The Horse And The Infant - Tumblr Posts
"Odysseus could have raised Astyanax as his own son! He shouldn't have killed him! Zeus is just an idiot who doesn't understand anything about children!"
Imagine you are Astyanx. Imagine that one day, you discover that your father, the man you thought was your father, is actually the murderer of your real father, who stole you from your cradle. Imagine that for years, you see your father lying to everyone, but the thought never crossed your mind that he might be lying to you. How do you know he didn't take you to ensure Troy would have no heir to the crown? That he took you to one day make you a puppet king in Troy for him? He's such a good liar, how do you know he wasn't lying when he looked you in the eye and said, "I love you, my son."
You know that your father—no, he's not your father, never was—did terrible things, but it never crossed your mind that you were one of the terrible things he did. You are a Trojan prince. You are Hector's son. You are not a little orphan from the battlefield that Odysseus took pity on. Odysseus destroyed your city. Odysseus lied to you. Odysseus has manipulated you. And Odysseus will PAY.
So many Greek tragedies tell about exactly this - about the attempt to prevent a tragedy, and about how the attempt failed, just as the gods and prophets had warned. If Astyanax had stayed alive, he would have murdered Odysseus' family no matter what Odysseus did, because that's how Greek tragedies work.
and yes, zeus suck.
100% totally serious The Horse and The Infant animatic
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for your viewing pleasure
I have exams next week but instead of studying, I have decided to spend my time writing an incoherent, unprofessional, subjective, biased, quasi-analysis of Epic: The Troy Saga (Original Concept Album). I have no idea what I’m talking about but I’m using a lot of big words with meanings I only vaguely know to make up for that.
After listening to Epic: The Troy Saga (Original Concept Album) a few times I now feel confident enough to share my thoughts on each song. As a fan of Hamilton and Six, I believe myself a well-versed connoisseur in judging musicals through only their music without watching it properly because it’s not available where I live. As such I can say with full confidence that this musical is shaping out to be quite a promising listen.
While I did also have a light Greek mythology phase (and a heavy Percy Jackson one) my knowledge of Odysseus is quite limited. Therefore, much like Hamilton, I expect this musical to be an enriching and educational experience as a whole.
The musical starts off with an absolute banger titled “The Horse and the Infant”. While the lack of visuals makes following the story marginally difficult with a few listens I believe I’ve gotten a grasp of the basic plot. The lyricism and rhyming patterns used when the person I’m assuming is Odysseus gives off orders flows very smoothly, in a manner like the rapping in Hamilton.
The repetition of Penelope and his son’s (?) name emphasizes his desperation to return and the well from where he gets his motivation and strength. This is a theme I expect to see further expanded, especially in the last section of the musical.
My personal favorite line is after Odysseus insists that he is ready and after that silence, he almost whispers, “It’s just an infant.” The voice carries the feelings of disbelief very vividly in this line especially. The song ends on a very strong note where Zeus states, “The blood on your hands is something you won't lose. All you can choose is whose.”
The second song, “Just a man”, is a softer composition. It starts with- * gives up *
And in classic fashion, I have reached the end of my attention span and will now stop. Perhaps if the cries of the masses appeal to me, I might consider a continuation.
Constantly burdened by the knowledge that Odysseus didn't have to kill Astyanax. Had him just brought him along for the journey back to Ithaca like he proposed in "the horse and the infant", the child would have 100% died anyway. Probably either drowned or starved, but at least an effort to keep him alive would have been made and Odysseus wouldn't have had to hurl that poor little boy down from the city walls.
No one:
Absolutely no one ever:
Me on a daily basis: ... ten years of war they killed us slowly, but now we'll be the ones who ✨💅 SLAAAY✨💅
Hi epic fans how we feeling
Zeus: The gods will tell him what you did when he grows up and he’ll kill you and everything you love.
Odysseus: Why?
Zeus: Why what?
Odysseus: If I raise him and he’s my second son, I’m his father, yes?
Zeus: I guess.
Odysseus: And this is a baby, so he won’t remember his real father? I mean, look at him. He doesn’t even know what’s going on right now and half the city is on fire and I just burst in here with a sword. Zero reaction.
Zeus: I guess-
Odysseus: So why would he be mad at me for killing a dude who did not raise him and he doesn’t remember? I’d be his dad. Maybe he’d be mad I stole him from his home but he’d have no emotional connection to these people.
Zeus: I don’t know how those work.
Odysseus: You mean children?!
This but I’d like to add that with the amount of Greek gods on Troy’s side who were salty about the loss, there’s no way that they would’ve let Astyanax be peacefully raised by Odysseus.
The gods would’ve, as Zeus put it, 100% have let Astyanax know that his real father is Hector, who was killed alongside the rest of the kingdom by the side Odysseus was on. That he was being raised by the man who (unintentionally) started the Trojan war that got his people killed.
That alone could’ve been enough to make Astyanax lose his shit, but I’d imagine the gods would’ve done some even more fucked up stuff to make sure that Astyanax is brutal when he gets his revenge, making it as tragic as possible.
So, as awful as it was, Odysseus’s best bet was to kill Astyanax. You can’t be sure that Astyanax would’ve had mercy for Odysseus because he spared his life and raised him from infancy when the gods could easily poison his mind.
"Odysseus could have raised Astyanax as his own son! He shouldn't have killed him! Zeus is just an idiot who doesn't understand anything about children!"
Imagine you are Astyanx. Imagine that one day, you discover that your father, the man you thought was your father, is actually the murderer of your real father, who stole you from your cradle. Imagine that for years, you see your father lying to everyone, but the thought never crossed your mind that he might be lying to you. How do you know he didn't take you to ensure Troy would have no heir to the crown? That he took you to one day make you a puppet king in Troy for him? He's such a good liar, how do you know he wasn't lying when he looked you in the eye and said, "I love you, my son."
You know that your father—no, he's not your father, never was—did terrible things, but it never crossed your mind that you were one of the terrible things he did. You are a Trojan prince. You are Hector's son. You are not a little orphan from the battlefield that Odysseus took pity on. Odysseus destroyed your city. Odysseus lied to you. Odysseus has manipulated you. And Odysseus will PAY.
So many Greek tragedies tell about exactly this - about the attempt to prevent a tragedy, and about how the attempt failed, just as the gods and prophets had warned. If Astyanax had stayed alive, he would have murdered Odysseus' family no matter what Odysseus did, because that's how Greek tragedies work.
and yes, zeus suck.
Every song is absolutely stunning but just a man is in a whole other dimension like wow
ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED!