[Music] book 8 opens with King Alois aided secretly by Athena calling on his people to build a ship and gather a crew to help odyusa feast and a great Gathering is put together in odys honor here we meet demotus the sing Bard who sings of a story of the great ody disused verbal battle in the Trojan War now remember nobody yet realizes odys identity so when he is sitting there and starts weeping Alois doesn't know what's going on he decides that maybe he better help his guest out a little by distracting everyone from the crying
with an athletic competition odys turns down the athletic competition citing his fatigue from all his travel but when some of the gathered crew begin to make fun of him the huus proves too much he's just got to be the best he easily crushes everyone in the competition and King Alois demands gifts be given to him here comes demotus once more to sing a song about Troy's fall at the hands of the Brave odys odyss in Disguise again weeps finally it proves too much he Reveals His identity to the king and the people gathered there's a
lot we get out of this first of all the role of deception once again in creating a distance between reality and illusion something else worth noting is demotus the role of The Bard in ancient Greek society the oral tradition of singing and telling stories to pass on mythology the way information spread and there are some people who even think demotus is supposed to be Homer
