Day 4 - Actors Au

day 4 - actors au

OKAY I WAS NOT EXPECTING PEOPLE TO LIKE MY RESPONSE TO THE REPOST AND I APPRECIATE IT A LOT 😭😭

Now onto what I want to say, it's about what I stated earlier. There is something I would like to address that I noticed a bit after spending some time in the greek mythology whirlpool of wonderful chaos. Although there really aren't that many, I still want to address how there are people out there who seem to get very confused about Odysseus's character and what's what, and then accidentally say things that never actually happened with his character and then it leaves everyone upset and embarrassed which sucks because it's not really anyone's fault, and not many people are actually explaining it all, so that's what I'm going to do here to hopefully save some people from having to go through everything. I hope this doesn't get buried in the Tumblr algorithm as I'm honestly not doing this for likes or praise or any of that, I really just want this to get out there and help others get a better grasp of it all so everyone can enjoy their greek mythology fun in peace and maybe even help others get into the fun as well! ^^

First off I have to state this:

The only canon Odysseus is in Homer's Odyssey and Homer's Iliad, he was the creator of the character and all the characters within both book series. If the one you are reading isn't authored by Homer then it is an iteration therefore it is not canon to the actual story.

Now with that being said, and before I go any further, this doesn't mean you shouldn't read the different iterations or modern takes on the character, I mean why else do you think aus and fanfiction are a thing as well? (And ones created for this story as well because this fanbase is LIVELY) That's basically exactly what this all is except it's about an ancient story. People create different versions, spread different information which is either not what happened in the canon story or completely taken out of context. And these things happen, it's a story all the way back in ancient times, games like telephone are bound to happen and that's okay, no one should be at eachother's throats about it as it's out of people's control and happens with many and I mean many modern shows and stories as well.

But what I do suggest is just applying basic principles to it like we do now, such as:

*If you read an iteration of the story and you mention something from it, make sure you state it's from an iteration so that way people won't get confused with the actual story

*You don't have to read all books of Homer's Odyssey and the Iliad, but when you hear something from it you should do a quick look up about it to make sure you have all the context and that it was from Homer's story and not an iteration.

*Don't assume anything and make a comment about it immediately. I am sure every single person here did the same about something regarding Homer's Odyssey and Iliad at some point, I can almost guarantee it. If not then great for them ^^. But the point is, if you jump to assumptions and misinterpret something then make a claim about it, unfortunately the results don't turn out in your favor. So it's best to do your own research on it first before taking what is said as fact.

Basically just do your own research first before jumping to any conclusions, besides learning more about something can you discover something you may really enjoy that you haven't thought about before! :D

Now, onto the real elephant in the room, which is Odysseus's character. And we are going to be talking about Odysseus's character in Homer's Odyssey and Homer's Iliad and hopefully this helps to clear some things up for those that both aren't looking to get into the whole story and for those who are, so here we go! ^^

"Odysseus cheated on his wife! He committed Adultery!" : This is the biggest one that I have heard, and it is in fact false. Odysseus is unfortunately a major victim of SA both from Circe and Calypso, and while Circe's was more subtle, Calypso's wasn't as she kept him there for seven years. Odysseus was one of the few men in greek mythology who was 100% loyal and faithful to his wife till the very end and beyond. He didn't want any other woman, he wanted Penelope. He fought for Penelope, he loved Penelope and no one else.

"Odysseus committed mass murder and killed a bunch of people!": If you are talking about what happened with the Trojan horse then yes, you are correct, however this is often taken out of context. The truth of the matter is that is just how war is. During the fight they already lost Achilles (basically their version of a superhero) in battle, and Odysseus being the advisor had to weigh out the options between the two which is either continue as is and risk losing more lives or create the horse and not risk as many lives. It was a desperation move, and all of it was thrown onto Odysseus to take charge, but the situation needed to be done or no one would make it back home alive.

"Didn't he literally throw and kill a baby? What's up with that?": Yes but again, taken out of context, Odysseus was given a vision that the baby would grow older and kill a bunch of innocent people, so he had to make the choice whether he should kill the baby or not. Zeus was standing there like "Yeet the baby, Odysseus, yeet the child." And Odysseus, not wanting anyone he cared for to die, killed the child. It was a tough choice that he was faced with, as it would be for anyone in his shoes.

"Wasn't he overconfident and got in trouble a lot? Didn't his pride cause him to reveal his name to the Cyclops? He really must not be a good person." : Yes for the first part but no for the second part, he was overconfident and that would sometimes get him into trouble, like with the Cyclops. He was young, bold, confident, and although said to be one of the wisest men there was (which is true) he too had to grow and mature out of his own hubris. He wasn't perfect, and neither are we, he made mistakes but nothing outlandish that made him bad, it just showed that he was human and had done his own mistakes in life, just like we have.

There are many other things as well, Odysseus killed one of the kings on the Trojan side of war and took his horses but he did that because he knew one of the only ways they could stand a chance in the war is getting those horses. Odysseus's friend Ajax the greater killed himself after Odysseus defeated him for the armor of Achilles, however what happened after that was none of Odysseus's fault, as Athena decided to be the one to drive Ajax the greater mad and it caused him to kill the sheep and then himself afterwards out of shame. Odysseus's even tried pleading for forgiveness from him in the underworld (even though none of it was his fault) but Ajax the greater refused to acknowledge him and walked off. Then you have Palamedes, in Homer's Odyssey he was sent to bring Odysseus to war, so he decided to put Odysseus's infant son in front of his plow which caused Odysseus to swerve out of the way, and Odysseus was then forced to go to war to protect his son which then later caused all of these things to happen throughout both stories. Odysseus didn't take that well and he cleverly placed a forged letter and gold in Palamedes tent and got him framed for treason, and Palamedes was stoned to death (and honestly he had that coming)

Now, does any of this mean I want you to go and do what Odysseus did? No, please for the love of god please don't. What all of this does mean though, is that Odysseus was not a bad person, but instead a good guy put in some of the worse positions and situations possible surrounded by people who spoke with their fists rather than their heart. In fact, despite his "I'm so balling right now" personality causing him to get into trouble, he was one of the kindest, wisest, loyal and empathetic people you could meet back then which was incredibly rare back in those times. He went to literal hell and back for 20 years just to get to his family again, he stuck by his men despite them screwing things up multiple times over, same situation was with Agamemnon and Achilles as well, so he kind up to a fault. He was kind respectful to his people, he didn't care what status you were or where you came from, you were treated with respect and kindness all the same, and that inspired one of his workers to be the same when he invited a certain beggar in his home, and that act of kindness spread through the heart of Ithaca as a whole, but when he left it was all gone. To have that much of an impact on people because of kindness just shows how good of a person he really was. And with happened to Ithaca when he left it, it also showed how much the world did not deserve that kindness, but it certainly needed it.

So in conclusion, yes Odysseus made mistakes, and he was by no means perfect, but he shouldn't be seen as perfect or expected to be perfect. He is a really good guy dealing with getting screwed over by literally everyone around him. He made mistakes, he broke down, he fell at times, but he got back up, never lost his kind heart or his true self, and in the end made it back to his family and got a happy ending. Odysseus was and always will be the embodiment of what it truly means to be a human being going throw the troubles of life, what if feels like to go through it and how it affects certain actions you take, and to stay true to your heart no matter what, and overall to never give up. And I hope those who are out there who hate his character due to misinformation are able to see his character for what he is rather than what others make him out to be.

WOW THAT WAS A LOT OF WORDS, I was not expecting to type that much but I really needed to get this out there. I hope all you greek geeks have a lovely day and night and I'll see you next time! ^^

I gotta take a nap after all of that ^^"

another bad take from that one post (we ALL know the one) that kinda got buried under all the ableism is that izaya's mistreatment of those suicidal girls was a just action and done out of pity for, like, "actual" suicidal people?

like. analyzing izaya's relationship with suicide and why he has this... uh.... "hobby" in general is super interesting, and here its just the most blandest woobified interpertation of it possible

like- if izaya IS mentally ill and the symptoms of said mental illness are why he's Like That, it creates this interesting thought of, suicide is the natural endpoint of those girls' mental illnesses, and izaya's actions are the natural endpoint of his. suicide is both a) understandable from the standpoint of how it reduces (er, eliminates) the victim's suffering and b) incredibly hurtful and damaging to those in the victim's perprhiary. AND notwithstanding suicide, mentally ill people whos symptoms cause them to hurt others are (generally) given compassion and understanding for their symptoms, while still being held accountable for the harm they've caused.

so if izaya's actions are from untreated mental illness, can they be seen thru this same framework? about how his actions are understandable from his perspective since they (at least in the moment) migitate his suffering, but are also extremely hurtful? and that, because everyone around him wants him to be held accountable or for karma to get his ass, without having any compassion or understanding of his symptoms, that a fundamantal aspect of this setup is missing and that's why nothing ever seems to change? because people see him not as a mentally ill person deluding himself into thinking that his symptoms are all active decisions made by him that he's in control over, while actively losing control of them, but as an iredeemable and actively malicious man who genuinley IS on top of things and orchestrated literally everything- basically, believing the lie he puts on for people, including himself?

and another angle is WHY he fixates on suicide specifically. was he suicidal in middle school when he was more reserved? does it have ties to his thanatophobia in that he wants to understand what drives a person to suicide, only to be repeatedly dissapointed when its mundane reasons AND that they're scared of dying? (ergo, something COULD happen to him that can drive him to suicide, since these girls were driven to it by a mundane event- AND that his fear of death will not save him from these urges)

does he realize that his plan to die in battle DOES count as a suicide, and he's projecting those feelings onto other people and focusing on their suicidal ideation instead of his own?

it's a fascinating topic!!!

Honestly I can see why people would feel off at the fact that Odysseus questioned his father at first when they reunited when people look at it at face value, but if you actually read and look into his character and the story it makes perfect sense as to why. The reasoning?

Trust issues, a boat full of it

Odysseus hardly trusts anyone at this point. I mean hell when he went to Ithaca and finally arrived there he thought Athena, the goddess, the one who personally trained him and watched over him since he was young, was lying and tricking him because the poor man is so traumatized he feels like it is all another trap for him.

Then he sees his father, who he hasn't seen in 20 years, and doesn't know if he can even trust his own father anymore. He doesn't trust his own father anymore. That's not something that warrants rage and anger, that's something to be genuinely concerned about that someone can be so traumatized to the point that they can't even trust their own family. Odysseus couldn't tell if he really was his father or if it was another bs situation being pulled on him by the gods that messed with him for 10 full years.

And when he finally revealed himself to his father? He hugged him, he hugged him tightly and comforted him. Probably one of the only times in a long while that Odysseus has felt comfortable enough to hug anybody. This moment, this special moment between the two, is the moment where Odysseus has fully reconnected to his home for good.

So if anyone even tries to say that Odysseus was bad to his parents or that he didn't care about them you will be catching these hands and book 16 of Homer's Odyssey because clearly you don't understand that a huge part of Odysseus's character is loving and caring for his family above everything else.

Art by EroMkk

Posted with Permission (reprint/edit and/or commercial use prohibited)

Do you think that Odysseus is a victim of SA?

I personally do, especially at the hands of Calypso.

Poor guy. Just wants to see his wife and son. He's a lil bitch but I love him

Yeah I think he's a victim of rape. Kept unwillingly on Calypso's island and forced to sleep with her? Dude is by no means a perfect guy but the morality of a character doesn't erase the trauma they experience