From the Episode 1 · Telemachus thread on Swerve of Shore, by Brandon Nicklaus.
The term “omphalos” appears twice in the first episode of Ulysses, each time adding layers to the novel’s themes of history, identity, and intellectual rebellion.
The first mention comes from Stephen Dedalus as he broods over his strained relationship with Buck Mulligan:
The second occurs when Buck, ever the showman, grandly refers to their Martello tower as the omphalos, as if elevating it above the many others scattered along the coast. But what makes this tower the omphalos? And what does the word even mean?
Read the full piece at Swerve of Shore
Opening paragraphs quoted from swerveofshore.com and reproduced with the author's permission. This site is a layout rebuild on the zer0-mistakes theme — the full essay lives on the original.