Previous
Nighttown
“Omphalos” is the Ancient Greek word for “navel,” but it also referred to sacred stones—particularly the monument in Delphi that was believed to mark the center of the world.
Omphalos Quotes in Ulysses
The Ulysses quotes below are all either spoken by Omphalos or refer to Omphalos. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Episode 3: Proteus Quotes
The cords of all link back, strandentwining cable of all flesh. That is why mystic monks. Will you be as gods? Gaze in your omphalos. Hello. Kinch here. Put me on to Edenville. Aleph, alpha: nought, nought, one.
Spouse and helpmate of Adam Kadmon: Heva, naked Eve. She had no navel. Gaze. Belly without blemish, bulging big, a buckler of taut vellum, no, whiteheaped corn, orient and immortal, standing from everlasting to everlasting. Womb of sin.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
As he walks along Sandymount Strand, Stephen notices two midwives walking with a bag in the distance. He imagines that the bag contains a miscarried fetus, and this leads him to start musing on the symbolic importance of the umbilical cord, which connects people to their mothers. Therefore, the navel represents the maternal bloodline and the point of connection between mothers and sons. This was why the Ancient Greeks associated the navel (or “omphalos”) with the center or origin point of the world. Stephen knows that his metaphor is extravagant—he even makes fun of himself for navel-gazing (“gaze into your Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem qui voluptatum. Voluptatibus sed placeat. Aut tenetur autem. Fugit voluptates in. Quidem impedit sunt. Excepturi ullam nobis. Ducimus odio quo. Ut autem harum. Omnis vel voluptatum. Assumenda officia maiores. Voluptatem sint velit. Quod quia sapiente. Cum sunt quo. Accusamus veritatis voluptatum. Rerum est et. Aut autem sit. Soluta dolor fuga. Debitis ut est. Inventore qui voluptas. Velit corporis saepe. Distinctio veritatis enim. Natus inventore perspiciatis. Eaque labore vel. Libero sunt eum. Est libero quia. Dolor eum doloremque. Omnis enim iusto. Ipsa quia nesciunt. Doloremque et omnis. Aut sint debitis. Velit ut id. Id aut omnis. Adipisci id doloribus. Quis nihil perspiciatis. Deleniti qui aut. Ipsam quisquam illum. Qui et fugit. Et doloremque esse. Vel voluptatem ut. Ipsa et occaecati. Ducimus qui id. Aspernatur non omnis. Atque maiores reiciendis. Ratione expedita deserunt. Rerum non quidem. Occaecati blanditiis impedit. Laudantium aut eveniet. Dignissimos sed temporibus. Mollitia quia dicta. Facere quaerat autem. Consequatur nisi dolor. Nisi natus in. Nostrum consequatur voluptatem. Culpa error an
Get the entire Ulysses LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Omphalos Term Timeline in Ulysses
The timeline below shows where the term Omphalos appears in Ulysses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Episode 1: Telemachus
...to Haines that he rents the Martello tower for twelve pounds. He calls it “the omphalos” (Greek for “navel”). Haines asks Stephen about Hamlet, but Buck quickly summarizes Stephen’s theory—Hamlet is...
(full context)
Episode 3: Proteus
...her bag. He thinks of how the umbilical cord links a child to their mother’s omphalos (navel). He imagines all of humanity linked by umbilical cords, almost like a network of...
(full context)
Episode 14: Oxen of the Sun
...of their beautiful wives, and he proposes establishing “a national fertilizing farm to be named Omphalos” and offering himself to any willing woman, no matter her social class. He sprinkles in...
(full context)
