Odysseus - Blog Posts
Poseidon: How will you sleep at night?
Odysseus: Next to my wife.
Poseidon: And do you think she'll be proud of you torturing a god?!
Odysseus: Dude, she's from Sparta. Me telling her this is gonna be like foreplay for her.
He’s not angry he’s disappointed (he’s also pretty angry)
no hope for that guy
when you realise it would work the other way around too 'cause stiles is just that type of unhinged
I really do looked at anything and make it Sterek like
Odysseus spent 20 years killing thousands just to give his wife a little kiss? Slay Derek would do that for Stiles
Like 💀
I've been really enjoying epic the musical recently so I decided to draw Odysseus and the son of Hector anyways hope y'all enjoy this silly lil drawing
Are we going to talk about how in Dangerous Jorge perfectly captures Odysseus’s feeling of utter loneliness with his thematic reprisal of Full Speed Ahead? Are we going to talk about the pause after ‘Cause I had one goal in mind’ where you as the listener automatically supply: ‘make it back alive to our homeland’? Only the men singing that line didn’t make it back alive so are we going to talk about that or are we going to choose not to be sad today?
Hey remember when I was yapping about a baby siren in different beast? Well I just watched an animatic that had the same idea! It was heartbreaking :D! Go watch it it's really good: https://youtu.be/SlT0G3Ltzu8
Odysseus from underworld saga onwards
I was wondering if maybe the sirens can only change to look like people who are around the same age as them (yes I’m still obsessed with the thunder saga, I promise I’ll write about wisdom saga soon)
Now obviously there’s no mythological or canonical reason why they would but it would certainly make things more interesting. Penelope is a middle aged woman so I imagine that Sirenope would have to be the eldest and most capable, most likely the leader as well.
And Odysseus’s daughter would be the youngest. I imagine a baby siren, around ten or so, impersonating this imaginary child. Perhaps this siren is the daughter of Sirenope, who is learning how to hunt from her mother (baby’s first drowning!! They grow up so fast!)
So when viewed through that lens Different Beast becomes even more monstrous because Odysseus is killing a child in front of its mother. He is also, ironically, putting Sirenope through the same pain he has felt ever since Poseidon - he is making her experience the guilt of a leader whose actions directly led to their people getting killed.
I saw a post that suggested Odysseus might have spared Sirenope’s life so she could live with the guilt of what she’s done, and I can’t help but admire the parallels. Odysseus has not only become a monster, he has become a monster that deals out the exact type of pain that he feels.
And he does it again by giving the torches to Eurylochus in Scylla oh my word-
I know I said this wasn't really an art account anymore...but this is epic the musical related so I hope you guys like it anyway? If I could go back and redo it there is a lot of things I'd change (namely Athena's design) but for now I'm pretty happy with it
Something I've been thinking a lot about recently
Would be Eurylochus's line in mutiny, "If you want all the power you must carry all the blame!" Because even though he sings it to Odysseus, it's not about Odysseus at all. That line perfectly encapsulates Eurylochus's own arc, and foreshadows his death.
I'm sure other people have talked about this as well, but I had to comment on it and how clever it is. Because Eurylochus did want all the power. For a while now, I think. That isn't to say he's been power hungry, but throughout the course of the musical he has grown increasingly dissatisfied with Ody's decisions. Especially from Ocean saga onwards, when Polites isn't there to keep the peace, I get the vibe that he feels that if only he was the one in charge, he could get them home. He would never have gotten them into these dangerous situations they find themselves in. It's his coping mechanism - blaming Odysseus helps keep his own guilt about the wind bag at bay. It's probably why he feels he can tell Odysseus about the wind bag, because he feels that it isn't entirely his fault.
Odysseus doesn't agree, of course, and all of this pent up anger and frustration finally comes to a head in Mutiny. Eurylochus yells this line to him, fully believing that Odysseus doesn't deserve to be in charge anymore and he has a point but that's a post for another day. What Eurylochus doesn't realise, though, is that when he takes Odysseus's power from him and becomes the leader, he will be held to the same standard.
So when he chooses to kill those cows, his words become a self fulfilling prophecy. For a moment, he had all the power. He made a choice. And he had to carry all the blame.
Under appreciated moment in the Troy saga!!
I know everyone is still getting over the thunder saga (which is so fair) but listening to the remastered Troy saga reminded me of one of my favourite moments (musically) from the entirety of epic.
It’s in Open Arms (bc of course it is) and it’s when Polites and Odysseus first encounter the lotus eaters. It starts at 1:08 minutes in, where you can hear the chorus in the background building up this beautiful scale of notes like some kind of heavenly choir, and then they go back down again and it’s just?! So pretty?!
Like I don’t know what the musical term for it (I haven’t done music theory since high school) but it’s so pretty and it gives me so much serotonin. Definitely one of my favourite moments so far.
In honor of the new saga
My beautiful baby polities
The horsemen listening to epic!
NOW, HEAR ME OUT
Luck runs out: Dylan and Danny as Odysseus Eurylochus arguing
Merritt, Lula, Henley, and Jack: in the background doing the macarena
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dylan and Jack as Odysseus and Telemachus
That's all I got so far add more if you have any ideas about this id love the hear them! 😁
I may or may not have written a fanfic based on my last post, but i have never written before. And it is probably also confusing? 😅 Idk i still wanted to post it bc i am curious to see what others think! Criticism is welcome but please be nice :).
(Also i crossposted this on AO3)
Having a trident pushing you under the water for a while isn’t nice.
What Odysseus didn’t expect though, was to open his eyes to what he assumed was the underworld.
This can’t be. He thought, I’m supposed to return to Penelope and Telemachus!
WAIT!
Is that liquid gold splattering on his hands?
How?
AAAAH
His vision suddenly switched, was that.. Poseidon lying there? And why was he being stabbed by his own trident?
HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING HELPLESS?!
Was that his voice? But it can’t be, he is supposed to be in the underworld. Well he is actually supposed to be home with his son and wife but-
Odysseus? My son?
Mom? Was that his mom? So he is dead… oh gods, what is he going to-
AAAH
Why is there still screaming
Ody?
Eurylo-
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW PAIN?
Why does his reality keep on being flipped
URGHH
I WATCHED ALL MY FRIENDS DIE IN HORROR
Captain?
Polites! He is good with emotions and feelings and stuff, he could he-
CRYING AS THEY WERE ALL SLAIN (UGH)
He can’t see
All he saw was gold
I HEARD THEIR FINAL MOMENTS
CALLING THEIR CAPTAIN IN VAIN
There they are! He could see them. They look worried, i need to-
LOOK WHAT YOU’VE TURNED ME INTO
LOOK WHAT I’VE BECOME
ENOUGH!
He can’t handle this.
Everything keeps on switching.
Is he really dead?
ALL OF THE PAIN I’VE BEEN THROUGH
STOP!
Is he really dead if at the same time he is causing this god so much agony?
HAVEN’T I SUFFERED ENOUGH?!
He has but is the person who is saying this him?
Who is this?
STOP!!
But he didn’t stop when i BEGGED YOU
TOLD ME TO CLOSE MY HEART
Odysseus?
Captain?
Son?
YOU…
Answer please!
ODY!
YOU SAID THE WORLD WAS DARK
MONSTER!
That’s what he was wasn’t he? It’s what he called himself. Even a god thought he was a monster now.
But didn’t he say that ruthLESSNESS IS MERCY UPON OUR-
ALRIGHT! PLEASE
After everything you’ve done, how will you sleep at night?
Can he sleep when he’s dead? He did a lot of things, but he didn’t do this? Will he still be able to do sleep if he could? Did he really do this? He didn’t. No he didn’t. But who did? Is there anyo-
Next to my wife
But i’ll never see my wife. I’m dead.
Then who will sleep next to my wife?
Hear me out
So Tiresias said “I see you draw your final breath, I see a man who gets to make it home alive, but it’s no longer you”
Odysseus has already drawn his final breath
Whoever is going to kill the suiters is not Odysseus, or at least not the same one.
Whoever will return to Penelope and Telemachus isn’t the same Odysseus who hesitated to kill a cyclops, they aren’t the same Odysseus who escaped Circe’s wrath by talking about his wife.
A monster will return to Ithaca
But Odysseus has already died on the journey to there
Idk if he died at the end of monster, due to different beast, or in those seven years with Calypso, but the Odysseus who heard that prophecy isn’t here anymore.
He has already drawn his final breath.
(Idk if anyone alr tought of this but i started thinking of this at dinner and was like holy shit so i had to share)
alrighty guys i'm asking again because the last attempt prevailed nothing. i need someone to beta read my odypoli fanfic. pls help
i have got it in my mind that the reason Athena came to Telemachus aid so fast was that she was already there. Like I imagine her wanting to see Odysseus, wanting to know he made it home but being to prideful to ask him herself (or simply not knowing where he was) so she thought it best to instead check the palace, hopeful to see him with his family, only to see Telemachus getting ganged up on. And knowing this would never happen with Ody around, she steps in for she now knows that, despite the years, Odysseus is not home and by now the odds that he will get home are very low.
i;m tired idk if that makes sense.
In the span of only 2 songs we are truly reminded that Penelope is born and raised Spartan and I absolutely LOVE IT.
Like her husband who she has seen in 20 years shows up and commits war crimes that would likely violate the Geneva Convention, and she's just like "Ok... And?" LIKE OMG
Penelope is the mother of mothers and i absolutely adore her.
HELP
I need someone to beta read and OdyPoli Fanfic I've been writing. This would include changing errors, giving suggestions and helping me come up with chapter names pls.
OdyPoli Fanfic on Ao3
Penelope is dead, Odysseus is at a crossroads, Polites doesn't die. and they all suffer!! Yippee!!
Please read I promise it's good! My friend says so.
OH YEAH FOLKS
It's out !!!
Is this old art acceptable?
Someone should really draw Ody and Zeus like this as a part of (the amazing) @anniflamma 's manwhore saga 😂
Jorge: "Thunder saga sometime this year. Might take a bit."
Okay no problem.
Two days later..
Jorge: " Haha trailer drops in two days."
WHAT
Animators who add Penelope in their animatics of Epic songs, even when she's not technically mentioned, know that you're adding 20 years to my life.
Love and Power Concerning Odysseus
(Introduction) When most people look at Odysseus, they see a wise strategist who bested various beasts and gods to get back home to his wife and son. But some see a man who embraced other women willingly, followed a corrupt goddess, and did not love his wife as it was stated he did in Homer’s Odyssey. But when one takes a closer look at the text itself, one can see that this is likely not what Homer had intended to imply. Homer meant to display how Odysseus was taken advantage of by goddesses and gods alike. (Thesis) Calypso and Circe both seemed to take joy in the power they held over Odysseus, while Penelope displayed the love for him that truly showed how they cared for each other. (Direction)
(Statement of Facts) Homer lays out Odysseus’s life quite well. Odysseus was a Greek soldier who, after having made the suitors of Helen swear to defend her from any potential threat, was whisked away from his wife, Penelope, and his infant son, Telemachus. Odysseus fought for ten long years at Troy, facing hardships from the Trojans and even within his own ranks. He advised Agamemnon, gave counsel to Achilles, complimented Diomedes on his work ethic, and slaughtered those who stood in his way. After Troy fell and the Achaeans divided the spoils amongst themselves, Odysseus set off for home. For twenty years, he braved trial after tribulation from gods to monsters to betrayal from his own men. Eventually, after making it home and seeing the state of his palace, Odysseus, alongside his now grown son, Telemachus, strung his war-bow and slaughtered the suitors leeching from his wealth and harassing his wife. The interpersonal relationships in his journey are where things get complicated (Homer Iliad) (Homer Odyssey).
(Division) Odysseus’s Roman counterpart, Ulysses, brings an interesting point of view to the discussion. The Romans did not like the Greeks’ Athena, and thus any hero related to her through patronage or skill. This influenced how they depicted Odysseus in their own mythology, which sparked many arguments against him in some modern circles. It is debatable, depending on which book is referenced, whether or not Odysseus was the man to throw Astyanax from Troy’s walls; but, for the sake of argument, this paper will use Pseudo-Apollodorus’s Bibliotheca- or, The Library, as is the English translation-which seems to imply that it was, in fact, Odysseus who committed the murder. The true application of coercion may also be called into question, considering the customs and culture at the time that Homer’s Odyssey was written; however, this paper will be viewing it through modern lenses and definitions for the sake of this discussion. Considering these details, this paper will discuss Odysseus’s relationships with Circe and Calypso and the power they exerted over Odysseus in comparison to how Penelope treated him with love.
(E1P1) Odysseus was coerced into his relationship with Circe based on the threats to the health of his crew and himself, and of the gods’ anger towards him. “…[S]uddenly she struck with her wand, drove them into her pigsties, all of them bristling into swine- with grunt, snouts, yes, and only the men’s minds stayed as steadfast as before” (Homer 238). Here, Circe displays a clear power imbalance between herself and Odysseus’s crew. With a single touch and some magic, she sent them “bristling into swine” with hardly a chance to fight back. Any attempt to stand against her could be reasonably expected to be met with a similar display of power and danger. Later, when Odysseus approaches Circe’s palace to do just that, Hermes- the god of travelers, mischief, and often Odysseus’s own grandfather- approaches, offering the advice of: “..but don’t refuse the goddess’s bed, not then, not if she’s to release your friends and treat you well herself” (Homer 239). Hermes’s approach offers another layer of concern on top of the threat of Circe herself. Odysseus has been shown before to fear the gods’ power when he murders Astyanax, as depicted in Apollodorus’s Bibliotheca and would likely fear Hermes the same, despite their blood relation (239). To have Odysseus “[not] refuse the goddess’s bed” for fear of safety is the definition of coercion, which is an action taken under duress of retribution or harm (Cambridge). Thus, the relationship between Odysseus and Circe could not have been one of love, but only power.
(E1P2) Calypso exercised her power over Odysseus to keep their relationship afloat, rather than relying on kindled love or affection. “On that tenth, at night, the gods cast me up on Ogygia, Calypso’s island, home of the dangerous nymph with glossy braids who speaks to me in a human voice…” (Fagles 285). Here, Odysseus immediately makes it known how he feels about this nymph. She is “dangerous”, even to a man who had faced down the Cyclopes, the Underworld, and much more. Any relationship built on danger cannot thus be one of love. When earlier, Odysseus had recounted the tale, he made clear mention that “she never won the heart inside me, never. Seven endless years I remained there..” (Fagles 187). Despite the time spent on her island, “seven endless years”, Odysseus never caved to Calypso’s charms. That amount of time would have been more than enough for some semblance of Stockholm Syndrome to kick in, but it never did. Odysseus remained resolute in his dislike of her, even to the point of having “no choice- unwilling lover alongside lover all too willing” when she brought him to her bed (Fagles 157). This is another clear example of coercion- the act, process, or power of coercing, which means using threats or intimidation to force someone to do something against their will (Cambridge). Despite the time Homer lived, he still understood that Calypso’s and Circe’s relationships differed from Odysseus’s with Penelope.
(E2P1) Penelope truly loved Odysseus, unlike how Circe and Calypso treated the Ithacan king. “How well you knew- you heard from my own lips- that I meant to probe this stranger in our house and ask about my husband… my heart breaks for him” (Fagles 393). Penelope, with the first mention of her husband, immediately wilts with grief for Odysseus. She stands up to her own maids and caretakers in defense of this beggar for even a hint of news of Odysseus without even knowing the man himself was in front of her. “…[D]own she sank, laying the case across her knees, and dissolved into tears with a high thin wail as she drew her husband’s weapon from its sheath…” (Fagles 426). Even at the sight of only Odysseus’s weapon, Penelope cannot contain her grief for Odysseus’s absence. Even with the suitors’ adverse personalities, twenty years would be more than enough to decide Odysseus was dead and choose another husband, but Penelope never did. She stayed faithful to Odysseus even through the desolation of her home and desecration of her image. “Living proof- Penelope felt her knees go slack, her heart surrender, recognizing the clear signs Odysseus offered” (Fagles 462). Penelope truly loved Odysseus and her actions showed she saw him as a man, a husband, and a father, rather than a toy to be used and discarded.
(Refutation) According to the Roman iteration of Odysseus, Ulysses, some may say that Calypso’s and Circe’s relationships with Odysseus were willing and filled with love. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Maraceus- one of Odysseus’s men- recounts the story of the crew’s encounter with Circe. “Ulysses was happy to join fair Circe in her bed, but insisted that she must restore his friends...” (Ovid 563). Now, the Romans were known to not be fond of Greece or their interpretation of Athena, which would allow for the intentional mischaracterization of Odysseus to justify their hatred of the goddess. Also, this scene is recounted by one of Odysseus’s men- a likely unreliable narrator. Understandably, Maraceus might see Odysseus as ‘happy to join fair Circe in her bed’ as he looked in from an outside perspective without having heard the prior discussion between Ulysses and Hermes. Maraceus did mention Hermes- or the Roman Mercury- meeting Ulysses before he came to Circe’s palace “with [the moly] and the god’s instructions” (Ovid 526). However, it was unlikely that Ulysses recounted the entire set of instructions Hermes gave him to his crew, considering the sensitive nature of the discussion. A misunderstanding would be almost inevitable among the crew. Unfortunately, we do not have a similar recounting of Ogygia from an outside perspective, but similar arguments can be made and rebuffed with the same points.
(Conclusion) Despite many angry men and scheming iterations, Odysseus’s reputation as a faithful, wise man who adores his wife fails to be tarnished by their efforts. Looking at Homer’s text alone, one can see how Odysseus was truly meant to be viewed and how the power held over him by the immortals of his world changed the implication of his journey.
Works Cited
“Coercion | English Meaning - Cambridge Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary, dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/coercion. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin, 1997.
Apollodorus. The Library, Volume II: Book 3.10-End. Epitome. Translated by James G. Frazer, Harvard University Press, 1921.
Ovid. Metamorphoses: A New Verse Translation. Translated by D. A. Raeburn and D. C. Feeney, Penguin, 2004.
Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles and Bernard Knox, Penguin, 1990.