#i understand that the “arresting for trespassing” but would never have happened bc of Greek traditions and Xenia and all that but still

[mythology-void]

okay but listening to "keep your friends close" in EPIC: The Musical has reminded me of how heartbreaking Odysseus' homecoming would have been if Athena hadn't intervened

cause like

by the time he got home literally everyone he made the journey with, everyone who could have confirmed his identity, was dead

amd given that they didn't have ID or passports or anything like that

how could you possibly say who you are with any kind of certainty yk

and just listening to Odysseus's monologue in "Keep your Friends Close" really drove that home because his line "I just want to hold you close why won't you let me" and the image of them drawing away just makes me panic because

what if they didn't recognize him

or what if Penelope rejected him? or telemachus had him arrested for trespassing? what if he'd killed himself trying to get home for twenty years, and when he finally got back, NO ONE knew who he was? Not his wife, not his son, not his people--no one.

and like--odysseus himself didn't even recognize Ithaca when he first got back. Imagine the pain compounded on itself when the people who he'd fought monsters and gods and death itself for refused to accept him?