Canto I Memory and the Past Quotes

On top of wanting a proper burial (you know, so he can escape eternity in the underworld), Elpenor wants to live on in the memories of the friends who were closest to him. So far, no one even knows that he's dead, so no one has even cried for him. The only reason this guy has even gotten a chance to be remembered is because he has run up to Odysseus in the world and is all like, "Hey man! I'm dead!"

There's a reason old Tiresias recognizes Odysseus while he's visiting the underworld. It's because the two of them have met before, and even though Tiresias is blind, he has this weird way of never forgetting a face (yeah, it's hard to make sense of it). He refers to Odysseus as a man of ill star because he knows that the Greek gods aren't huge fans of Odysseus. In fact, it seems like the whole world is conspiring against Odysseus' homeward journey. But hey, Tiresias is still willing to help a dude from back in the day.