#the actual side is that Odysseus is a great tactician

[theoakleafpancake]

I find it a little funny that Eurylochus answers to Odysseus when during EPIC, it should really be switched

[ayearinfaith]

𝗔 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯𝟴: 𝗢𝗱𝘆𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘆

The 𝘖𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘺 is the second oldest complete literary work in European history, preceded only by its prequel the 𝘐𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘥, both written by the Greek poet Homer in the 8th century BCE. It tells the tale of the hero Odysseus’ 10-year journey back home after the Trojan War events of the 𝘐𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘥. It is a highly influential text in Western cultures and the source of the English common noun “odyssey”.

𝗢𝗱𝘆𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗮

Before the setting of the 𝘖𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘺, Odysseus was a hero of the Iliad and likely a widespread figure of oral mythology. The Roman name for him is Ulysses, and the distinction between Greek and Latin terms implies traditions of Odysseus beyond and predating Homer. If the Romans had just inherited the myth directly from the Homeric account, they would have named him more similarly but instead have used a variant that may have come from other Greek dialects or from neighboring non-Italic speaking people like the Etruscans. The actual etymology of Odysseus’ name is unknown, though Homer and other poets made many puns or allusions with it, normally giving it regrettable meanings such as “hated one:, “lamentable one” or, most fittingly, “lost”. In accounts of the Trojan War, one of the most significant events in Greek mythology, Odysseus is portrayed as a very different hero from the other major figures, like Achilles, Ajax, or Agamemnon. While most of the Greek and Trojan heroes are renowned mostly for their physical abilities and have generally passionate and headstrong personalities, Odysseus is cunning and able to keep a cool head. He is both one of the leading Greek tacticians and a diplomat, able to maintain the unity of the Greek forces despite their constant squabbling. His most famous tactic is the Trojan Horse, in which the Greek’s hid a retinue of soldiers inside a giant wooden horse and then appeared to sail away. The Trojan’s, believing the siege at an end, pulled the Horse inside as a trophy. At night, the retinue came out of the horse and opened the city gates for the rest of the army, thus ending the 10-year conflict with a Greek victory. Prior to the war, Odysseus was king of Ithaca. The exact location of Ithaca is unknown, though it is commonly believed to be an island west of the Greek mainland. Odysseus was no demi-God, unlike many other famous Greek heroes, though he was not totally without divine heritage, being 1/8th a god on his mother’s side, by way of Hermes. He is the favorite of Athena, goddess of wisdom, who comes to his aide many times over the course of his life.

𝟮𝟬 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱

Though not a part of the Homeric account, later tales of Odysseus display him as unwilling to go to war with Troy and feigning madness as an attempt to escape his oath to aid his fellow Greeks. He is unsuccessful in this gambit and must join his fellow kings and heroes on the journey to Troy, in what is modern day Turkey, for a war that would last ten years. At long last his tactics provided a Greek victory and the heroes could begin the journey back across the Aegean Sea. Homer’s 𝘖𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘺 does not actually begin with Odysseus’ journey, but rather with his son, Telemachus (literally "distant war"), now 20 years old, ten years after the end of the war. Though Odysseus is assumed dead, he and his mother Penelope have not lost faith and are fending off suitors wishing to claim Odysseus’ estates and kingdom. Athena comes to Telemachus and convinces him to voyage out himself to seek his father. Telemachus does so, taking him on his own journey across Greece meeting much of the surviving cast of the Iliad. Odysseus, meanwhile, makes his appearance washed ashore in the kingdom of Phaeacia, not far from Ithaca itself. Here he is found, nude and barely alive, by the princess Nausicaa who take pity on him and takes him in. Once restored, he recounts the events leading up to this point and the 𝘖𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘺 truly begins. One could summarize the journey as a tale of warning to those who do not properly venerate the gods. First Odysseus is separated from most of his fleet by a storm sent by Zeus as punishment for the deceitful nature by which he ended the war. Next, he lands at a lush island which turns out to be home to one of the terrifying one-eyed man-eating giants, the Cyclopes. Odysseus uses his cunning to escape the cave of the Cyclops (whose name is Polyphemus) first by telling the monster that his name is “nobody” and then blinding it. After his men escape, hiding below Polyphemus’ flock of sheep, Polyphemus calls for help from his brothers, but they do not credit his claims that “nobody has blinded me”. Odysseus’ misadventures might have ended here, except as he leaves, he taunts Polyphemus and reveals his true name. Polyphemus then asks his father, none other than the god of the sea Poseidon. Poseidon curses Odysseus and though the hero does not realize it, he cannot return home until the sea god is appeased. Odysseus then has his boat blown of course by a magic bag of winds, is attacked by more giant man-eaters (though not Cyclopes), and winds up on the isle of the demi-God sorceress Circe, who turns all his men into pigs. Here Odysseus finally receives some aid from his great-grandfather and messenger of the gods, Hermes. Protected from her magic by Hermes gift, Odysseus forces her to restore his men. Circe still manages to seduce Odysseus and convinces him to stay with her for one year. After this, she aids him in summoning the spirit of a dead prophet, Tiresias, who advises Odysseus on how to placate Poseidon. It seems Poseidon’s wrath is almost at an end, so long as Odysseus and his men can survive a few more trials which Circe and Tiresias advise him on. Thus, he is able to survive the hypnotic call of the Sirens (by having his men plug their ears and tie him to the mast) and successfully navigates the whirpool, Charybdis, albeit suffering some loses to the nearby sea monster, Scylla. Finally, the last trial is upon them. All Odysseus and his crew must do is avoid eating the sacred cows on the island of Thrinacia. Odysseus’ men, who so far have been as much a plague to him as any god, eat the cattle, enraging the sun god Helios who has Zeus strike their boat with lightning and send them all careening baack into Charybdis. Odysseus, protected by fate, washes ashore on the island of Ogygia where he is found by the nymph Calypso. Calypso wishes to make Odysseus her husband and keeps him trapped with her for seven years. Finally, with all the gods having forgotten their ire, Athena is able to free him. Poseidon does have one last laugh, and shipwrecks Odysseus one last time leading to his washing ashore in Phaeacia.

𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁

Odysseus is given a boat by the Phaeacians and finally returns home, just as Telemachus returns as well, having been unable to find his father. Through some plotting, disguises, and divine intervention by Athena, Telemachus and Odysseus reunite and hatch a plan to oust the suitors. Penelope announce a final trial for any man wishing to marry her: they must string Odysseus’ famed bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe heads. None can do it but a disguised Odysseus. It is uncertain if the stringing of the bow was impossible for others due to a lack of strength or because only Odysseus knew how to properly string a recurve bow. Regardless, the deed is done and Odysseus reveals himself. Along with Telemachus, he slays the suitors and some unfaithful servants. The tale ends happily, with Ithaca at peace and Odysseus on his throne, reunited with his family.

Image Credit: Odysseus and Polyphemus, Arnold Böcklin, 1896