#and why he let Odysseus go

[figureitoutinthemorning]

I would eat this up so hard

WAIT I DIDN’T SEE THIS ASK BEFORE, TUMBLR HID IT FROM ME!!!

But yeah. At some point I will write it!! I have a bunch of little scenes in my head like that.

[backpackingspace]

Okay but do you think the people who were really close to odysseus during the Trojan war had a running bet for when odysseus claimed to have a vision from Athena if it was true or not? Because half the time he was just lying about that.

[silvertws]

My idea of Odysseus and the Odyssey in general has been now clouded by the musical.

It's cool to know what's gonna happen, love having to study that in elementary.

Hey, Odysseus, when are you going to tell your family you're actually leaving again to die at sea? :D

[randomboiplush]

I'm bored and I had this thought specifically about poseidon saying that he can't let Odysseus go due to him needing to keep up his reputation because I feel like some people forget that...this is a GODS reputation, which his reputation is he is ruthless and will do anything against the person he is mad at and will kill anyone(based on what epic gives us) so...if he just let Odysseus go that would give people a reason not to fear him, and they would think 'oh if I hold out long enough/give a sob story he will let me go' which that kind of reputation Is not good for someone who rules through fear

So in fact, even if he wanted to let Odysseus go, it's a horrible idea to do so unless he made sure that Odysseus would not tell a single soul about this, which he can't be completely sure of

Its like a well known royal that rules with an iron fist is thought to secretly take pitty on people(and that has one person as evidence)

[lidera-aro]

I see lots of people saying Athena was able to convince Hera because of Zeus’ infidelity, and like.. Yeah, that definitely took a part. But I don’t think that was the main reason.

Hera is the goddess of Marriage(or family, depending on the translation).

And not to shame other heroes, but tbh lots of them cheated at least once.

So I think Odysseus staying faithful for his wife and child was what made him special to her.

Like, he’s a genius? Sure, lots of them were. He has a silver tongue? Well, that’s not always a good thing, is it?(looking at you, Sisyphus)

But he is faithful to is family? As goddess of marriage, I think that was what made him stand out from others to her.

Also, loved that Ares was the one who said “Is she dead?”

Like, they are both gods of war. Sure, they fight a lot. But they’re siblings, and brutality and strategy are two things that are usually against each other yet deeply connected things.

You use strategy to avoid brutality, yet sometimes it is necessary. It is war, after all.

So, it would make lots of sense that he would feel concerned for her even if they’re at each other’s throat all the time.

And to be honest, I loved Hephaestus’ part.

Saw someone saying Athena was making him relate to Odysseus. And that was really cool. And I agree to that.

Trust becomes something so foreign yet you can’t help but yearn for, once you’ve been betrayed. I feel like he would’ve somehow feel relatable to Eurylochus?

Like, it doesn’t make sense, I know, but Eurylochus is Odysseus’ brother-in-law. They’re family. So I think Hephaestus somehow felt relatable to him(he was betrayed by at least one of his parents, after all)

And I’ll be honest, I think Aphrodite’s part was one of my favorite.

She is goddess of love, and that doesn’t mean she is goddess of Romance. Love comes in different forms, after all.

It’s really interesting, cause we saw Odysseus’ POV in Underworld. We know he regret it deeply and love her much.

But then Aphrodite throws a different point of view. No matter how much he loved her he (regardless of the fact he didn’t intend to) hurt her. Like, knowing he didn’t mean it would cause another emotional turmoil.

To be honest, I feel like all of their reasoning was very fair(considering their domain) and fit their characters.

(Except for Zeus, who made me want to st@b him in the neck-)

[ahotpeaceofshit]

One of the funniest characters in the Odyssey has to be the Goddess Ino who, after watching Posidon torment the freshly freed Odysseus on his raft, climbs up on his raft and is like: "Hey buddy, I've never seen Posidon so pissy at a mortal and yet let that mortal still be alive... get naked to create a distraction and take my magic scarf to not drown. Best of luck little dude!"

And somehow that saves him..

[thirteendaysintaunton]

Zeus being mad that Athena -- the goddess of wisdom and strategy who knows her Olympian family better than anyone -- won a game that he challenged her to, to convince them of her point of view is the equivalent of being angry that you lost a race to an olympic gold medalist runner like bro

[tamaruaart]

I want a Nauiskaa saga

[dragon-ashes-03]

Why... gods, why...

His odyssey,,,,,, it continues,,,,,

[audarcy]

The original percy jackson series is about cycles of abuse and neglect, right. Were introduced to percy as a kid who has clearly been left behind by a school system that has given up on him, restless and unengaged and self-defetist because hes been given nothing that works for him and no one even tries to meet him where he is. Then hes told no, listen, your neurodivergence is amazing and you just need to be given something that actually utilizes your unique palatte. And thats obviously the uplifting idea rick wanted for his kids, right. But once we get to know chb the same cycles are happening there too. There are kids "left behind" there too for one reason or another, because their parents dont want to claim them, because their parents werent important enough to get a cabin. Do you get it, all the kids who dont fit the most common neurotypes get shoved into the same closet. Kids are being left in a cruel world to fend for themselves without the tools they need. Theyre dying because no one bothered to accommodate them. Its such an obvious parallel that the first chapter introduces a teacher whos written to be especially hard on percys disability and she turns out to literally be one of these monsters trying to kill him. Meanwhile sally jackson tells him she named him after Perseus because she wanted a redemption for a hero whos story ended in tragedy. Meanwhile every book in the series replicates a greek myth step for step until the moment they break the cycle. Annabeth, playing Odysseus, is talked down from her hubris and grounded by her friends. Percy, playing Heracles, meets someone wronged by the original Heracles and rights his wrongs by refusing to go down the same selfish path as him. Monsters are reborn because they are--as the books explicitly call them--achetypes. These kids are stuck inside the cyclical nature of mythology because thats what happens to mythology, it gets retold over and over again. But these are the kids who have to live it. The series ends with percy being offered immortality and he rejects it because he wants to use his godly favor to force them to break their cycle of neglecting their kids. The series ends with a declaration that we cant keep letting this happen. The very first book offees the same choice. It ends with percy refusing to keep the head of medusa as a spoil of war, refusing his heroic reward. He lets his mother have the head and use it to kill gabe. Isnt that fucking crazy for a kids book? Gabe wasnt a Monster. He wasnt going to Turn to Dust and Disappear in a narratively convenient way. He was a living breathing mortal dude and percy and his mom killed him without remorse. Break the cycle of abuse!!!! Dont let this happen again!!! Anyway thats why the original percy jackson series is Hey where are you going with our breadsticks

[meraki-yao]

Jorge did an excellent job in showing Penelope's character and why Odysseus and Penelope are made for each other in just two songs

Of course throughout the whole saga we are told Odysseus loves Penelope more than anything, she and Telemachus are his one life line and one motivation to getting home

But when we finally heard Penelope, in her two actual songs (by that I mean not counting Ody's hallucinations and the siren), we are shown why

In the challenge, she's smart, shown by her weaving and unweaving the shroud, and in setting a challenge that she knows only Odysseus can complete once she suspects he's close to home. She's steadfast in her love, never faltering in the face of 108 strong men taunting her, and pressuring her every single day. She's a queen, holding herself with dignity and authority. She's an amazing woman.

In Would You Fall In Love With Me Again, she once again demonstrates her intellect both logically and emotionally by testing Odysseus with the wedding bed. Then she breaks down in tears and anger letting go of all the pain and suffering and longing and yearning and agony she's gone through in the past 20 years. She was in so much pain and agony, but she kept waiting.

This is a story about a man who moved mountains and seas for his love and a woman who stood still in the midst of storms and terrors for hers.

[gingermintpepper]

I think, perhaps one of the funniest things to come from EPIC popularising the Odyssey is that now a ton of people think Poseidon wanted to kill Odysseus.

In the Odyssey, Poseidon has no intention of killing Odysseus. In fact, part of the whole reason Zeus lets Poseidon do whatever he wants even though he thinks Odysseus is rad and should get to kiss his wife is explicitly because Poseidon had no intentions of killing Odysseus. Poseidon wanted to pay back the suffering/inconvenience blinding Polyphemus would have caused. It's a really abstract thing tbh. How do you pay back someone permanently disabling your son? Poseidon's solution was just to amputate Odysseus from his other half; i.e. Penelope. The end game was never murder, it was always an endurance race.

(Od. Book 1: Zeus reassuring Athena that he is not, in fact, a part of Odysseus Hater-Nation. Trans. Robert Fagles)

Also, for those wondering if there's any sort of in text reason for why Poseidon wasn't around in God Games - at the time in the Odyssey when Athena petitions Zeus to let Odysseus leave Calypso's island, Poseidon was -checks notes- on vacation in Ethiopia. Yep. He left to Ethiopia for a festival and thusly was very much absent for Athena's whole "please let Ody go? Please? 🥺" request.

(Od. Book 1: While Odysseus was suffering, Poseidon went to party in the east)

I am begging y'all to read the Odyssey. It's a comedy for everyone except Odysseus and Penelope who are, in fact, suffering 24/7 365.

[random-remzy]

*cough*

Y'know when Ody was like "I need to be a monster to get home, rarwrr"

Yeah, he didn't actually give up Polites' "Open arms" thing until "Six Hundred Strike"

In "Get In The Water" Ody doesn't jump straight to planning, scheeming, attacknng, or anything really. He actually tries to reason with him, to use compassion and sympathy. He tries to relate to Poseidon and apologizes, encouragung him to forgive.

Then when he's in the ocean, sinking, Poli, Eury, and Anticlea sing to him. But their words are different from the usual.

Eurylochus, is encouraging him, rather than criticizing him.

Anticlea is telling him that she loves him, instead of making it seem like he let her down.

But Polites' what he said. That is what gave Odysseus the ability to go Ruthless on Poseidon. Instead of what he's always been saying, which is "This life is amazing, when you greet it with open arms." He now says, "You can relax my friends, I can tell you're getting nervous"

This is him telling Odysseus, "I know what you've been through... Do what you must to see them."

This 'acceptance' is what allows Odysseus to abandon any form of compassion and mercy and why he's able to be as ruthless as he is.

That's also why he was quick to kill Eurymachus, he mentioned open arms, Odysseys didn't need that philosophy anymore, dead.

Also, y'know when he says "My mercy has long since drowned" ?

yeah thats bs. It only drowned like, 4 hours ago, when he was sinking in the ocean. Because yes, the spirits whre pushing him up. But Polites took his philosophy down with him.

so uh yeah.

[nightingale-prompts]

The Green Ribbon-DCxDP Prompt

(Yes this is based on the story of the same name)

Tim can't handle not knowing. It was his fatal flaw. Like Odysseus and his hubris or Heracles and his wrath. Tim's curiosity would be his downfall.

So when he met a boy in class who had a striking green ribbon that wrapped around and around his neck, he wanted to know why. It wasn't not simple accessory as the only thing that changed was how it was tied in its bow.

And he never took it off.

When Danny arrived at the school it was a transfer mid-school year and everyone was drawn to the ribbon on his neck. Then it was forgotten because this is Gotham, it was best not to question.

Though others thought it was a fashion statement that caught on.

Still Tim began getting closer to him to ask why. He never got an answer but a shrug and said it's not important. Over and over Tim tried to find an answer but his investigation found nothing.

"If it's a scar, it's fine. I won't judge." Tim said comfortingly.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Danny said not confirming or denying it.

"I got you a ribbon. Do you want to try it on?" Tim said holding up a red ribbon he had picked out just for Danny.

"I like the one I have. But I'll gladly take it." Danny said.

The next day Danny began wearing a braided red, black, and green ribbon on his arms. Those also became a trend.

"I'm going swimming with my brothers this weekend. Do you wanna join." Tim asked believing Danny would have to take off the ribbon.

Danny agreed but he spent the day in the shade with his baby sister who romped about in the sand. Around her neck was another green ribbon tied in a pretty bow on the back of her neck like a kitten given as a Christmas gift.

"Sorry Tim, I don't do well in the sun. I burn easily. Elle doesn't like being submerged in water so I have to keep her company." Danny said as his sister flopped on his lap while he scrolled on his phone.

Dick didn't ask questions as he wished Tim luck with his new but strange boyfriend.

"He's kind of cute. And he's caring at least." Dick said.

Tim didn't listen because Dick had a taste for those who weren't totally normal.

Damian didn't care because as mysterious as it was he was more interested in snorkeling. Also, Elle asked him for some discarded seashells and that was his current mission on getting for her. They were going to build the most impressive sandcastle with them later.

Jason didn't say much since he was riding a jetski in the distance.

Later, at the end of the day Danny tired to clean the sand off his sister as she refused to get wet. Elle hated the friction on her skin and wouldn't let him get the sticky sand off.

Tim took this as a sign. They avoided water like the plague. In fact Danny never drank anything.

Jason eventually picked up Elle under her arms and carried her to the water and dunked her in the water for a second as she avoided the water like a cat. Then it was over and she was fine as Jason put her down. She stuck her tongue out and sprinted back to Danny who toweled her off.

Then the day ended and Tim was no closer to the answer.

Eventually they started dating and Tim hoped he'd be closer to knowing.

Then one evening while Danny was sleeping next to him Tim's curiosity consumed him. Tim pulled on that damned green ribbon until it came loose. It wasn't the right thing and he planned to apologize over and over to Danny.

Tim's face turned white when a thud echoed in the bedroom as Danny's head rolled off the bed and hit the ground.

[paigepithetics]

While I'm here I want to talk about how Epic characterises Odysseus, and why criticisms that Jay “gives him a conscience” misunderstand both the Odyssey and what Epic is actually doing.

First: the claim that Homer’s Odysseus didn’t feel guilt or grief just isn’t true. He does express regret, sorrow, even shame, just rarely in the moment, and rarely in overt ways. But the man weeps constantly. He breaks down when hearing songs of Troy. He mourns his fallen men. He carries the weight of what he’s done, even if he couches it in calculation and cleverness.

And when people say Jay’s version of Odysseus is somehow "softer" or overly moralized, they’re not only flattening Homer’s character — they’re missing the thematic project of the musical entirely.

Jay isn't writing a story where Odysseus learns "to be ruthless and let go of mercy." That’s one thread. But if we take it as the core arc, then yes, you might reasonably ask: why does he hesitate to kill now, when the Iliad Odysseus did far worse without flinching?

The answer lies in "Just a Man," the linchpin of the musical and a crucial catalyst for Odysseus’ internal arc. In it, he’s asked to kill an innocent child, and he does. But not before hesitating, asking: "Will these actions haunt my days? / Every man I've slain / Is the price I pay endless pain?"

The killing of the infant, possibly the darkest moment in the musical, comes as he says, “I’m just a man,” right after asking, “When does a man become a monster?” He drops the baby as he says it. We’re not meant to believe he’s not a monster. We’re meant to see that he doesn’t want to believe it.

That moment haunts the rest of the show. He didn't become ruthless when he dropped the baby, he already was; war changed him so completely that at the end of it, he was able to kill a baby that looked just like the son he left 10 years prior, and that terrifies him.

And the fear doesn’t go away. In "Open Arms," Polites is essentially telling him that war has changed him, and he carries it with him even now, after it's over. That truth unsettles Odysseus so deeply (who in the song prior is literally running "full speed ahead" away from his actions, away from war, convinced he can just get home and leave it all behind) that a goddess has to intervene to steady him.

When he faces the Cyclops, he tries to justify the violence: "It's just one life to take / And when we kill him, then our journey’s over." But the tone is clear: this is self-reassurance.

And Odysseus does this a lot in Epic! There’s a pattern of him trying to reassure himself and his crew that they’re almost there, that if they can just get through this trial, they’ll be home. He insists that their journey is nearly over again and again, that their families are still waiting, that everything will be fine, that they can still make it home.

But these aren’t promises, they’re hopes dressed as certainty. He has no real reason to believe any of it. It doesn’t matter. He says it anyway. Because if he stops believing it, even for a moment, the weight of what he's done, and what he's become, might crush him (we see this play out explicitly in both "The Underworld" and "Love in Paradise"). These aren’t just reassurances. They’re quiet, desperate lies. Mostly to himself.

Even delirious with exhaustion, he clings to this idea: "So much has changed / But I'm the same, yes, I’m the same."

But he isn’t. And he knows it. Odysseus is afraid the war will never end, not because of geography or gods, but because he’s afraid the war has already changed him beyond return. And that is one of the major ideas we can take from the Odyssey. As Emily Wilson observed, the long journey home is not just physical, it’s existential. The question isn’t just can he return, but who will return if he does.

So when Odysseus later embraces brutality, when he says, "Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves / And deep down I know this well," it’s not a turning point. It’s a confession. He’s admitting that this capacity for violence has always been there. And it’s Penelope’s danger that makes him stop pretending otherwise.

That’s the true arc: not from man to monster, but from denial to acknowledgment. Not the loss of conscience, but the unbearable weight of it.

And that’s why it matters that it’s Penelope who is in danger when he finally stops clinging to who he used to be. It’s for her sake that he embraces what he’s become. And in that moment, he knows she might not love him anymore. He chooses the path that will lead him home no matter what anyway.

[multi-fandom-imagine]

I have a thought for epic. Before Telemachus went on his diplomatic mission, he was scrawny because he didn't have any warrior training. And his wife loved that about him. But hear me out. He comes back, after all the training from Athena and such and he is so much stronger and has more muscle and his wife is like "DAMN!!"

A/n: I love this 🤣 also like let me know if you want a smutty part 2 👀

You were one of the best things that happened to him, Telemachus. You saw him for who he was, not for being the son of Odysseus and now....now he was leaving you behind.

(Something he did not want to do)

Lip's quivering, you did your best to not pout as you grasped your husband's hands gently in yours as you gazed up at him. "Come back to me."

Telemachus smiled as he pressed his head against yours as he gave you a soft kiss. "Always."

It's been close to a year, a year without your sweet and gentle husband and now you've had gotten word he was finally returning home. You've always knew that Telemachus wasn’t a warrior when he’d gone.

Not yet.

Telemachus had always been gentle—long-limbed, a bit too lean, always more tongue-tied than bold, except when he spoke of justice. Or you.

You’d fallen for his soul, his smile and those beautiful eyes, not his sword arm. For the way he listened more than he spoke.

So when the guards called out—“A ship! The prince returns!”—you dropped the basket you were holding and without thinking you took off into a sprint.

You ran to the shore.

And stopped cold.

Because the man disembarking was not the same scrawny boy who left.

He was taller now, shoulders broad beneath a dark cloak, a glint of bronze beneath it where his armor clung. His arms—Gods, his arms—were no longer slender but strong, defined with muscle earned from battles and training alike. He walked like a lion now, not a hesitant deer. Confident. Controlled. Powerful.

And then he smiled...that same sweet smile.

Your Telemachus was still in there—that soft tilt of the mouth, the boyish warmth that bloomed behind storm-colored eyes.

“Wife,” he greeted lowly, voice deeper than you remembered, huskier with use.

You blinked once.

Twice.

“…Damn,” you whispered, breathless.

His brow arched in amused confusion. “What was that?”

“N-Nothing,” you stammered, cheeks flaring with heat as you suddenly remembered the many, many inappropriate thoughts now stampeding through your mind. “I just—I didn’t—gods, what did Athena feed you?”

That made him grin.

“You missed me, then?” he teased, stepping closer until his shadow fell over you, until you had to tilt your head just to keep eye contact.

You reached out, placing your hand on his chest—partly to confirm he was real, partly because by the gods, you wanted to feel those muscles beneath your palm. “You could say that.” Your mouth felt dry and you were at a loss for words now.

But when he dipped his head to kiss you, slow and warm and newly confident, you could barely remember what restraint meant.

“I have so many things to tell you,” he murmured against your lips.

“Mhm,” you breathed. “Later. Right now, we’re going inside. And you’re going to tell me with your arms and body and everything else.

He blinked.

Then he smirked.

“By the gods,” he chuckled, sweeping you up bridal-style without effort. “I’ve missed you.”

And if anyone asked why the palace doors slammed shut and didn’t open again until dawn…

Well. That was nobody’s business but yours