Look I Am Into Greek Mythology In General But Im Primarily Just An EPIC Fan - Tumblr Posts
SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
I’m SO tired of people acting as if EPIC isn’t its own fandom deserving of its own things separate from the odyssey. The odyssey is an ancient myth told originally orally for generations in Ancient Greece. That may have served as a sort of lesson or perhaps warning against hubris. Or maybe it served a completely different purposed. (from my understanding- correct me if I’m wrong) The point is it’s not one clear story- it’s not like our modern day “traditional” story with a clear cut: “This is what happens canonically, this is how the characters act, this is why so and so happened.”
EPIC however, is that. It’s a retelling not simply an interpretation or an adaption. It’s based off of Homer’s Odyssey, not that it is it just in musical form.
The Odyssey is a myth from an ancient religion and culture. EPIC: The Musical, is a work of fiction only based off of the Odyssey, that is made in the modern era
when I say “Look at my EPIC AU!” I mean EPIC not The Odyssey
Something I like about epic the musical is that it Gives it's changes to the original text an actual Purpose
( The first couple paragraphs are basically a rant regarding retellings. If you only want to hear about epic Skip to paragraph 4)
1. I am a bit annoyed by the lack of. Understanding as to why RETELLINGS aren't the most historicaly accurate things in the world. Sorry to break this to you, but that's both just how they work and I would guess how they reach success. Ancient Greece is a much different culture than our own, And most of us would be terrified to actually live back then. When you are Trying to create content That is based on ancient Greece And you want it to be successful/ At least reach a wide, and notably, MODERN audience. You're likely going to have to take some creative liberty And change a few things. Don't get me wrong, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIKE RETELLINGS KNOWING THAT FACT ( Me personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Miller's novels Even though I do like epic) BUT IT IS SOMETHING TO BE AWARE OF. And because of that I don't think I would ever expect a retelling to be perfectly accurate And I don't. I had interest in mythology LONG before epic the musical But I didn't actually read the Odyssey until getting into epic. I did not expect it To be just like the musical, I knew Odysseus was going to be much more of an asshole, along with other characters. The odyssey and epic are different pieces of media to me And I am not less of a mythology nerd for liking epic ( Though I will admit that sometimes I take tiny little fun facts of mythology And like to think of them in the context of epic, but that's just for fun.)
2. The Only time being a fan of retellings is wrong as if you genuinely believe they are perfectly accurate And refuse to listen to anything else ( Which has definitely happened, And mythology nerds have the right to be annoyed at that)
3. Some people only like to consume real mythology media, Others like both real mythology and retellings, Others only like to engage with retellings (I would hope they have the self-awareness to know It's not real mythology, From what I've seen some do and some don't, Unfortunately)
4. Ok. now on to what the title of this long ass rant says
I like that epic the musical Retells the story, Not only to both cater to modern audience But Also with its OWN purpose of man versus monster.
Obviously, this is not the point of the original text. Mythos Odysseus does not give a single fuck About the stuff that epic odysseus does. I don't know why the creator Decided to rewrite it this way, (If he's ever said why let me know) But I would assume he wanted to make something about the oddessy And this was simply a very creative way to Translate that for modern audience.
I like this because, yes, holy damn. It does have changes from the original text. But it's not JUST changing it. It's changing it with a purpose
It feels reminiscent of some kind of Dramatic play. the way that epic characterizes.
Polites' kind nature is Representative of the Concept of being merciful Represented in his lines such as " This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms" /"There is so much guilt inside your heart, So why not replace it?"
While in contrast you have eurylochus with more ruthlessness and cautious nature, this is Found in some of his lines such as "You rely on wit, and people die on it" /"we don't know what's ahead" / "I say we strike first. We don't have time to waste so lets raid the place-" /"Let's just cut our losses, You and I and let's run"
And then you have Odysseus, the man/monster. The first act of this Musical is his internal struggle With what He should be On that scale. And the other characters Represent this struggle in the song monster
" Is the cyclops struck with gilt when he kills, is he up in the middle of the night? Or does he end my men to avenge his friend and then Sleep knowing he has done him right?
When the witch turns men to pigs to protect her nymphs, is she going insane? Or did she learn to be colder when she got older and now she saves them the pain?
When a God comes down and makes a Fleet drown Is he scared that he's doing something wrong? Or does he keep us in check So we must respect him and now no one dares to piss him off"
He then Applies this to himself
" Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping trojans cause he is vile? Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile?"
And this marks his turning point of deciding that Ruthlessness It's ultimately worth it if it means Getting home, as aeolus says "The end Always justifies the means"
It's in my opinion, a very creative way to go about retelling a myth. Is it accurate? Absolutely not. For example, circe (From what we know) is not protecting When she turns men into pigs, For all we know, she could just do it because Shits and giggles.
Her character and most others in epic is changed from the original. But it's not ONLY changing for the sake of apeling to the modern Western audience and being successful like Many other retellings. It is also and mainly changing for the sake of influencing the plot that Jorge Rivera herrans crafted For the sake of Retelling epic. It is creative and I enjoy it despite knowing it's not accurate.