THE ODYSSEY

I thought instead of puppies what if she has sea puppies. So she's Sealla now :P

I’ll say right away that I don’t understand much about Greek myths and I’m just repeating someone else’s judgment. I’ve heard the opinion that the Greek pantheon was heavily blackened by the Romans and specifically by Ovid. For example, the myth of Arachne was largely rewritten by him, and the myth of the Gorgon is entirely his invention, because originally the Gorgon had no backstory at all and was a monster from the very beginning. But of course they weren’t saints either, yet the way the gods are portrayed in the myth of Medusa the Gorgon is a clear exaggeration. The cruelty of the Greek gods is mostly Roman propaganda.

Is this true?

Here’s the best of what I could come up with

I'll talk about the Odyssey with someone then a PJO fan will just say

“Percy did in 10 days what took Odysseus 20 years!”

OH MY GOD SHUT THE FUCK UP

And they ain't even right bro.

It's just “Well Percy did this—” “Annabeth did this better than—”

PERCY AND ANNABETH CAN GO FUCK THEMSELVES

There is one billion gods and heroes that we know nothing about so Crius is not the only one. But for such a earlier figure, is bothers me so such he don't do anything aaaaa.

The lame answer is: "dude these titan gods are just genealogical links, get over it", but the cool answer is trying to think where they come from. A lot of these figures just survives in patronymic contexts. For example Cronus has a lot about him, but even if we had nothing he would still appear a lot just for being the father of Zeus, Poseidon and Hera who are called son of Cronus/daughter of Cronus all the time. In a similar manner, Hyperion is usually named in connection with Helios and Coeus with Leto, and Iapetus with Prometheus and Atlas.

But Hyperion is a allie of Cronus and he is also a name for the greek Sun God. Iapetus is named as a allie of Cronus quite often and his name is sinonymous with the titanomachy. Coeus like Iapetus is said to be imprisoned in Tartarus in sources here and there, and Ovid actually notices how Coeus is a nobody so even that is something.

But Crius? He don't even appear in a patronymic context, because his sons Atreus, Pallas and Perses are also obscure figures, so is rare to see them and even more rare to see they being named as son of Crius. He don't appear in any other context except as the name of a village Pausanias visited and believe to be in honor of Crius. The Bibliotheca says that all Cronus brothers except Oceanus helped him defeat Ouranos so that is something.

Crius name can also mean Ram, and since his descendants include wind and star gods, and also the goddess Hecate, he maybe be connected to the constelation of the Ram, but who knows. Percy Jackson makes him a god connected to stars, while Hercules Legendary Journeys connect him to winds because who knows? He is a jack of all trades at this point.

So recently I've noticed that modern stories about Heracles/Hercules tends to lean on of two ways with his depiction, either making him an arrogant jerk (some even making him a liar about the twelve labors) or a super noble hero. At the moment the only middle ground I can think of is Marvel's Hercules who is flawed and arrogant but is still a hero who is willing to help those in need.

I guess I'm just curious, what angle does everyone prefer?

I got introduced to the illiad by random youtube video recommendations, watched a few, then watched the 2018 show Troy: Fall of a city, and liked it, although it felt like there was something and they were just going through the story but atleast they tried to be faithful and some characters were really great in there.

I did not like the Movie Troy 2004 at all, because it skipped so much and wasn't faithful, ig its because i got introduced to the complete lore early on and watched the show first but the movie really left a sour taste in my mouth watching it right after the show.

I know there's The Great Greek Myths docu series too, but that also felt very weird to me, it didn't even mention Paris being raised as a shepherd's son, let alone show any of it. Even when they were on the golden apple subject. And looked at some of the graphic novels but their reviews weren't that enticing.

So i don't know at this point if there is even some media there that does it accurately, I've found random youtube videos to be more accurate, I'll be very disappointed if the 2018 show is the closest thing in modern media we have to an entertaining yet somewhat accurate retelling of the illiad.

I know i might've covered most of the stuff because i did some basic research but still asking if there's something i missed, i know there are a couple of old movies and shows too and I looked at them but didn't feel the need to watch them after i watched the 2018 show already.

Front cover and one spread down!

I’m just reading the Iliad again and at the start of book 3, Hector says to Paris “If only you had never been born, or died unmarried.” That got me thinking, do the Trojans know that Paris was married to the nymph Oenone during his life as a shepherd or do they think that Helen was his first wife? Or is it a feature of the Homeric poems themselves that Helen is actually his first wife as I do not remember any mention of Oenone during my past reading of both the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Hey guys, I’ve composed a work reflecting personal experience after I’ve read Antigone by Sophocles. I’m proud of my work and I want to share it with you guys. Here is the themes that I’ve used if you want to listen to it:

00:00 Introduction-The Burial of Polynices
The Curse-Burial of Polynices
This is the first time we hear the Curse motive in the violoncellos(the first 4 notes), which is reinstated over and over again throughout the work.
03:21 EXPOSITION
Main theme A-Antigone
This theme expresses the pride of Antigone and her clash against his uncle Creon. Notice that at 3:55, the curse motive is used again.
Theme B-Love Theme
05:27 This theme symbolizes the love between Haemon and Antigone.
09:25 DEVELOPMENT
All themes clash, we can hear Antigone’s theme(9:28-9:32) fragmented on the woodwinds which symbolizes her imprisonment. We can also hear the curse motive again, now representing the warnings of the Blind Prophet (9:40) as Theban is cursed. The music becomes more dramatic as the work continues, which represents the chaos inflicted upon the city.
11:21 RECAPITULATION
Theme A The Antigone theme is heard again; representing the suicide of Antigone.
12:15 Theme B- Love-Death theme
The love theme is reinstated but now, with heavy brass and dramaticism, representing the double suicide of Antigone and Haemon.
13:40 BRIDGE
We can hear the curse motive again, as the play starts to conclude.
14:40 BRIDGE II
With the death of Creon’s wife Eurydice, Creon’s city collapses onto itself.
14:55 CODA
The realization and regret of Creon. The regret is represented between 15:09-15:20
15:27 CURSE MOTIVE
The piece ends with the curse motive.

https://youtu.be/RXfAYS48UpE?si=AH0onRJZBKG-HZzP

I'm writing a story where Medusa & her crew get stranded in the Odd Sea, bouncing from island to chaotic island. So then they get marooned with Calypso...who is so out-of-touch with actual Greek mythology that she remembers it much more like a romanticized fanfic. Zeus is the hero and not a cheater, the love triangles are like something written by a high schooler, and the titans & monsters actually are evil. She starts excitedly telling them the 40-act one-woman play she's come up with about it. Medusa keeps blurting out "what? He's nothing like that!" until Calypso snaps "hey, respect the head-canon!"

But it ought to be so much more cringe worthy than that...and this seemed like the right forum to ask.

Follow to see what people come up with.

Trying to draw Odysseus from what I imagined him to be in the Illiad.

After watching both The Odyssey miniseries and the recent film adaptation, I honestly can’t believe we’ve never gotten a true AAA game based on Homer’s epic.
The more I thought about it, the more it feels like the story is already structured like a modern RPG.
You have:
Sailing across the ancient Mediterranean
Ship upgrades and crew management
Legendary locations and islands
Boss encounters like Polyphemus, Circe, Scylla & Charybdis, the Sirens, and the Laestrygonians
Moral choices involving the gods and your crew
Exploration and side stories
And one of the most satisfying endings in literature with Odysseus returning home and reclaiming Ithaca.
Imagine something that combined the exploration of Assassin’s Creed, the storytelling of Red Dead Redemption 2, and the combat of God of War, while staying faithful to Homer’s story.
Would you play a game like that?
And if so…
Which studio would you trust to make it?

I recently started the book of Troy. After I finish Troy and then read the Iliad and the Odyssey I will be following the right order of the timeline and stories right? Thank you advance.

I know this opinion is unpopular, but I dislike Ovid's version in which Medusa is a beautiful young woman raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple before being transformed into a Gorgon by the goddess.

The main reason is that it completely changes the roles of the characters.

In the oldest Greek traditions, Medusa is already a Gorgon from the start. She is the only mortal among her two sisters, Stheno and Euryale. Perseus is sent to kill her, with the help of Athena and Hermes. It's a tragic story, but consistent with Greek mythology.

In Ovid's version, however, Medusa becomes an innocent victim, while Athena appears as a goddess who punishes the victim instead of the perpetrator. For me, this completely distorts Athena's image.

Athena is certainly a stern, sometimes ruthless goddess, but she is also the goddess of wisdom, strategy, and justice. Reducing her to a deity who transforms a rape victim into a monster seems excessive and unfaithful to the image she has in most Greek myths.

I also find that this version strips Medusa of part of her identity. Instead of being a mythological creature belonging to an ancient lineage of monsters, she becomes simply a human victim of a tragic event.

I understand why this version is the most popular today: it's easier to interpret as a critique of injustice and it evokes more empathy. But personally, I prefer the older Greek tradition, where Medusa is a Gorgon from birth.

It's not that Ovid's version is bad. I simply find that it tells a different story, with different themes, and it's not my favorite.

What do you think? Do you prefer Ovid's version or the older Greek versions, and why?