gods and humans, there are obstacles and challenges that one must overcome to reach their goal of crossing the border they want. When one embarks on a journey to break through certain boundaries, whether they be literal or figurative boundaries, they do so with a certain motive in their mind, and they do not think nor care about the challenges or backlash they will face on their way. However, as one crosses a “border” their conception on life changes. They sort of lose their sense of home, self, and country, and are in way disoriented and confused when they return home. Their journey somehow can change one’s beliefs and cause a person to lose their sense of who they are and where they belong and feel at home. With that being said, the sense of pride and self-recognition one feels after accomplishing their goal out-weighs the feeling of being lost and disoriented. In this unit we see this take place in almost every story and poem we have read. From Odysseus to Sinbad or from Ezekiel to Isaiah, each one of them crosses boundaries on their journey and in the end feel proud and accomplished with what they have done. The crossing of borders is a strenuous and grueling task that can often change and disrupts a person’s life for better or for worse, but each person has a different reason for why they are doing what they are doing, and in the end, they feel it was for the better and have a great sense of personal accomplishment. When one begins their journey of crossing a border, they do so with certain motives, benefits, and opportunities in the back of their mind.

In the story of the Odyssey, Odysseus is on a mission to get back home and return to his family. Odysseus has been separated from his family for twenty years, and is on a mission to get home, and he realizes that he will have to cross many borders to do. In the story it talks about who Odysseus “met, the pain he suffered in the storms at sea, and how he worked to save his life and bring his men back home”. As Odysseus tries to make his way home he arrives at the Island of Calypso, who is a god, and there he crosses the border between mortals and gods as he interacts with the goddess Calypso. However, while Odysseus is there Calypso will not let him leave, so the Greek god, Zeus, sends Hermes, his son, to talk to Calypso because Odysseus’ “eyes were always tearful; he wept sweet life away, in longing to go back home, since she no longer pleased him. He had no choice. He spent his nights with her inside her hollow cave, not wanting her though she still wanted him. By day he sat out on the rocky beach, in tears and grief, staring in heartbreak at the fruitless sea”. This quote is so powerful in displaying that Odysseus genuinely wanted to return home and that was his motive for going on this journey and crossing borders.

In The Arabian Nights Tales of 1001 Nights, Sinbad the sailor goes on voyages similar to Odysseus, however his motives are quite different as he first wants to get wealthy, and then eventually after he is rich, he goes on the voyages because he is restless and wants to entertain himself. For example, after Sinbad the sailor returned home, to Baghdad, after his second voyage, he did so with a “large number of diamonds, as well as cash and a splendid display of all kinds of goods, ” which in some way allowed him to cross the border between being poor and wealthy.

Later on in the story Sinbad states that after he got back from his second voyage he was happy and content with the money he had made but he then “began to feel an urge to travel again and to see the world, as well as to make profit by trading, ” which is the reason he went on his third voyage. Although Sinbad went on similar voyages to Odysseus, one can see that his motives were clearly different, and this is the case with many people when they cross borders.

In the story about the prophet Ezekiel, his motive for the reason he crosses borders, is to spread the word of God. Ezekiel crosses the border between humans and gods when he is receiving and being told the word of God to spread to the people of Israel. For example, when Ezekiel is having a conversation with God about the people of Israel, God states, “Do not be afraid of their words and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed; but speak my words to them, whether they listen or not, they are rebellious” (Ezekiel). God then gives Ezekiel a scroll to eat and Ezekiel states “He gave me this scroll to eat, as he said to me, ‘Mortal feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll that I give to you. ’ I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey to me”. It is unique and interesting that as Ezekiel eats the scroll, which is a piece of paper, that he states that it taste like honey to him, because eating the scroll represents being given the word of God to spread, so the fact that it tasted like honey to Ezekiel means that he is motivated and excited to spread the word. Similarly, the prophet Isaiah’s motive and reason to cross the border between humans and gods is so he could spread the word of God. However, in this story God’s message is very different. God’s “anger was roused against his people” because he felt there was a lack of faith and hypocrisy in Jerusalem, so God sent the prophet Isaiah there to spread his message that a major catastrophe was coming to the city until “all nations would recognize the one true God”.

Whether it is for personal gain, to spread the word of another, or to return to a place one once lived, everyone has a different motive and reason for why they cross borders. When one goes on the journey to cross a border there are great dangers involved. Whether it be coming across the power of a god or non-human being, the effects of nature, or backlash from people one comes across on their journey or from people who hold opposing views, there are a variety of dangers one can come across as they “border-cross. ”

In The Odyssey we see an abundant of dangers that Odysseus comes across as he tries to make his way home. Most notably is the interaction between Odysseus and the cyclops known as Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon. Odysseus arrives at the island of Polyphemus and enters his cave without him being there, however upon Polyphemus’ return Polyphemus begins to eat Odysseus’ men and states that he is going to save Odysseus for last. However, Odysseus is able to blind Polyphemus and escape by stabbing him in the eye with a wooden stake. Although this allows Odysseus to escape, he then comes across another danger when Polyphemus talks to his father and states “Listen Earth-Shaker, Blue-Haired Lord Poseidon: acknowledge me your son, and be my father. Grant that Odysseus, the city-sacker, will never go back home. Or if it is fated that he will see his family, then let him get there late and with no honor, in pain and lacking ships, and having caused the death of all his men, and let him find more trouble in his own house”.

After hearing this Poseidon than destroys Odysseus’ ship leaving Odysseus stranded in the ocean until he reaches an island. These examples show that when one tries to cross a border that they can come across the danger of maybe not an unworldly or unnatural being, but in the real-world people that dislike them and want to see them fail on their journey. In the story of The Arabian Nights Tales of 1001 Nights, Sinbad, similarly to Odysseus, comes across foreign creatures that want to destroy him. For example, while on his third voyage Sinbad states that he came across a big black creature that “examined” each one his men they way “butcher examines a sheep for slaughtering, ” until he came across the strongest man of which he killed and then ate.

Although today in the real-world it is not practical nor possible for one to come across such creatures on a journey to cross a border, they do figuratively represent the challenges one will face when they come across people of opposing views. In the poems of the Exeter Books there are many examples of the dangers one can face as they cross a border. For example, in The Seafarer, The Wanderer, and The Wife’s Lament, all three of the main characters are sent to exile, and “cross the border” between a promising and prosperous life, to a life in exile that is filled with the dangers and horrors of loneliness, worrisome, and grief.

In The Wife’s Lament, the narrator talks about how she was sent into exile and forced “to live in a forest grove, under an oak tree in an earthen cave, ” and now she has to live with dangers of being alone and the problem of having much grief. The dangers one face as they cross a border do not necessarily have to be physical dangers, from this example one can see that crossing a border can have a negative emotional and social effect on one’s well-being. This is also highlighted in The Wanderer, as the narrator states that since the time he was sent to exile, he has been “troubled in the mind” and longing for mercy. Along one’s journey of crossing a border there are many challenges and dangers that pop-up along the way, however each person acts and responds differently, and this in a way can change and disrupts a person’s sense of who they are and where they belong. The long and strenuous journey one goes on when crossing a border, whether it be a physical or social border, can have a toll on the person and in the end disrupt their conception of home, self, and country.

In The Odyssey, as Odysseus finally returns home he does so a different a person. From the moment Odysseus began his journey to return to Ithaca, he did so with the thought in his mind that he was the King of the Ithaca and he wanted his power and fame back. This leads to Odysseus to brag and boast about who he is along his along his journey. For example, after Odysseus blinds Polyphemus and begins to leave his island, he shouts out “Cyclops! If any mortal asks you how your eye was mutilated and made blind, say that Odysseus, the city-sacker, Laertes’ son, who lives in Ithaca, destroyed your sight” (The Odyssey). This sort of boasting that Odysseus does along his journey home is out of character for him, because at his home of Ithaca he was so used to being praised and not having to boast who he is. However, along his journey home he lost his conception of who he was and felt the need to brag and receive recognition for his accomplishment because he wanted to be acknowledged for what he did.

Along his journey home Odysseus changes from being the humble King that received praise without boasting, to the outgoing traveler that needs to be recognized for what he has done. From the moment Odysseus left the city of Ithaca he was forced to kill and battle anything in his path. Whether it was when he was fighting in the Trojan War, or battling Polyphemus, Odysseus became accustomed to violence along is journey. This caused him to strain from who he was as person because when he returned home to Ithaca he went on a “killing spree” because he was accustomed to violence for so long. Upon his return home Odysseus had slain all the suitors that were living in his home and he even forced Telemachus to hang all of the maids and servants that worked for him with the exception of Eurycleia and Eurynome. This shows how upon his arrival home, Odysseus is a changed man with a loss for who he is. He feels the need to kill everyone that has done wrong to him because along his journey he became so use to killing and fighting anything that got in his way. As one goes on a journey and crosses borders they can lose a sense of who they are similar to the way Odysseus did, and with that being said they will go out of character to regain the power and praise they had before they left.

In the stories of the The Exeter Books, one can see that crossing borders can cause a person to lose their conception of home and country. For example, in The Seafarer and The Wanderer, after each narrator is sent to exile because their lord was killed, they do not have a sense of home and where they are supposed to be any more. The narrator of The Seafarer states that when a man is sent to exile he must “consider where we should have our home, and then think how we may come there, and let us also strive to reach that place of eternal blessedness”. This shows that when one is crossing a border they lose their sense of home and are caught longing to find a place that can feel like home.

In The Wife’s Lament, the narrator states that she was sent to exile and forced to live in a place where she “had few loved ones or loyal friends in this country, which causes me grief. ” This shows that as one is sent to exile and forced to a cross a border they may not want to, they can lose their conception of where their home and country is. The narrator was caused pain and was forced to grieve because she was in a foreign country that did not make her feel like she was at home. Along one’s journey of crossing borders the dangers that they come across can change a person and cause them to lose a sense of who they are and where they belong in the world.

Throughout this unit of “Travel, Migration, and Exile, ” we read about and came across many people that risked their lives while crossing a border. Each person had a different motive or opportunity ahead of them, and each person came across different challenges along the way. However, the crossing of borders led each person in their own way to change and lose their conception of self, home, and country.

The way one crosses a border can come in variety of ways, whether it crossing a physical border, or crossing a social border that has been a burden to society. The crossing of any type of a border is a great accomplishment and leads the one that crossed the border to have a great sense of pride in what they have done. In this unit we really grasped how difficult it is to cross a border and learned that there are many different reasons, motives, and opportunities for why one would embark on such a long and grueling journey.