καγχαλόων
See above on 10.400, where Odysseus smiles, for our discussion of how to understand facial expressions within their cultural context as well as their formulaic and episodic contexts. Those same caveats apply to Odysseus’ laughter in this line, since laughter is another kind of nonverbal expression that has specific meaning within a culture. Some studies of laughter in Homer take their starting point from the suitors in the Odyssey, since their laughter is so memorable, but such an approach suggests the conclusion that laughter is negative in Homeric epic. Levine (1982) argues that laughter in the Homeric epics “generally implies a real or imagined physical or moral superiority over another person” (Levine 1982:97). As he strives to make that one idea fit every instance, the natural variety we would expect of different kinds of laughter in different situations is lost. He does not distinguish between the words καγχαλάω and γελάω or γελώς in his list of examples of laughter from the Iliad (Levine 1982:97). Colakis (1986) argues that laughter in the Odyssey “usually indicates some sort of weakness of character” (Colakis 1986:137). (The fact that Paris laughs on more than one occasion in the Iliad may contribute to this kind of interpretation.) Although she does not cite Levine 1982 on this argument, Colakis also asserts that smiles mean an actual superiority, a control of the situation, while those who laugh only think they are superior (Colakis 1986:139).
Such interpretations of laughter do not get us too far in this case: certainly Odysseus could be expressing his superior position after he reports the victory that he and Diomedes have achieved. But he could also be expressing relief at having made it back and/or showing social solidarity with the other Achaeans who here, as earlier, exult (χαίρω on this line and on 10.539). We need to be careful about how we interpret such culturally specific nonverbal communication, and not base our conclusions on the meanings of laughter in our own culture or on our personal feelings about the characters who laugh. For insightful approaches to and examinations of laughter in ancient Greek culture, including in the Homeric epics, see Halliwell 1991 and 2008. Halliwell recognizes the broad range of laughter in these epics, maintaining that “it would be misguided to claim a univocal significance for ‘Homeric’ laughter” (Halliwell 2008:97). Instead, he argues that “Homeric laughter spans a spectrum of feeling that includes both positive and negative emotions” (Halliwell 2008:53). So we must still pay close attetion to the uses of this particular verb in context in order to understand what its connotations for the ancient audience may have been.
When we do look at other uses of this same verb, we find that it is used in situations of ridicule (such as when Hektor imagines that the Achaeans are laughing at the idea of Paris as the Trojans’ best fighter, Iliad 3.43) or perhaps excessive celebration in triumphing over an enemy (Eurykleia laughs this way in Odyssey 23.1 and is warned against such laughter by Penelope at Odyssey 23.59). Halliwell (2008:57n15) notes that the verb καγχαλάω is later associated with animal noises, including a horse’s neigh, so here we might wonder whether it emphasizes the particular sound Odysseus makes while perhaps evoking the horses he is leading.
In terms of composition, though, the closest parallel comes from Iliad 6.514, which describes Paris returning to battle:
ὣς υἱὸς Πριάμοιο Πάρις κατὰ Περγάμου ἄκρης
τεύχεσι παμφαίνων ὥς τ᾽ ἠλέκτωρ ἐβεβήκει
καγχαλόων, ταχέες δὲ πόδες φέρον·
Iliad 6.512–514
Just so the son of Priam, Paris, down from the height of Pergamon,
all shining in his armor like the sun, had gone,
laughing, and his swift feet were carrying him.
In this passage, too, we have the participle accompanying a verb of motion and enjambed as the first word of the following line. What is Paris feeling as he makes his way out of the city that makes him laugh? This passage follows the simile that compares Paris to a running horse that has broken free. (That simile is remarkable because it is repeated: compare Iliad 6.506–511 and Iliad 15.263–268, where it is used as a comparison for Hektor returning to battle.) The simile, as well as the laughter of Paris, conveys a sense of exhilaration as he moves. But the differences between the situations should caution us from making broad pronouncements about laughter and character.
The parallel between these two passages has to do with the verbs of motion and the direction of the person who laughs. Paris laughs as he moves from the safety of home, the fortified citadel of Troy, back to the plain where the battle is raging. Odysseus laughs as he moves across the ditch, from the dangers of the night to the safety offered by the ditch and the wall the Achaeans have built. They are moving in opposite directions, yet the movement itself seems to provoke the same reaction. Thus within the traditional diction this kind of laughter may accompany such a transition between safety and danger.