Winnowing Oar

The Winnowing Oar (athereloigos - Greek ἀθηρηλοιγός) is an object that appears in Books XI and XXIII of Homer's Odyssey.^[1] In the epic, Odysseus is instructed by Tiresias to take an oar from his ship and to walk inland until he finds a "land that knows nothing of the sea", where the oar would be mistaken for a winnowing shovel. At this point, he is to offer a sacrifice to Poseidon, and then at last his journeys would be over.

In popular culture

In 2003 the artist Conrad Shawcross created a work, Winnowing Oar, based on the object. Sculpted in oak, spruce and ash, it is an imaginary tool with a winnowing shovel at one end and an oar blade at the other.^[2] It formed part of the Shawcross' 2004 Continuum exhibition at the National Maritime Museum.^[3]
The metaphor is used in the TV series Black Sails.
The song "Marching Inland" by Tom Lewis is a modern interpretation of the concept:^[4]

I'm marching inland from the shore, over m' shoulder I'm carrying an oar,
When someone asks me: "What - is that funny thing you've got?"
Then I know I'll never go to sea no more, no more,
Then I know I'll never go to sea no more!

References

^ The Odyssey, Perseus Project
^ Winnowing Oar, Conrad Shawcross, Victoria Miro Gallery
^ Continuum, Nmm.ac.uk
^ "Marching Inland", tomlewis.net

External links

[1] The Odyssey, Perseus Project

[2] Winnowing Oar, Conrad Shawcross, Victoria Miro Gallery

[3] Continuum, Nmm.ac.uk

[4] "Marching Inland", tomlewis.net

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