To read is to gather.
Οδύσσεια
To read is to gather.
In Greek, λέγειν first meant to gather flowers and fruit, then to gather with the eye images and words. Hence the idea of reading The Odyssey this way: at the height of blades of grass and wildflowers.
Here, the plants named by Homer, scattered through the referenced songs.
There, the shores where they bloom, drawn from the geographical theories of Callimachus, Bérard and Cuisenier.
In years past, a crew of gatherer-singers sailed in the wake of Ulysses to gather, in situ, the seeds of The Odyssey — and to share them on their return in a collection of seeds, sealed in this amphora like a promised garden.
With this hope: as we know, plants communicate with one another, from generation to generation. And it may be that one day we will learn to hear them. Then this promised garden, arising from Homeric shores, would bring forth new words. And we would listen to the flowers of The Odyssey, singing in their turn its adventures.
Gaele Flao (drawings) / Laurent Derobert (design) / Gaïa Bergelin (seeds)
A collective of gatherer-singers walking the shores of the Mediterranean to commit its flora to memory.
Un point à signaler : le français joue sur « dessins » (Gaele Flao) / « dessein » (Laurent Derobert) — même son, sens différent (dessin vs intention/projet). L'anglais ne permet pas ce jeu de mots ; j'ai traduit par « drawings » / « design », qui garde une consonance proche mais perd le clin d'œil homophonique. Si ce jeu de mots compte pour vous, on peut chercher une autre solution (ex. « drawings » / « designs »).
LISTING DES PLANTES DE L'ODYSSÉE
grapevine / rose / olive tree / umbrella pine / barley / spelt / poppy / clover / fragrant galingale / wheat / cedar / Barbary thuja / black alder / black poplar / cypress / violet / parsley / rush / wild olive / couch grass / date palm / hyacinth / pear tree / pomegranate tree / apple tree / fig tree / horehound / wild jujube / laurel / pine / oak / dogwood / snowdrop / willow / asphodel / flax / thorns (of wild pear) / reed / ash tree / papyrus
1. οἰνόπεδος – vigne (Chant I, vers 193;XI, 193), cf. ἄμπελος (IX, 110, 133;XXIV, 245-248) et σταφυλή (VII, 121;XXIV, 341-344) :: Vitis vinifera vine
2. ῥόδον – rose (in ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς, Aurore aux doigts de rose - II, 1 et 21 fois encore) :: Rosa sp. rose
3. ἐλαία – olivier (II, 339; V, 236, 477;VII, 116; IX, 320; XI, 590; XIII, 102, 122, 346, 372; XXIII, 190, 195, 204;XXIV, 246) :: Olea europaea olive tree
4. ἐλάτη – pin parasol (II, 424; V, 239;XV, 289) :: Pinus pinea stone pine
5. οὐλοχύται – orge (III, 441, 445, 447; IV, 761), cf. κρῖ λευκόν (IV, 41, 604; IX, 110;XII, 358; XIX, 112) :: Hordeum vulgare
6. ζειά – épeautre (IV, 41, 604) :: Triticum monococcum spelt
7. φάρμακον νηπενθές – pavot (IV, 220-221) :: Papaver sp. poppy
8. λωτός – trèfle (IV, 603) :: Trifolium fragiferum clover
9. κύπειρος – souchet odorant (IV, 603) :: Cyperus longus odorous nutgrass
10. πυρός – froment (IV, 604; IX, 110; XIX, 112, 536, 553) :: Triticum vulgare wheat
11. κέδρος – cèdre (V, 60) :: Cedrus libani Cedar
12. θύος – thuya de barbarie (V, 60) :: Callitris quadrivalvis Berber thuja
13. κλήθρα – aulne noir (V, 64, 239) :: Alnus glutinosa black alder
14. αἴγειρος – peuplier noir (V, 64, 239; VI, 292; VII, 106; IX, 141; X, 510; XVII, 208) :: Populus nigra black poplar
15. κυπάρισσος – cyprès (V, 64; XVII, 340) :: Cypressus sp. cypress
16. ἴον – violette (V,72) :: Viola odorata violet
17. σελίνον – persil (V, 72) :: Petroselinum crispum persil
18. σχοίνος – jonc (V, 463) :: Juncus sp. rush
19. φυλία – oléastre (V, 477) :: Olea europaea sylvestris oleaster
20. ἄγρωστις – chiendent (VI, 90) :: Cynodon sp. couch grass
21. φοῖνιξ – palmier-dattier (VI, 163) :: Phoenix dactylifera Date palm
22. ὑακινθος – jacinthe (VI, 231; XXIII,158) :: Hyacinthus sp. hyacinth
23. ὄγχνη – poirier (VII, 115, 120; XI, 589;XXIV, 234, 247, 341) :: Pyrus communis pear tree
24. ῥοιά – grenadier (VII, 115; XI, 589) :: Punica granatum pomegranate tree
25. μηλέα – pommier (VII, 115, 120; XI, 589; XXIV, 340) :: Malus domestica apple tree
26. συκέα – figuier (VII, 116; XI, 590;XXIV, 246, 341), cf. ἐρινεός (XII, 103, 432) :: Ficus carica fig tree
27. πράσον – marrube (VII, 127; XXIV, 247) :: Marrubium vulgare horehound
28. λωτός – jujubier sauvage (IX, 91-94) :: Ziziphus lotus wild jujube
29. δάφνη – laurier (IX, 183) :: Laurus nobilis laurel
30. πίτυς – pin (IX, 186) :: Pinus nigra pine
31. δρῦς – chêne (IX, 186; X, 150, 197, 251; XII, 357, 362; XIV, 12, 328, 425; XIX, 163, 297; XXI, 43) :: Quercus ilex oak
32. κράνεια – cornouiller (X, 242) :: Cornus mas dogwood
33. μῶλυ – perce-neige (X, 304-06) :: Galanthus sp snowdrop
34. ἰτέα – saule (X,510), cf. οἰσύα (V, 256) et λύγος (IV, 427; X, 166) :: Salix sp. willow
35. ἀσφόδελος – asphodèle (XI, 539, 573;XXIV, 13) :: Asphodelus ramosus asphodel
36. λίνον – lin (XIII, 73, 118) :: Linum usitatissimum flax
37. ἄχέρδος – épines (de poirier sauvage) (XIV, 10) :: Pyrus spinosa (wild pear) thorns
38. δόναξ – roseau (XIV, 474) :: Arundo donax reed
39. μήλινος – frêne (XVII, 339) :: Fraxinus sp. ash tree
40. βύβλος – papyrus (XXI, 391) :: Cyperus papyrus papyrus