ForAdornoandHorkheimer,TheOdysseyservesasacomprehensiverenderingofthe

intertwinementofmythandenlightenment(37).Havingspentthepreviouschapterinvalidating
modernitysclaimstoemancipatoryindividuation,AdornoandHorkheimerspendOdysseyor
MythandEnlightenmentanalyzingthestoriedprocessofthisindividuationthroughtheepic
predicamentofOdysseusandhisencountersinthevenerablecosmosoftheHomericworld.(36)
TheytakeOdysseuspersistenceandcommitmenttoselfpreservationasvalueandbyvirtueof
thedialecticfinditnottobeasingularvalueatall,butanideawhichfindsvirtueinakindof
secularimmanence.TheworldthroughwhichOdysseustravelsisbesetbyhardship,butitisinthe
mythicalcharacterizationofthishardship,hisencounterswiththemagicalandtheinsurmountable,
thatOdysseusforgeshisindividuality.Thisprocedureforthederivationofself,forAdornoand
Horkheimer,presentsanearlyblueforthedrivesofenlightenmentandmyththementaldomain
ofunityintheformermergingwhilstconflictingwiththeexternaldomainofindomitablediversity
andparticulars.
BeforeoutlininghowtheHomericidealizationofselfhoodfindslifeinTheOdysseyand
livesoninmodernitystotalizingassertionsofselfhood,AdornoandHorkheimerfirstrevisittheir
historicalcritiqueofEuropeanenlightenmentinthepreviouschapter,andtheconceptsderivation
frommyth.ThisisinordertoplaceTheOdysseywithinatemporalframeworkofmaterial
conditionsdevelopinginconjunctionwiththesubordinationoftheunknowninthepursuitofthe
sovereignindividual.However,aconceptionofhistoryisnotusedtopinpointexplicitoriginor
concreteprocess.Rather,AdornoandHorkheimerfindinEuropeanenlightenment,themost
selfconsciousassertionofadrivewhichholdsnospecifichistory,civilization,orgeography:the
driveawayfromunknowingandtowardknowing(36).Thetensionbetweenknowledgeandmyth
expressesitselfthroughouthistory,inwaysthatAdornoandHorkheimer

ExcursusII

Intro
ThesecondchapterofAdornoandHorkheimersDialecticofEnlightenmentplaces
HomersOdysseyalongthefaultlinesofaformativefrictioninthedevelopmentofwestern
enlightenment.ThetwotheoristspresenttheOdysseyasanartefactof