Odysseus Rescuer: Mystery solved

Regular readers of BwP may remember a couple of Pies with Pandora discussing the Google string "Odysseus rescuer," which is a frequent BwP referrer.

I asked readers some time ago to tell me, if they could, why Google users need so urgently to know who rescued Odysseus, the great sacker of cities and homecoming veteran of the Trojan War.

In my naivete, I thought they must be looking for Nausicaa, the teenage hero who helps Odysseus after a shipwreck, and to whom later he pledges prayers, as to a god (Lombardo translation):

Nausicaa, daughter of great Alcinous,
So may Zeus, Hera's thundering lord,
Grant that I see my homeland again.
There I will pray to you, as to a god,
All of my days. I owe to you my life.

Thanks to 62 down of the New York Times crossword puzzle for September 8, 2006 (registration required to access the daily puzzle), however, I now know the real story, and it is much less mysterious than I thought.

Apparently, crossword puzzles often have the need for a clue to the letter string I-N-O, three of the most frequently used letters in the English language (Scrabble = 1 point each!).

Fortunately for crossword puzzle editors, I-N-O spells out the name of the ancient Greek sea nymph Ino, who rescues Odysseus from drowning-- just before he meets Nausicaa.

Here is the relevant passage (Lombardo translation):

And the White Goddess saw him, Cadmus' daughter
Ino, once a human girl with slim, beautiful ankles
Who had won divine honors in the saltwater gulfs.
She pitied Odysseus his wandering, his pain,
and rose from the water like a flashing gull...

Just before Odysseus goes into the drink for the last time, she gives him a cloth and tells him to tie it around his chest for protection. Odysseus, no dope, does what he is told, and lives.

Now, I know it must be a very small minority of you crossword puzzlers out there, but aren't you NOT supposed to look in a dictionary (or Google) to get your answers?

Many thanks to the NYT puzzle buffs who commented today on 62 down, and thanks to the NYT puzzle for 450+ page views today.

Comments

[John]

Thanks. I looked through all my mythology books and finally found Ino in "Mythology, Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes," by Edith Hamilton; and in "The Greek Myths," by Robert Graves, etc. In the process I learned a lot more about her. THAT is the point of the NYTimes crossword puzzle: it's not to gloat at one's knowledge, but to continue to learn. I don't need to learn what I already know. I need to be able to see what I know in different lights and, seeing what I don't know, to learn more. But I wouldn't have found Ino without your help. Google otherwise wasn't much help. Thanks!

[DF]

John, You've showed me the worth of crossword puzzles in a different light. Intensely competitive perfectionist that I am, I focus on solving without help, then basking in the accomplishment if I succeed. Crossword puzzles as learning tools? Nice.

Thanks for visiting, and come back anytime you want to learn more, on an errand from a crossword or not.

[RM]

Ino - 54 Accross, 28 Jan 2009 NY Times crossword puzzle. They're getting lazy!

Thanks for the help!

[Abyt]

Sorry, but could you guys post some more FACTS instead of OPINIONS, maybe?! I mean I've got to write a paper on this stuff. YOU. JUST. WASTE. MY. TIME!

[DF]

I hope you feel better now that you've got that off your chest, and thanks for reading BwP.

[private tutor]

Wow, you're very good at mythology. I had a hard time memorizing all those "uncommon" characters. Might as well need a private tutor in Mythology.

[Trailers for Sale]

"The Greek Myths," by Robert Graves, etc. In the process I learned a lot more about her. THAT is the point of the NYTimes crossword puzzle: it's not to gloat at one's knowledge, but to continue to learn. I don't need to learn what I already know. I need to be able to see what I know in different lights and, seeing what I don't know, to learn more. But I wouldn't have found Ino without your help. Google otherwise wasn't much help. Thanks!