#Laërtes

[twisted-dork]

Ctimene Headcanons Her Relationship With Her Family (+Polites and Ares)

(+What she mainly calls them)

Mom (Anticlea): 8/10 I can see Anticlea disapproving of Ctimene being a bit of a tomboy but loves her regardless like any good (I said good, not great) mother would but is still vocal about her wishing that Ctimene would act more like a girl than a warrior. Despite this they have a good relationship from their often gossiping together, spending time together, to the times of Ctimene having a bad day only to be held in her mother’s arms like she always did for her and Odysseus since they were infants.

Father (Laërtes): 4/10 Laërtes and Ctimene used to have a good relationship before he went crazy. He would give her gifts and treasures he knew she would like, he would tell her stories of heroes, and he often carried her around. But when he was crazy he would sometimes not recognize her and treated her like a stranger until Anticlea reminded him who Ctimene was. They would have their moments but Ctimene wishes they could go back to what they once were.

Big Brother (Odysseus): Odysseus would be to Ctimene like Fergus (Merida’s father) is to Merida. He wouldn’t care that Ctimene would ‘do things a princess shouldn’t do’ if anything I feel like he would take pride in being the first person to say teach her to shoot a bow and arrow (Merida and The Challenge reference). And despite having rival war gods as their Patrons they have a more healthy sibling relationship than Ares and Athena. Let me paint you a scenario: If Odysseus were to win against a duel between them he would help her get up before ruffling her hair and instructing her what she did wrong and how she could improve. But if Ctimene were to win the duel she would cheer in excitement before doing a victory dance and saying how she was the best (classic sibling behavior). Odysseus knew that he wanted her to be happy so when he noticed that his friend Eurylochus would look at her as though she was the only person he was seeing and she would smile awkwardly at him he knew. So when his best friend asked to marry her he knew his answer not caring to hear the rest of his friend’s claim and unknowingly accepted a dowry for Ctimene marriage that he later gifted her as a wedding present. He is the number 1 Eurymene shipper. Through it all they both know that they can at least trust each other even if it feels like everything and everyone is against them.

Polites: Best friends who annoy Odysseus for fun sake’s. The number 3 Eurymene shipper. Knows what cheers her up when she’s down. Was adopted as another brother by her. Was either the flower boy (Hercules Mulligan) or Man of Honor at her wedding.

Ares: The number 2 Eurymene shipper. Even though Ctimene knew the story of Ares as a warrior and how he represented the bad parts of war she couldn’t help but admire the god for how caring he seemed to be with Aphrodite, Artemis (helping her with the Amazon warriors), Hera, and his daughters even killing a son of Poseidon because he had assaulted his daughter if anything she was shocked that not that many people in their kingdom worship him but she did. She made a little alter dedicated to the God of war and would always make sure that it was up to standards for the god. When he chose her as his champion she was ecstatic. As he trained her she began to view him as a father figure and she knew he cared for her like a daughter even if he never admitted it.

I attempted to draw her in the traditional way but I will say I didn’t get the hair right

[lyculuscaelus]

When you tried to search for the vocative of one form of Odysseus’s name, Ὀδυσσεῦ, and found out that surprisingly and unsurprisingly almost all of them are preceded by the epithet πολυμήχανε (man of many wiles), and throughout the entire Iliad he’s been called by the same phrase διογενὲς Λαερτιάδη πολυμήχαν’ Ὀδυσσεῦ (Zeus-born son of Laërtes man of many wiles Odysseus) occupying the entire line for seven times and in the Odyssey it’s either this phrase (14 times) or φαίδιμ’ Ὀδυσσεῦ which means “shiny radiant Odysseus”.

ofc there’s the other form Ὀδυσεῦ being used and surprisingly and unsurprisingly this one is mostly used alone without any epithet, except with πολύαινε (“much-praised”, also interpreted as “man of many tales”) in a few cases (and three out of four of them are followed immediately by another epithet, μέγα κῦδος Ἀχαιῶν, “great kudos honor of Achaeans”).

[aliciavance4228]

The Odyssey: Funny Moments

Most of you liked my "The Iliad: Funny Moments" post, so I decided to make this one as well.

1. When Telemachus asks Odysseus what kind of help they have for taking down the suitors, Odysseus basically says, "We've got Zeus and Athena on our side. Are you sure that'll be enough?"

2. "Brother, who blinded you?" "Nobody! Nobody did!" "...Then we're going to go back to sleep."

Taken to the logical extreme in a comic book adaptation where Odysseus and his men gave him fake names:

"Brother, who blinded you?"

"Nobody! Idontknow! Idontcare! Or maybe... Idontremember!"

"So that's why they called him Polyfool."

3. After his crew opened the bag of winds thinking it had treasure and caused a huge storm, Odysseus briefly considers suicide as valid as an option to preserving through hardship.

4. The sheer, mind-boggling, testicle-shriveling amount of crap that Odysseus and his crew get put through when trying to get back to Ithaca can be viewed as hilarious in a cringe comedy kind of way. By the time Odysseus gets home and realizes that his wife has been badgered and harangued by suitors for a decade one could be forgiven for thinking that his wanton slaughter of them all was less about their violation of guest rights and more just blowing off some steam on a morally unambiguous target.

5. When briefly visiting the Underworld, Persephone allows Odysseus to talk with his mother and other dead people. Odysseus is absolutely terrified of her and dreads staying too long and incurring her wrath, running back to his ship fearful that she'll sic Medusa's head on him.

6. One of Odysseus's crew randomly dies by falling off a roof after a night of heavy drinking. Everyone else gets to be killed by horrible monsters and the wrath of the gods, but he instead gets to be a posthumous reminder about the dangers of alcoholism. Even better, after his death he berates Odysseus for not burying him properly when our hero goes to Hades!

7. On the way back to Ithaca, Telemachus asks a favor of Nestor's son Pisistratus, and proceeds to invoke two generations of friendship to get some help dodging Nestor's aggressive hospitality.

8. Penelope asks a disguised Odysseus to interpret a dream she had. It turns out that during the dream, one of its characters explicitly explained what it all represented, and Odysseus just repeats it back to her.

9. While disguised as a human, Athena goes to the trouble of giving a plausible explanation for her departure... then promptly blows her cover by turning into a bird and flying away in front of a boggling Nestor and Telemachus.

10. Penelope's tricks against the suitors, of which the two best known are:

At one point, she told the suitors she'd choose her next husband after she'd finish weaving a burial shroud for Odysseus's father Laërtes... And every night, she'd undo her work. She strung them along for three years and would have continued had an unfaithful maid not exposed her.

On page we see her daring them to replicate one of Odysseus's feats: she put twelve axes on the ground so that the rings in the handle would align and gave them Odysseus' unstrung bow and arrows, and told them that whoever could use that bow toshoot an arrow through all the rings would be her next husband.She also forgot to tell them it was a recurve bow that the suitors wouldn't even recognize when at rest, let alone string.

A lesser-known ploy is when she calls out the suitors for freeloading off her husband's estate instead of courting her with lavish gifts. They rush to present her with gifts, while the disguised Odysseus watches with delight.

11. Athena's response when Odysseus fails to recognize her in disguise and tells her a backstory he came up with on the spot is essentially "That's my liar! There he is!"

Credits: TV Tropes

[katerinaaqu]

One of the most underrated reunion scenes (Book 21 of Odyssey analysis):

Okay we all cry our eyes out in the amazing reunion between Odysseus and Telemachus or with his father Laërtes or with Penelope and for a good reason! But, if I may, I believe there is one more scene that people do not talk much about and is this one! :

"And so he spoke and he pulled the rugs aside, revealing the great scar and when they saw it they understood everything, bawling in tears both threw themselves at Odysseus shamelessly/unrestrained kissing his hands and head and shoulders and in similar manner Odysseus kissed their hands and heads. And they could remain so crying till the sunset if it weren't for Odysseus to restrain them by crying out:"

(Translation by me)

This is the moment when Odysseus has clearly as day revealed to his two loyal slaves, the swine hearder Eumaeus and his cattle herder Philoetius who he is and that he came back after 20 years and shows them his scar as proof. He also promises them each a wife and possessions and houses next to the palace for the good they do by being loyal to him. He even says they are forever considered his friends and his son's.

But the two men did not react to the gifts but they reacted upon seeing him! And their reaction is one of tye most touching, most beautiful scenes I have ever seen! 😭 and Homer describes it so beautifully that it is impossible not to get touched in my opinion.

For starters we see the unbelievable affection they both feel for their master. They do not just kiss his hands gratefully for his promises and they do not fall on their knees before him! They literally ATTACK him with kisses and embraces (δαΐφρονι) and they show their affection "shamelessly" aka without any restrain or showing the slightest regard for his royal status (κύνεον)

They do not just kiss his hands but his head his shoulders etc. They literally both have just rushed at him showing with their kisses and their tears 😢 and Odysseus responds as Homer says in a very similar manner (αύτως). You can imagine him embrace them both, kissing their heads and hands...like a caring father or a good brother.

It is as if he is not a king

It is as if they are not slaves or servants

They are all equal at that moment or almost equal. Both the men are openly showing their affection for their master and Odysseus does so back for he now sees them as family for in the middle of this great distress and web of betrayal he sees the pure love and dedication these two men show to him. Odysseus is no longer hiding his tears in shame like he did many times during the poem. He is openly showing them his gratefulness and his affection. In this time of chaos these men showed him sunshine of hope.

And as Homer says all three of them were practically inconsolable if Odysseus himself hadn't first snapped out of it to call them back to reality!

And this break of affection happens right a few rhapsodies before the murder of the suitors and these scenes of affection (both sad ones like the first meeting between disguised Odysseus and Penelope and happy ones such as this) are letting the reader relax before the violent scene that is about to follow.

This is the moment that Homer shows how loyalty is so important and that transcends status or royal blood. And it is done in no better way than this beautiful reunion between these men ✨️. Odysseus just showed them his ultimate trust by not just revealing himself but also by naming them his friends and above all his SON'S friends; whatever most precious he has and he trusts them fully with him. And they respond with the most genuine happiness not for his gifts or even his trust but because he is back and alive!

I am surprised this is not talked more or even depicted more on art (ancient or other).

[luminouslumity]

Last time summarizing The Odyssey song-by-song!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

THE CHALLENGE: For the past several years, Queen Penelope of Ithaca has kept the unwanted suitors at bay by weaving and then undoing a burial shroud meant for her father-in-law, Laërtes, and by the time we meet them, they've already been made aware of the trick. Shortly after Odysseus' return and having had a dream of an eagle killing a gaggle of geese, Penelope has the suitors compete for her hand via an archery contest; specifically, whoever can string Odysseus' bow through a dozen axe heads wins.

HOLD THEM DOWN: The suitors are still scheming to kill Telemakhos even after he returns home from Sparta, but they end up reconsidering it at the urging of another suitor named AMPHÍNOMOS (Ἀμφίνομος).

ODYSSEUS: Immediately after completing the challenge, Odysseus shoots an arrow into Antínoös' neck and reveals his identity in the process before killing Eurúmakhos. Telemakhos kills Amphínomos after the latter tries attacking Odysseus, and even Athena joins in the fight. Soon, all of the suitors as well as their accomplices are dead, including the goatherd MELÁNTHIOS (Μελάνθιος) and his sister MELANTHṒ (Μελανθώ).

I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER: Odysseus and Telemakhos actually reunite prior to the slaughtering of the suitors, but before that, upon his return to Ithaca, he initially doesn't recognize his home due to Athena disguising it. Then he comes across his patron, who has taken the form of a young man. Eventually:

At his words, Athena smiled into his eyes. She took his hand, and changed her body to a woman’s: beautiful, tall, and skilled in all the arts. Her words were light as feathers.

“To outwit you in all your tricks, a person or a god would need to be an expert at deceit. You clever rascal! So duplicitous, so talented at lying! You love fiction and tricks so deeply, you refuse to stop even in your own land. Yes, both of us are smart. No man can plan and talk like you, and I am known among the gods for insight and craftiness. You failed to recognize me: I am Athena, child of Zeus. I always stand near you and take care of you, in all your hardships. I made sure that you were welcomed by the Phaeacians. I have come here now to weave a plan with you and hide the treasure which, thanks to me, they gave you to take home. I will reveal the challenges you face at home. This is your fate, and you must bear it bravely, not telling any man or woman that you have finished wandering and come back. Suffer in silence, bear their brutal treatment.”

Afterwards, Odysseus—now disguised as a beggar—takes shelter in the hut of the family swineherd, EUMAIOS (Εὔμαιος), and it's there father and son finally reunite; it takes a bit for Odysseus to reveal himself, but when he finally does:

“Stranger, you look so different from before. Your clothes, your skin—I think that you must be some god who has descended from the sky. Be kind to us, and we will sacrifice, and give you golden treasures. Pity us!”

Long-suffering Odysseus replied, “I am no god. Why would you think such things? I am your father, that same man you mourn. It is because of me these brutal men are hurting you so badly.”

Then he kissed his son and cried, tears pouring down his cheeks; he had been holding back till then. The boy did not yet trust it really was his father, and said, “No, you are not Odysseus, my father; some god must have cast a spell, to cause me further pain. No mortal man could manage such a thing by his own wits, becoming old and young again—unless some god appeared and did it all with ease. You certainly were old just now, and wearing those dirty rags. Now you look like a god.”

Artful Odysseus said sharply, “No, Telemachus, you should not be surprised to see your father. It is me; no other is on his way. I am Odysseus. I suffered terribly, and I was lost, but after twenty years, I have come home. As for the way I look—Athena did it. The goddess can transform me as she likes; sometimes a homeless beggar, then she makes me look like a young man, wearing princely clothes. For heavenly gods it is not difficult to make a mortal beautiful or ugly.”

With that, he sat back down. Telemachus hurled his arms round his father, and he wept. They both felt deep desire for lamentation, and wailed with cries as shrill as birds, like eagles or vultures, when the hunters have deprived them of fledglings who have not yet learned to fly. That was how bitterly they wept.

Interestingly, Homer notes of Eumaios and Telemakhos:

Amazed, the swineherd jumped up, letting fall the cups in which he had been mixing wine; it spilled. He ran towards his master, kissed his face and shining eyes and both his hands, and wept. Just as a father, when he sees his own dear son, his only son, his dear most precious boy, returned from foreign lands after ten years of grieving for his loss, welcomes him; so the swineherd wrapped his arms around godlike Telemachus and kissed him, as if he were returning from the dead.

With tears still in his eyes he said, “Sweet light! You have come back, Telemachus. I thought that I would never see you anymore, after you sailed to Pylos. My dear child, come in, let me enjoy the sight of you now you are back. Come in! You do not often come to the countryside to see us herders; you stay in town to watch that evil horde of suitors.”

Speaking of reunions, Odysseus also very briefly does so with his faithful dog ARGOS (Ἄργος), albeit from a distance, as showing any outward affection would give away his identity. Still, the dog passes on peacefully, knowing his master is home at last.

After he arrives at the palace, very few treat him kindly, with Antínoös and later Eurúmakhos hurling footstools at him at separate times, as well as another suitor named KTESIPPUS (Κτήσιππος) throwing him an ox hoof. The only exception when it comes to the suitors is Amphínomos, who actually considers leaving after being warned, but Athena makes him stay.

Still disguised, Odysseus briefly talks to Penelope, who confides in him of her suffering and even offers to give him a bed, but the king declines. He does however ask to have his feet washed, and that's when he reunites with his old nurse EURUKLEIA (Εὐρύκλεια), who is quick to recognize him due to the scratch on his foot, the very same one he'd received as a child from a boar while hunting with his grandfather Autolykos. Another, PHILOÍTIOS (Φιλοίτιος), also agrees to help in taking back Odysseus' home alongside Eumaios, each even getting the chance in killing a few suitors with the king and prince.

WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH ME AGAIN: After the slaughter, Eurukleia informs Penelope of Odysseus' return, but the clever queen sets up one final test:

Penelope said shrewdly, “You extraordinary man! I am not acting proud, or underplaying this big event; yet I am not surprised at how you look. You looked like this the day your long oars sailed away from Ithaca. Now, Eurycleia, make the bed for him outside the room he built himself. Pull out the bedstead, and spread quilts and blankets on it.”

She spoke to test him, and Odysseus was furious, and told his loyal wife, “Woman! Your words have cut my heart! Who moved my bed? It would be difficult for even a master craftsman—though a god could do it with ease. No man, however young and strong, could pry it out. There is a trick to how this bed was made. I made it, no one else. Inside the court there grew an olive tree with delicate long leaves, full-grown and green, as sturdy as a pillar, and I built the room around it. I packed stones together, and fixed a roof and fitted doors. At last I trimmed the olive tree and used my bronze to cut the branches off from root to tip and planed it down and skillfully transformed the trunk into a bedpost. With a drill, I bored right through it. This was my first bedpost, and then I made the other three, inlaid with gold and silver and with ivory. I stretched ox-leather straps across, dyed purple. Now I have told the secret trick, the token. But woman, wife, I do not know if someone— a man—has cut the olive trunk and moved my bed, or if it is still safe.”

At that, her heart and body suddenly relaxed. She recognized the tokens he had shown her. She burst out crying and ran straight towards him and threw her arms around him, kissed his face, and said, “Do not be angry at me now, Odysseus! In every other way you are a very understanding man. The gods have made us suffer: they refused to let us stay together and enjoy our youth until we reached the edge of age together. Please forgive me, do not keep bearing a grudge because when I first saw you, I would not welcome you immediately. I felt a constant dread that some bad man would fool me with his lies. There are so many dishonest, clever men. That foreigner would never have got Helen into bed, if she had known the Greeks would march to war and bring her home again. It was a goddess who made her do it, putting in her heart the passion that first caused my grief as well. Now you have told the story of our bed, the secret that no other mortal knows, except yourself and me, and just one slave, Actoris, whom my father gave to me when I came here, who used to guard our room. You made my stubborn heart believe in you.”

With husband and wife reunited at long last, Odysseus tells Penelope his tale, including Teiresías' prophecy.

Afterwards, Hermes leads the suitors to the Underworld, where Agamemnon expresses his jealousy over Odysseus having had such a loyal wife. Back in the mortal realm, Odysseus finally reunites with his father, but it's brief, as word has gotten out of what had happened to the suitors and now their own fathers crave vengeance. EUPEÍTHĒS (Εὐπείθης), Antínoös' father, is among the dead, and it's mentioned that all of the rebels would have met the same fate as the suitors were it not for Athena's interference. And so ends the epic on these final words:

“Odysseus, you are adaptable; you always find solutions. Stop this war, or Zeus will be enraged at you.”

He was glad to obey her. Then Athena made the warring sides swear solemn oaths of peace for future times—still in her guise as Mentor.

[aaronofithaca05]

Battle in ink

||Tw: Calypso||

"I wander in search of a light upon your desperate face!”. Lascivious nymph of chalky fingers, elusive as an eel, murky and cold, let her burning fingers glide across the face, damp and cold, of the castaway.

Burning, sweet and vile bones of the nymph kept slithering, searing. In unnoticed possession, never truly casting spell or charm. "I keep begging Theos, for you to never leave me!.”

Odysseus, still, awaiting turn in this dance: "I am… searching…". Words escaped his lips, from his very depths within, man of thousand paths and missteps, struggling to chart this step.

Laërtes’s sweet words had carried him from Skýros to Ílion, Ténedos to Lēmnos. Voids of air slipping through his mind:

"By walking, one makes path, and upon glancing back…" Back, all his steps yearning to be undone.

"One sees the path that feet had crossed enough." Path by gnarled trees hiding Home. Olives, in which this infernal reef refused to sprout.

"Son, there is no path, but wakes upon the sea." Wakes Foamy paths in which Ithákē was built. United archipelago his domain. A kingdom never seen since his arrival, In barren foam turned his sweetness lost

The Ithacan monarch had never let his father’s wish fall to ill thought, but before the nymph who boiled his lymph and blood, he let those words fade.

Calypso waited, anxious, reluctant. He had been her lover, but what was there to expect from him?

From the weeper on her isle?. From the twat who never follows her in the daylight?. Yet he cried her name in her empty chamber under starlight?.

The eel coiled the wolfish sailor in its embrace while; Odysseus, man of a thousand tricks and wits, shot her a sharp grimace: Belly, chest, and face, At the two first, without joy, only indifference or ire, but in the last?. He gifted a lecherous and cold gaze in equal measure to the one he saw each dawn, in the second rosy fingered dawn by Calypso’s hands.

"Calypso, my queen." Anyone who heard it would have read the lie in his voice, the false melodic inflection, the lack of harmony as a neglected lyre’s threads, as his broken voice upon the cold sand of that bay.

"Forgive my rude behaviour," the honey he tried to wrap in his mouth was as insipid as his regard for his jailer. Learned movements directed at an essence, absence, breathed life into the corpse of 600 lives lost..

"My girl, my queen, the woman who waits for me." Penelope at the tip, a name so perfect and pure, so easy on his lips, cried out forcefully to escape from the voice of this liar.

"If I had…" he hated in his soul, hated, as in his name —the one that is hated—, the universe who cursed him in name and fortune. The Ithacan writhed within while the nymph?. Smiled, naïve.

"Knowing your embrace was so fine," fine as the skin of sharks, who knows how many of his men were devoured by those sea dogs.

Cephalopod and eel in battle, Still, Ink does not kill Will. Thanks so much @simugeuge with this take! Moots: @jarondont, @iroissleepdeprived, @nikoisme, @perroulisses,@poshgirlsstuff, @katerinaaqu @incorrecthomer, @dootznbootz, @nyx-of-darkness-1620, @sunshines-child, @random-krab, @ironspdr6700, @fangirlofallthefanthings, @twomanyfandomshelp, @thehighpaladin, @the-decapoddecapod, @myblacknightworld, @simugeuge, @itszorrito67, @incorrectatlas @tunguszka20

[doloneia]

almost heaven… ithacaaaa…. neriton’s mountain, laërtes’ farmstead…. life is old there… older than the trees… younger than king nestor, growin like a breeze

OCEAN ROADS… TAKE ME HOME…

[asagisnobody]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/51427399/chapters/132072778

chapter six of Spartan High School is out!!!

One of these days I'm gonne making a fanart about it.

Chapters: 6/?

Fandom: The Odyssey - Homer, The Iliad - Homer, Ancient Greek Religion & LoreRating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Odysseus/Penelope (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Diomedes & Odysseus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Helen of Troy/Menelaus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Aegialia/Diomedes (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Athena & Odysseus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)

Characters: Odysseus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Penelope (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Diomedes (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Menelaus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Ajax the Greater son of Telamon (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Helen of Troy (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Clytemnestra (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Aegialia of Argos (Ancient Greek Religion and Lore), Tyndareus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Laërtes (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Icarius (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Ctimene of Ithaca, Zeus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Athena (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Nestor (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, kinda messed, Fantasy

Summary:When Odysseus receives a scholarship from the prestigious Spartan High School, he can't even imagine how his life is doomed to change.Because he has no reason to be called in such a famous school, and immediately he notices the misterious principal Tyndareus and his family....Decided to find out the secret of the school, Odysseus will use all his cunning and his skill to be always in trouble... especially if to being in trouble is Tyndareus' niece....A pre- Iliad AU in high school:)

[tratadista]

Berthe Morisot, Julie Manet e o Seu Galgo Laërte (1893)

[twisted-dork]

Ctimene Headcanons

*Been a part of the Epic Community for a while now thanks to the amazing Gigi and wanted to share some of my Headcanons for the forgotten sister Ctimene of Ithaca*

Is a protective Aunt/Sister-in-Law (obviously cause we love Penelope and best boy Telemachus)

Is younger than Odysseus by 2-3 years

Odysseus never wanted her to marry for political reasons however he did want to marry one of his friends so they could be his brother.

She may seem kind but if anyone dares try to hurt her loved ones you’ll either A. Get sent on fire with a candle and perfume. Or B. Have pottery smashed against your head.

Hates wearing royal clothing as everyday clothes because they often get in the way when she is exploring but loves dressing up for events.

She may be the younger sibling but she acts more mature than Odysseus and often scolds him for being reckless.

She often tells stories to Telemachus about Odysseus and how they both seem to find themselves in dangerous situations.

While Odysseus is a warrior of Athena’s. Ctimene would be a warrior of Ares in terms of bloodshed (but they both have a good relationship and care for one another).

She has the Hermes gremlin laugh.

Is an agent of Chaos and sometimes destruction.

(I’ll probably do two more of these detailing her as Ares warrior and her relationship with Odysseus (brother), Anticlea (mother), Laërtes (father), Polites (best friend/flower boy), and Eurylochus (husband) (I may also do their kids that I made up cause this is Tumblr and I can do what I want). Anyway enjoy this attempt of me drawing her in the way I see her.

[lyculuscaelus]

Me and my son doing shenanigans: Hermes and Autolycus

Me and my great grandson doing shenanigans: Hermes and Odysseus

Me and my dad doing murder: Telemachus and Odysseus

Me and my son and my grandson doing murder: Laërtes, Odysseus and Telemachus

Me and my grandchildren doing murder: Poseidon and the Laestrygonians (Epic addition)

[wrongydkjquotes]

Yeah, Odysseus escapes but, being an idiot, he gloats, saying, "Cyclops, if anyone ever asks you how you came by your blindness, tell him your eye was put out by Odysseus, sacker of cities, the son of Laërtes, who lives in Ithaca.” Had the Greeks had social security numbers and IPhone passwords, I’m sure he would have thrown those in too.

- Cookie, after a question about The Odyssey

(Source: TV Tropes’ recap of The Odyssey)

[katerinaaqu]

Hello! May I ask, Did Odysseus have concubines/sex slaves? I keep hearing ppl say he did

Hello Anon! That is a very good question. I think he definitely had war prizes if we believe the passage on the Iliad in rhapsody 1:

Even if I choose to take the prize of Ajax or of Odysseus: I could take it and carry it away

(Translation by me)

We do know that all Greek heroes had some sort of war prize during their plunders so they would also share women with each other. So Odysseus we can expect he definitely had slave women as war prizes. Now the question is whether he used them for sex or not. It seems that there is a family tradition hahaha since Euryclea is mentioned in the Odyssey that Laërtes had her as a loved slave but he never slept with her out of concern for his wife's jealousy

But he never took her to his bed for he was concerned of his wife's anger

(Translation by me)

So it seems that we can assume that Odysseus took a similar route as his father in this. We do know he had slave girls as prizes of war and conflict (he had 50 of them just in his megaron/palace) but he seems to be using them as servants or protégé rather than sex slaves. To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if he was tempted once or twice given how long he was away from his wife (and I did entertain that possibility in my story "Ismarus! Ismarus!"):

But I wouldn't be surprised if he followed the same path as his father and never actually go all the way through with his slave girls but had them as his servants to do some tasks for him like bathe him, help him prepare or potentially mourn the men of his that died during the war.

I think he definitely had slave girls that were supposed to be sex slaves like every king had but whether he used them or not for sex is up for interpretation. Slaves were generally a gray zone in Greek context so people were not considered "cheating" for having them the classical way. On the other hand the existence of Laërtes and not using Euryclea for sex despite his attraction for her (and even paying 20 oxen for her which is not a small price) I should say we can assume that Odysseus follows the same path and never uses any slave for sex out of loyalty for his wife (which could perhaps explain partially the attraction he felt for people like Circe or even Nausicaa in the back of his mind; how the possible suppressed sexual desire he had made him even more vulnerable to Circe's charms for instance so this is perhaps how she kept him bound to her by fear so long -although I do not fully align with this hypothesis I guess it is still on the table)

So yeah one more time; yes I am sure he had at least one war prize for his own that we know from the Iliad but whether he used them for sex or not I think that is up for interpretation but like I said following the sample of how Laërtes treated Euryclea I would say we can equally assume that Odysseus did the same and used his slaves of war the same way that he used them in his palace: as servants. It is up to you.

Hope that helps.

[luminouslumity]

I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile now, and since it'll still be awhile before the album's fully complete, why not do it while only three are out? And what is it exactly? Essentially, comparisons. I've done quite a few similar posts with the Monkie Kid series already, in which I would talk about certain characters and the mythology behind them, with Journey to the West being my main reference point.

In this case, I'll of course be using the Iliad and the Odyssey for sources, specifically the Emily Wilson translations. I'll also be referring to other sources when necessary. They'll be pretty brief and will only cover up to where we are now, but here's your spoiler warning just in case (yes, even for a tale as ancient as this). Basically, think of this as a way to provide extra context. I intend to do this with each saga that's released.

Now, without further ado, let's begin. And as a disclaimer, I by no means claim to be an expert, I'm just someone who loves mythology and also happens to read a lot.

THE HORSE AND THE INFANT: Lots of names are being dropped here, so let's start with the main man himself, ODYSSEUS (Ὀδυσσεύς)! He is the son of LAËRTES (Λαέρτης) and ANTIKLEIA (Ἀντίκλεια), who is a granddaughter of the god HERMES (Ἑρμης), which I'm sure many would agree would probably explain a lot! In some versions, Odysseus' biological father is said to have been SISYPHOS (Σίσυφος), another mortal trickster, albeit a far more villainous one. Either way, clearly this runs in the family! He also has a sister named KTIMENE (Κτιμένη). And of course, there's his lovely wife PENELOPEIA (Πηνελόπεια), more commonly known as Penelope, and their son TELEMAKHOS (Τηλέμαχος).

Speaking of Penelope, the following story comes to us briefly from Pausanias' Description of Greece. Born in Sparta to King IKARIOS (Ικαριος) and the river nymph PERIBOEA (Περιβοια), it's said Princess Penelope was allowed to marry only after someone had beaten her father in a footrace. Of course, that someone ends up being Odysseus, but here's where the interesting part comes in: when discussing AIDOS (Αιδως), Modesty, Pausanias adds that Ikarius attempted to convince Odysseus to stay, and failing that, pleaded with Penelope. Odysseus, rather than challenge Ikarius or speak over his new bride, let her make the choice. But Penelope said nothing. Instead, she simply placed her veil over her face, her silent answer clear as day.

Next, we come to Telemachos, who was a newborn when his father left. However, it should be noted that Odysseus really didn't want to go. So much so that he feigned madness to try and get out of it, which was only foiled when PALAMEDES (Παλαμήδης) seized baby Telemachos and placed him right in front of where his father was recklessly ploughing the fields; Odysseus stopped immediately after noticing his son, but was then forced to join the war afterwards.

DIOMEDES (Διομηδης): one of the more notable Greeks during the Trojan War and a favorite of the goddess of wisdom alongside Odysseus, Diomedes was an intelligent and valiant soldier, to the point where he had even wounded the god of war himself. He also directly assisted Odysseus in Troy's downfall.

AGAMEMNON (Ἀγαμέμνων) and MENELAOS (Μενέλαος): Okay, these two have their own stories that I could make an entirely different post on, but for simplicity's sake, Agamemnon is the king of Mykenai and commander of the Akhaioí (Greeks); much of the Iliad concerns his feud with AKHILEUS (Ἀχιλλεύς) over the captive BRISEIS (Βρισηίς). Meanwhile, his brother Menelaos is king of Sparta and had been married to the reason this war started in the first place.

TEUCER (Τεῦκρος): one of the greatest archers, Teucer actually had Trojan blood through his mother HESIONE (Ἡσιόνη), who was the sister of King PRIAMOS (Πρίαμος), or Priam. Through his father TELAMON (Τελαμών), his elder half-brother is AIAS (Αἴας), or Ajax, the Greater.

AJAX THE LESSER: By the time of the Trojan War, there are two characters by the name of Ajax, with the Lesser referring to Ajax of Locris. He was known for having been a spearman and the fastest of the Greeks, but like many of his comrades, never made it back home after having earned the wrath of the gods.

NESTOR (Νέστωρ): the eldest of Greek army, he often offered wise, albeit long-winded, advice. At the end of the war, he was among the few who managed to return home safely.

HELEN (Ἑλένη): And now we get to the Reason. Well, sort of. Married to Menelaos and then PARIS (Πάρις), to blame the Trojan War solely on Helen would mean to disregard a lot of other things, such as the idea of KLEOS (κλέος)—glory—three powerful goddesses, a little golden apple, and even an entire plan to depopulate the earth. Sources vary as to whether Helen even left with Paris willingly, and that's not even getting into the versions where she didn't even make it to Troy at all! What is known, however, is that by the time we see her in the Iliad, Helen is nothing short of resentful. For example, during a confrontation with APHRODITE (Αφροδιτη), she says:

“You, goddess? Why do you want to trick me in this way? Will you keep leading me to yet more cities, in Phrygia or in fine Maeonia if any other mortal takes your fancy? Now Menelaus has defeated Paris, and wants to take me home with him again, although I am so hateful. Is that why you come to me now with these tricks of yours? Then go to him yourself and sit beside him! Give up the path of gods and let your feet never turn back again to Mount Olympus! Spend all your time on taking care of Paris, crying for him, until he makes you either his slave girl or his wife! But I will not ever go back. It would bring retribution. And I will never service that man’s bed. All of the Trojan women in the future will blame me if I do, and in my heart I will endure more pain than I can measure.”

Aphrodite threatens her immediately following this, forcing her to go and comfort her new husband, but not before Helen tells him:

“So you came back from the fighting. I wish that you had died out there, defeated by that strong man who used to be my husband. Before, you claimed you were superior to warlike Menelaus in your strength and hands and spear. So go on, challenge him! Call Menelaus back again to fight you! But no. I order you to stop. Do not make war and fight with ruddy Menelaus. It would be idiotic. You would soon lose and lie dead beneath that fighter’s spear.”

According to a fragmented poem called Ilias mikra ( Ἰλιὰς μικρά), or Little Iliad, when Odysseus and Diomedes are sneaking into the city to steal their PALLADION (Παλλάδιον)—a wooden statue fashioned by the goddess of wisdom herself and said to be Troy's protector—Helen recognizes them, but never alerts the people in the walled city.

In terms of family, Helen had at the very least a daughter—HERMIONE (Ἑρμιόνη)—who had been about nine when she left (sources vary on whether she had other children or not), and she was also a first cousin of Penelope on her father's side. Though speaking of TYNDAREUS (Τυνδάρεος), prior to Helen making her choice of husband, one of the suitors present had suggested that should she be taken by anyone else—of which there actually had been a precedent for thanks to a certain Athenian king—they would all take up arms against that person to get her back. This would become known as the Oath of Tyndareus. What a brilliant idea, Odysseus.

NEOPTOLEMOS (Νεοπτόλεμος): son of Akhileus and called PYRRHOS (Πύρρος) at birth, Neoptolemos joined towards the end of the war and helped bring about the fall of Troy. Though young when he was called to arms, many sources often emphasize his brutality during this time, while others—such as Euripides and Sophocles—show him to be kinder, albeit torn in regards to the situation he's in.

And as for his father, Akhileus had actually been killed by Paris of all people, though not without divine help. Paris himself would later be killed by the archer PHILOKTETES (Φιλοκτήτης), and of Priam's remaining sons, Neoptolemos is credited by the Roman Quintus with having killed the following: POLITES (Πολίτης), PAMMON (Πάμμων), and ANTIPHONUS (Ἀντίφονόν).

JUST A MAN: Which brings us to ASTYANAX (Ἀστυάναξ), the infant son of HEKTOR (Ἕκτωρ) and ANDROMACHE (Ἀνδρομάχη). He is indeed killed because the Greeks feared his potential retribution, but the exact details aren't entirely consistent. In one version, he's killed by Neoptolemos, in others by Odysseus, be it directly or indirectly. In Seneca's The Trojan Women, the child even leaps off the walls himself. It's only in much later traditions does he survive.

As for his father, Hektor was said to have been the greatest fighter of the Trojans and had shown great kindness towards Helen for all of the twenty years she'd spent at Troy (yes, according to the very end of the Iliad, Helen specifically had been at Troy for twenty years at that point). The poem ends with his funeral.

FULL SPEED AHEAD: EURULOKHOS (Εὐρύλοχος) is not only Odysseus' second-in-command, but also his brother-in-law. His home is near Ithaka, on the island of Same. Polites (different one, of course) meanwhile is a very minor character in the Odyssey, but is still referred to as Odysseus' devoted friend.

OPEN ARMS: The LOTOPHAGOI (λωτοφάγοι), or lotus-eaters, were a race who—when consuming from a specific plant—would fall into a state of apathy to the point of never wishing to leave. This incident in the Odyssey is actually incredibly brief, with the crew arriving and then leaving immediately after Odysseus forces the men who ate from the lotus back on the ship.

WARRIOR OF THE MIND: Throughout both the Iliad as well as the Odyssey, ATHENA (Ἀθηνᾶ) acts as Odysseus' patron goddess. The boar "only the best could kill" is likely in reference to the famous Kalydonian Boar Hunt, which Odysseus is actually never mentioned as having taken a part in, but his father Laërtes did, depending on the source. The poem does reference a boar hunt, though, one that caused Odysseus to get scratched when he was still young.

POLYPHEMUS: In this song, we officially meet, well, POLYPHEMOS (Πολύφημος), the KYKLOPS (Κυκλω��). Odysseus and his man arrive at his island immediately after they leave the land of the lotus-eaters, find a cave filled with cheese and sheep, and...

My crew begged, ‘Let us grab some cheese and quickly drive the kids and lambs out of their pens and down to our swift ships, and sail away across the salty water!’

That would have been the better choice. But I refused. I hoped to see him, and find out if he would give us gifts.

Obviously, this doesn't turn out to be the case. What needs to be understood, however, is that Odysseus and his crew were technically guests, so he would've expected Polyphemos to uphold XENIA (ξενία), sacred hospitality, something he even makes clear in the poem. He hadn't anticipated for Polyphemos to have no fear of the gods. The next morning, Odysseus gives him wine gifted to him by a priest of APOLLON (Ἀπόλλων) named MARON (Μάρων); Polyphemos finds it so delicious that he even compares it to nectar, the drink of the gods. Yet still, this wasn't enough to persuade the kyklops to free them.

SURVIVE: In the original poem, Odysseus is mentioned to have had several men eaten by Polyphemos, though the only one actually named is ANTIPHOS (Ἄντιφος).

REMEMBER THEM: It's worse in the poem.

‘Hey, you, Cyclops! Idiot! The crew trapped in your cave did not belong to some poor weakling. Well, you had it coming! You had no shame at eating your own guests! So Zeus and other gods have paid you back.’

[...]

My crew begged me to stop, and pleaded with me. ‘Please! Calm down! Why are you being so insistent and taunting this wild man? He hurled that stone and drove our ship right back to land. We thought that we were going to die. If he had heard us, he would have hurled a jagged rock and crushed our heads and wooden ship. He throws so hard!’

But my tough heart was not convinced; I was still furious, and shouted back again, ‘Cyclops! If any mortal asks you how your eye was mutilated and made blind, say that Odysseus, the city-sacker, Laertes’ son, who lives in Ithaca, destroyed your sight.’

Then it's immediately revealed this had been part of a prophecy.

Like MY GOODBYE, I honestly don't think there's much for me to talk about STORM and LUCK RUNS OUT, at least not at the moment, so let's move on to KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, where we meet AIOLOS (Αιολος)! His island in the sky is named, fittingly, Aiolia, and he lives there with his wife and twelve children. Though initially receiving Odysseus and his crew warmly, once the bag of winds was opened and returned them to the island, Odysseus tried to ask for his help again, but Aiolos simply demanded that they leave, figuring the men were disfavored by the gods.

And finally, we have RUTHLESSNESS! After being rejected by the wind god, the crew come across the LAISTRYGONES (Λαιστρυγονες), giants who ate the crew and destroyed the ships until only one vessel remained. According to Hesiod, they sprang from Laistrygon (Λαιστρυγων), whose father was POSEIDON (Ποσειδων).

Poseidon as he appears in many myths is, in one word, ruthless, cursing Odysseus almost as soon as his son Polyphemus prays to him for vengeance. In certain myths, he is also portrayed as a rival to Athena, such as when the two competed for dominion over the then unnamed Athens; Poseidon offered them the first horse and Athena the first olive tree. To quote Emily Wilson:

Whereas Poseidon favors the untamed world of the stormy sea, Athena loves fixed settlements and the olive tree—a crop whose oil was used in archaic Greece for cooking and skin care. Poseidon makes the earth shake; Athena makes even the most rugged, barren landscape available for cultivation.

As far as the Trojan War itself is concerned, according to many sources, Poseidon actually helped build the famous walls of Troy alongside Apollo, but when the king at the time, LAOMEDON (Λαομέδων), refused to pay them, Apollo sent a plague and Poseidon sent KETOS (Κητος), a sea monster which would then be slain by HERAKLES (Ἑρακλης) just before the monster could eat Princess Hesione; Laomedon, having learned nothing from last time, refused to pay Herakles, who would then go on to sack the city in retaliation. Poseidon would later side with the Greeks during the war, but here's the interesting part: while the Trojan War has no set date, one proposed theory is 1275 BC, as that was around when historical Troy (specifically Troy VI) was believed to have been destroyed by an earthquake. Furthermore, what animal was carved out of wood for the final ambush? A horse!

[will-one-with-the-bees]

Odysseus is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle. As the son of Laërtes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope, and father of Telemachus, Acusilaus, and Telegonus , Odysseus is renowned for his intellectual brilliance, guile, and versatility, and he is thus known by the epithet as Odysseus the Cunning. He is most famous for his nostos, or "homecoming", which took him ten eventful years after the decade-long Trojan War.

Offerings:

-Wine

-Water

-Candle

-Olives

-Books aka The Iliad and The Odyssey

-Incense

-Coffee or tea

-Figures of ships

Devotional acts:

-Learn sailing

-Learn self defence

-Workout

-Go on an adventure

-Travel

-Learn about past wars

-Learn battle strategies

-Charity

[wizardysseus]

Do you think Odysseus was that comfortable with violence and death before the war? I mean Greek myth figures are generally very cavalier with death, but his first instinct many times when encountering a problem is violence-- do you think that could also be a trauma response?

you can certainly read it that way, as a trauma response; many moments in the odyssey make me think "ah yes. that's a soldier with ptsd, innit" — that may seem like a very clinical/modern way to read, but all the evidence points to the idea that ancient people, living with war, living through war, recognized what violence does to a person emotionally and mentally, and told stories about it.

with that said, i also tend to think that a man in his position would have been expected to do violence, if in a more limited way. an odysseus who never left for war would probably still leave ithaca to raid neighboring islands, to say nothing of what he might have done in his own home under normal circumstances (i.e., not like those at the end of the odyssey). in some sources laërtes was an argonaut. autolycus was a bandit-king. that's a lot of violence to grow up with, even if troy were out of the picture. the place of the war in the odyssey (and in what we call "homer") makes a before/after idea of the war convenient, for the sake of discussion, but the thing about violent patriarchy is that it starts much sooner.