Johann August Nahl the Younger, German
“Hold Up. Matt Damon Plays Me in the Movie? But I’m Greek! Am I To Assume From That That Stamos Passed?,” Date Unknown
Oil on canvas
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/// Young Telemachus doubts his own eyes
as Athena removes the disguise
of a “beggar.” The lad
sees his long-missing Dad
in the swineherd’s house. What a surprise!
/// Here, at last, back on Ithaca’s shores
is Odysseus, home from the wars.
His son should have suspected
something when he detected
puffy cumulus clouds were indoors.
/// The old dog, Argus, under the table
was the only one who had been able
to (by smell?) recognize
his old master, but lies
form a heart-breaking part of this fable.)
/// As a hunter pup Argus was trained,
but that first hunting trip was detained.
War with Troy had been fated,
while at home the dog waited.
Twenty years aged him where he remained.
/// When Odysseus came home once more,
he thought, “I’ve seen that old dog before.”
Mired with dung, old and frail,
Argus wagged his bruised tail—
which his master was forced to ignore.
/// With Athena’s aid, he had to hide
who he was from the suitors who tried
to mate with his wife.
He’d be risking his life
to acknowledge the dog… so it died.