#Philoetius

[katerinaaqu]

Ruthless Justice

This fic is dedicated to my dear friend @artsofmetamoor as a gift! She had also expressed an interest to the events of the murder of the suitors but I decided to take it into a more tragic level; the excecution of the 12 maids and I added some random emotional scene afterwards! You are warned this fic includes dark themes!

The cries that filled the room were deafening. The young ears of Telemachus could not bear them. The slave women were forced to clean up the room from the corpses of the blasted suitors that nearly killed him and took the kingdom of his father. It was the first time Telemachus had killed. He still couldn’t believe it how easy it had been! It was almost easier than hunting wild goats and deer in the mountains of Ithaca! Some part of him had felt a wild pleasure, almost hedonic gladness, when he had stabbed that first body and continued. This hedonism increased by the happiness he felt that he was helping his father, that he was useful. He felt pleasure for this justice that was finally prevailing in the halls of his house; finally the constant harassment and insults his mother and himself had gone through was punished and he had finally found his father. He had witnessed his brain and his ferocity, his dexterity and cunning first hand! So far he had only heard of it from others that had met him and yet now he had actually seen it before him; his father who was no longer at the prime of youth he had managed to clean the hall of 108 men 10 or even 20 years younger than what he was. Some part of Telemachus wondered; how was his father in his prime? How much more ferocity in battle he possessed? How much more wits and wiles could he loom in short amounts of time?

However now that the first thrill of battle had gone, now they had finished cleaning the chairs of the hall with sponges and water, Telemachus was shocked at their own strength and results. He looked around at the hall that was basically full of wrapped bodies; the bodies that used to belong to vigorous, young nobles and his father now stood at the hall, hard as the stones that built that very palace. Odysseus was not a tall man (that much was a surprise to Telemachus, for from the conversations he had heard about his father’s strength and name he had expected him to be as tall as he was, perhaps taller), he barely stood at average height, maybe a little less, but his physique showed the power that his hardships built upon him. His raven hair, which had already started turning silver from time and hardships, was curly like his own and long till his shoulders; those strong shoulders burnt by sea and sun. A thick bushy beard was hiding a strong jaw line and mouth shut tightly closed. However Telemachus particularly noticed his stone look as the onyx eyes of his seemed soulless like glass even if they burnt with hatred and anger. Right now he could see before him a man who lived up to his name; “The Anger Bringer”. Odysseus was indeed enraged; that much Telemachus could tell. The almost full day of slaughter seemed to have created a curst thick like salt upon his face, just as thick was the blood that had splattered it, the blood he didn’t have much time to clean. And yet, despite all that, he seemed to stand naturally within that chaos; like only a war veteran would stand naturally amongst corpses and cries. He remained there as the lamenting women were literally dragged and pushed at his feet as he stood at the podium of the throne. He seemed like a judge; a ruthless judge ready to pass judgment. Telemachus had seen him angry, hopeful, crying, tender and then ruthless in his killing but now he was truly disturbed at the shadow that had passed over his face. He saw then the one that had come from war; the Sacker of Cities… Odysseus looked down at the maidens crying and struggling, as if they were insects.

“I took you to my home…” he said, his voice cold as ice and sharp as a knife, “I gave you a bed, fed you, dressed you…made sure you would want of nothing while you were under my roof… I respected your wishes…never mistreated you and this is how you repay me? By mingling with my enemies…the very men that wished to violently claim my wife and kill my son?”

Every word was a hammer upon a nail. Telemachus felt a shiver down his spine. He wouldn’t want to be to the other end of that look that was for sure! The women seemed pale like bed sheets; like the sheets that were covering the bodies they had gathered with their own very hands. He saw the other two helpers of theirs; the two herders Eumaeus and Philoetius, standing over the crying maidens, watching at their master with pride. Telemachus had never seen so much wild triumph to the old face of Eumaeus’s before. Never.

“Eumaeus….” Odysseus addressed him, “What is the punishment for treason?”

“Death, my lord” his voice didn’t even hesitate

“Quite so…” Odysseus nodded.

He glared at the slave girls like a hawk.

“Normally I should drag you all out and stone you to death!”

Odysseus didn’t have to yell. All he needed was to speak in that low voice that boiled with anger, like the bubbling water in a cauldron. And yet that was more than enough to emphasize his anger.

“However we have caused enough ruin already! And I shall not even spare one single sacred stone of this palace for you!”

One could wonder whether he was about to say he would sell them away or something of similar manner, which would already be cruel enough. However the king of Ithaca said;

“Philoetius! Bring me a long piece of rope! Eumaeus, help me bring these treacherous women out! They shall be hanged!”

The word sounded as terrible as I was clear and the women broke to a woe Telemachus had never heard before (and, by gods, had he heard enough woe in his house ever since he was a baby!). The screeches and the cries they released along with their already blood-painted hands trying to claw themselves out of the swine herder’s strong grip, nearly made him throw up.

“Father!” he protested, “you can’t be serious! They are just helpless women!”

His father’s onyx eyes stuck within his own and Telemachus felt that same shiver down his spine. There was fire in those obsidian eyes! The same fire of earth that had forged the volcanic glass that gave his eyes their color seemed to be now burning deep inside those black orbs; it was though a cold fire that burnt like the ice burns the skin!

“Is the betrayal of a woman less serious than the betrayal of a man?” his voice was sharp as a broken sword; sharpness you wouldn’t know where it would cut you the worst; the actual blade or the broken tip

“N-No…” Telemachus stammered, “B-But…”

His voice was being drowned by the shrieks of the women. He couldn’t stand it.

“Does the dagger being wielded by a woman draw less blood when it stabs you in the back than the one wielded by a man?”

“Father please!”

“Stay back, Telemachus!” his father commanded, pushing him out of his way, “You are not to see this!”

Telemachus felt his heart clench but he held his ground.

“No, father, I shall help you” he said determined, “If I am to become king of this land, I must help justice prevail!”

His father eyed him once more but Telemachus stood his ground. He was Odysseades Telemachus. He had to live up to his father’s legacy. Odysseus eyed him in wonder for one second but he did not protest his request any further. Part of Telemachus had wished he had. However he knew he had to be strong and stand by his father’s side. The cries of the female voices still haunted his ears as they went out to the trees of the garden. Odysseus pointed towards the direction of one of the trees. Telemachus gulped. He knew that tree. He had played so many times around it when he was a kid! He had named it “Troy” at some point, running around with his horse (in other words a stick he fantasized to be his horse when he was five) and he would yell at the people of Troy to open their gates for him, like he had imagined his father would be doing, on occasions scaring the birds that sat on the branches. As he grew older he would climb and sit on them, joining those birds, and looking over to the horizon as if waiting for a ship to appear, as if waiting to see the sails of the 12 ships of Ithaca arriving.

How weird indeed that Odysseus chose that particular tree for the execution hall to be built behind it! Telemachus never made that connection so strongly before!

As the men dragged the women out to their final spot; behind that said tree lay the dome of court where a small, confided space, where the women tied up with one single piece of rope from the throats like cattle being led for slaughter were crying and moaning. Telemachus felt his stomach turn. Oh, Athena, he prayed silently, please give me strength to do what I must! He felt then a gentle touch upon his shoulder; like the sun warming him with his rays. His racing heart slowed a bit in beat and he breathed in deeply. Yes, he could feel Athena’s reminder of his own strength. Yes, he had to do it. He was his father’s son. No one dared to speak at that moment. Apart from the endless woe of the women that were about to be executed, it almost felt like a macabre ritual that was about to happen. The women were forced to their final resting place; the narrow hall that was closed up by the neatherd and the swineherd. Telemachus held onto the end with both hands and sighed again, feeling weirdly calm. It was as if all his essence had gone numb. He was self-conscious that his father was looking at him. He almost felt him regretful as if he tried to release him from his task but Telemachus made a mechanical move with his head to stop him. I am Odysseiades Telemachus, he thought, this is my duty! Instinctually he looked towards the sky.

“May this be no clean death…” he heard himself whispering, breaking the silence and the cries of the women, “…that I take the lives of these women…for they were wishing for my head…both mine and my mother’s…when they betrayed us and lay with the suitors…”

His father made half a step forward. Telemachus had made his resolve

He threw the rope over the dome and pulled with all his might.

The cries stopped to give their place to chocking sounds.

Telemachus didn’t cry. He only sighed and closed his eyes.

Soon the haunting sounds stopped.

There was only the creaking of the swinging rope…

~ ~ ~

Telemachus chocked and coughed as he threw up the little contents of his stomach behind a bush. How strange, he thought, he didn’t feel the need to do that when he killed all those men he hated by his father’s side and yet he reacted upon an execution he performed with his own hands. It was, maybe, because he always learnt to respect women and protect them. Quite frankly he never raised a hand against a woman before in his life. And now he had, with one fateful move he had removed the lives of 12 women he considered helpless. And yet that moment of clarity it was as if Athena was speaking through him; these women are not innocent, he thought she said to him, they betrayed you and your father, they betrayed your mother’s secrets and led to more torment to her. They conspired to kill you.

“Then why…?” Telemachus thought, “Why was this so difficult?”

He felt two warm, calloused hands on his shoulders and looked up. He faced the tired look of his father’s; his face full of the blood of the victims they had killed. In one moment Telemachus felt self-conscious and realized he could possibly look similar to this. He turned his look away in shame. What would his father think? What would he say for his weakness? Instead, though, he heard him whisper:

“I am so proud of you, my son…” the voice echoed somewhere in his soul, “I understand that was not an easy decision to make…”

“F-Forgive me…f-father…” Telemachus stammered trying to stop the sobs that were chocking him, “I…I wasn’t strong enough…”

“You’re wrong, Telemachus” his voice was whispery and yet adamant, “You are strong, much stronger than any man I have seen so far. I understand the task that I placed upon you was not a pretty one or a pleasant one. And yet you fulfilled it with the bravery that many men didn’t show in thousands of wars. I am proud of you…”

Telemachus realized what had bothered him so much; his father indeed didn’t seem to separate women from men before the ruthless justice he threw upon them. Telemachus was taught to protect and respect women. However when Odysseus arrived at the hall and ordered the demise of 12 women with hardly even blinking disturbed him. How much had he changed? This was not the father that his mother was describing…nay, he wasn’t the father he had met in the hut of the swine herder that embraced him and kissed him like he were his own soul. He saw some of that father he met right now, to the father trying to console him but before? A few minutes prior he saw an executioner; not the father he knew and loved.

“But how much do I know him, really…?” Telemachus realized, “I first saw his face a few days ago… What kind of man is he? Really?”

Odysseus patted his son on his shoulders and helped him straighten himself. They walked past the tree where the women still hanged like doves from a hunter’s stick. Telemachus couldn’t look up at the blackened and bloated faces of death. Not Odysseus. Odysseus looked up steadily and steadfast. There hardly was a reaction on his face apart from a wrinkle playing between his eyes. He seemed tired, sure, he wasn’t feeling pleasure he wasn’t smiling and yet Telemachus wondered; does this man have nerves of steel or a heart of stone to look up so calmly? How much horror had he seen so that this gruesome sight wouldn’t make him avert his eyes?

“How…?” he whispered, “How can you take this…?”

His father was silent for one second until he finally decided to talk.

“One can get awfully accustomed to the face of death…when they have seen so plenty of it…”

His voice was almost dead; as if he was just stating a simple fact such as that the sun rises from the east rather than talking about the lives of people. That rubbed Telemachus in the wrong places even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“Sometimes…” Odysseus continued, “I feel like my heart has turned into stone… Sometimes I feel like it has no more space apart from you Telemachus…”

It took him a few seconds to realize what his father had just said. Perhaps not even Odysseus himself had realized it!

“What about mother, father? What about her?”

There was silence for one second. However that silence seemed to Telemachus more cruel than any other eternity in Hades’s kingdom!

“Father!” he urged

“Of course, your mother too…” Odysseus finally whispered, “I love her more than life itself! I did everything I could so I can come back to her…to you…”

“You doubted her!” Telemachus whispered in cruel realization, “Oh, gods! I don’t believe it! You doubted her! Even after everything she went through for you!”

“No!” Odysseus immediately retorted, “No, I didn’t doubt her! Not really…it is just…”

“Just what? I don’t believe you! After all these years she waited!”

“I know this” Odysseus retorted almost calmly, “Or rather I absolutely know now. However I needed to make sure…beyond any shade of doubt. This is why Athena encouraged me to hide who I was from your mother, even if it tore me apart inside…”

“But…why…?” Telemachus was almost in tears and he was struggling really hard to keep them under control. “Why would you even doubt her so?”

They had spent years on their own and for as long as he could remember his mother was always waiting, crying and expecting a miracle. He didn’t remember one day to see his mother genuinely happy. She was smiling or complimenting his accomplishments but he had never seen her truly happy; all their life was darkened by the shadow of his father’s absence; of the lack of information whether he lived or not and now his father said that he had doubt, no matter how small it was?! Odysseus sighed deeply and looked at his son. His eyes were almost pleading even if his voice was steady.

“Son…” he said gravely, “I spent years out there…years of ordeals and pain and…many of them changed me… I cannot say much…not now…however there was someone…a woman…”

He gulped. He almost seemed ready to cry himself.

“She…she did unspeakable things to me…for years I endured hoping to come back to you and your mother… She…she kept on planting doubts in my head for years… I didn’t believe her…I didn’t want to believe her! And yet…yet all those years… Telemachus I couldn’t do otherwise! My brain was rejecting what my heart knew… And so I had to make these two come together… I had to…! Please! Perhaps one day I will be able to explain to you…and then you will understand…”

His father began walking away but Telemachus, in the heat of adrenaline and battle didn’t seem ready to let go. Not yet.

“Does this have to do with some goddess Calypso?”

His father froze and then he saw him turn around and saw another emotion he never saw before; fear. There was pure terror on his face. All color had left it; his eyes as wide as plates.

“Where did you hear that name!?” his father croaked out, “Telemachus! Where?!”

“Father…” Telemachus was more concerned and surprised than pitiful at that moment, “Look at you! You’re pale! You didn’t turn pallid when you ordered the execution of these women and yet you lost all color at the name of that woman!”

“Telemachus!” Odysseus called out desperately

“Tell me what happened father! What does this woman have to do with this?”

“I can’t!”

“Please tell me! What did that woman do to you to make you doubt your own wife?!”

“I can’t! I CAN’T!” Odysseus’s voice rose in a constant crescendo, he held his head with both hands as if suddenly his head was splitting in two

“Father, please!” Telemachus urged, “Who is that woman? Who is Calypso?”

“Telemachus!” Odysseus grabbed the shoulders of his son

Telemachus nearly whelped feeling the unbelievable strength of those hands, squeezing him in almost bruising grasp but he didn’t make a sound. He stood his ground. He was his father’s son.

“Where did you hear that name?!”

“Y-Your friend told me about it…” Telemachus finally replied, “I traveled, father. I myself tried to find the answers that I was seeking…and in my travels I visited Pylos…and Sparta…there I met your old friend… He said he had a dream in which you were trapped at the island with some goddess Calypso, but he didn’t know more… You remember him, don’t you? Menelaus the king of Sparta…”

“M-Menelaus…”

He took some breaths and he seemed to find his composure. He slowly released his son. Telemachus noticed that indeed some color had returned to his face. How much had that woman done to him to make his father react that way?! How many horrors had this man experienced to the hands of that goddess so that he would turn pale in terror even if he was completely unhinged by more than 100 vigorous men?

“Yes…of course I remember… Menelaus…he was one of my closest friends…in Troy.” That little recollection somehow calmed him down, “I…I haven’t heard of him for years… Th-Thank gods that he is fine…”

“He is in good health from what I could see…” Telemachus couldn’t lie, he didn’t know much on Menelaus but he knew that ‘fine’ was not exactly the word that described him, “He misses you a lot, you know… He didn’t speak with so warm words for anybody else…”

A sad smile spread to Odysseus’s lips.

“I remember… Menelaus was a really dear friend to me…”

He passed his hand over his face to mop some of his sweat.

“Forgive me, Telemachus…I really didn’t want this feeling to be inside me in the first place but…please understand me…that’s all I ask. That and some time… I will explain everything when I can…”

Telemachus breathed in, defeated.

“I will not pressure you, father…” he finally said, “I understand it is hard. Forgive me for insisting… It is just…”

His father’s arms wrapped around him. That moment he stopped being the heartless judge. He was the caring father again..he was the one Telemachus first met; the caring, protective father…

“Please don’t apologize…” he murmured to his son’s ear, “You have every right to be angry…you have so many questions… I promise you, my son, I will do my best to answer them all…just not yet…I can’t…not yet…”

He pulled back and looked at his son’s eyes.

“Okay?”

Telemachus smiled sadly. Suddenly his own accumulated frustration from the events of the day was evaporated. He needed this breakdown and somehow he knew his father needed it too.

“Okay” he nodded in agreement.

Odysseus patted his shoulders.

“Good.” He said, “Let’s go in now and we must order to get ourselves cleaned now. We must, sooner or later, cleanse ourselves from this murder for we both look like we went mad!”

Telemachus scoffed a bit. He began following his father; never daring to look back towards that grim execution place.

“She didn’t ask, you know…” he suddenly said

Odysseus stopped and turned around.

“What?”

“Mother. When I told her about king Menelaus’s vision, she didn’t ask. She didn’t make any inquiries. She didn’t doubt your integrity not even for one second…”

He saw his father’s chest palpitating almost suddenly. His face almost twisted with another unspoken sob. He turned around, showing Telemachus his back.

“Thank you…” he murmured

Telemachus managed to see one tear running down his father’s bloodstained cheek. There was so much behind that silent cry! Telemachus knew his father was keeping many things inside; perhaps he even blamed himself for everything. He didn’t know. He only hoped that with that last comment, he managed to give him some peace of mind. Apparently either he was right or Odysseus was a very good actor indeed, for he was back to his previous steadfast and calm self. He was once more the king.

The King of Ithaca

The Anger Bringer.

***

Not much to say here. Homer said most of it before me.

I found it disturbing and interesting how it was Telemachus the one to pull the rope of the execution so I thought to add a bit ore angst to this and show this aftermath whirlpool of emotions that could be going on inside hm.

And of course Odysseus and the years of torment, especially Ogygia.

Also in the Odyssey Rhapsody 17 Telemachus does mention to his mother how Menelaus saw Odysseus imprisoned by Calypso but Penelope didn't react to it much. She either believed not much of it in her sorrow or at the same time she felt no need to react at the name of another woman because she trusted her husband.

Hope you like it.

[doloneia]

good morning i come to you all with a successor to this. also entirely vibes based

[becaexists]

I've written 12k words of fanfiction for my own dnd character and I've played him once I am not mentally stable good gods above

[nikoisme]

Odysseus really asked Philoetius and Eumaeus "Hey can i ask you something?? Say, if Odysseus were to magically appear right now, maybe brought by some god - would you fight for him?? Like, if he appeared right before this archery contest that only a man like him would win? Asking for a friend."

[desos-records]

Everything Mythologically Inaccurate About O Brother Where Art Thou (2000)

For the record. I adore this movie with all my soul and I know it’s loosely based on the Odyssey and this will basically be me pointing out references to the epic, but it’s the only film adaption I’ve ever seen of the Odyssey and that’s what I’m currently reading, so here we go.

Nice beginning quote, also the beginning of the Odyssey, although specific wording varies between translations

I have two copies of the Odyssey, one by Stanley Lombardo and the other by Emily Wilson (highly recommend her translation)

This seems to be from a translation done in 1961 by Robert Fitzgerald

The trouble with the Odyssey, plot wise, is that the majority of the actual monster-fighting, ship-wrecking Odyssey part is told entirely through flashback and it’s only about a third of the whole epic. It’s not a linear story and this movie is, so we’re going to have to accept that everything is out of order

The Odyssey actually starts with Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, and his own journey to learn whether his father is still alive or not

He visits Menelaus and Nestor, both characters from the Iliad and friends of Odysseus. They both make long speeches and there’s lots of ceremonial hospitality and I can understand why they skipped it

But in Book 5, we finally get to Odysseus, who is trapped on Calypso’s island

Odysseus is then freed from Calypso’s island by order of Zeus, so starting with a jailbreak makes sense

Fun Fact: the song here, “Po’ Lazarus,” wasn’t recorded for the film. It’s a recording of real Mississippi prisoners in 1959 made by the Ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax

After sailing away from Calypso’s island, Odysseus is immediately shipwrecked by Poseidon and he washes up on the shores of the Phaeacians and there’s a long, long period of time spent getting him food and clothes and some damn sleep, which again—I understand why they simplified it

I cannot stress enough how amazingly in character Everett is as Odysseus, literally the man never stops talking

Delmar and Pete are also fantastically in line with Odysseus’ men, who are mostly unnamed, but are frequently characterized as stupid, insubordinate, and lacking in self-control

They could also be analogous with Odysseus’ two slaves, Eumaeus and Philoetius, who help him kill the suitors and take back his house

*a reminder that slavery in Ancient Greece wasn’t racially based. It was still terrible, but it could technically happen to anyone*

I have to assume the push-cart is the equivalent of Odysseus’ raft after he leaves Calypso’s island and the old blind man is Tiresias, the blind prophet that Odysseus meets later when he travels the Underworld

Also the blind man’s line “I have no name” might be a reference to Odysseus telling the cyclops Polyphemus that “He is no one”

Odysseus is told a number of times by several different people that he’s fated to return home, but only after great suffering so this prophecy is a good summary thematically speaking

Tiresias also tells Odysseus that after he returns home, in order to appease Poseidon, he will have to travel again until he meets people who have never seen the ocean and then make sacrifices. This is Odysseus’ Lost Adventure, so to speak, because we have no record of it

The ‘cow on top of a cotton house’ is sort of in line with that part of Tiresias’ prophecy, in terms of ‘you’ll know it’s over when you see something weird’

Is Wash’s house supposed to be Circe’s island? Bit of a stretch

There’s a pig. I think that makes it Circe’s island

There’s no police force after them or deadline in the Odyssey, but there is Poseidon actively working against them and, more or less, a desire to get home as soon as possible

Are the baptists supposed to be the Lotus Eaters? Because Odysseus’ men do join up with them and he has to basically drag them by their ears back to the ship

I think it’s interesting that they characterize Everett as a non-believer since Odysseus is, actually, a favorite of gods like Athena and is super devout and careful about making proper sacrifices and such

The “you might be square with the Lord, but the state of Mississippi is more hard-nosed” point is funny because that’s honestly how the Odyssey ends. Odysseus has killed all the suitors and fulfilled his fate as decreed by Athena and Zeus, but the families of the murdered young men still chase after him demanding retribution. Athena intervenes at the end

Don’t think Tommy is supposed to be anyone in the Odyssey, maybe the multiple bards who sing stories throughout the epic, but he is based on the legends of Tommy Johnson or Robert Johnson, both black blues musicians who were said to have learned guitar from the Devil

Musicians in the Odyssey are said to be given their gifts by the gods, so that tracks

Okay, is THIS blind guy at the radio station supposed to be Tiresias or are they messing with me

“I am a man of sorrow” is a DIRECT line from the Odyssey (B.19, L.119, Wilson) and I’m SO GLAD they made a song out of it

Wait wait wait governor MENELAUS “pappy” O’Daniel?? Hilarious

“Thank god your mammy died giving birth. If she’da seen ya, she’da died of shame” amazing line. But wait, if you’re King Menelaus, are we talking about HELEN here

*Helen and Menelaus only had one child btw, her name is Hermione, which is the feminine version of Hermes*

There’s just something about the Great Depression Era that tugs on my heart and makes me cry, I love it

Odysseus is firstly a PIRATE and a SACKER OF CITIES which means him stealing treasure and what not is in character

Although the particular treasure he ends up with at the end does not come from The Trojan War, but was gifted to him by the Phaeacians, so

Wait a second. Everett’s name is Ulysses Everett McGill, right? Ulysses is the Latin form of Odysseus

Is all that money in the bag TWO dollar bills?? Fucking fantastic

George “Baby Face” Nelson is also a real person, famous gangster and bank robber. Not sure he lines up with anybody in the Odyssey, but my god did they do an excellent job casting. He killed more FBI agents than any person in history. He also was not executed by electric chair, but was shot to death by the FBI

Ohhh the “not the livestock” thing is a reference to Odysseus’ men eating the Sun Cows when they were specifically told not to and all of them dying as consequence

Hey they’re sitting on old busted Greek columns, that’s cool

HOMER stokes. Nice

I KNEW those little boys carrying ice had to be a reference to something. Eudora Welty’s photograph for WPA of two boys carrying ice

Odysseus IS an excellent storyteller

Alright, alright. A note about Sirens. They are not sexy ladies sitting up on rocks. The Odyssey doesn’t even give a physical description, just that they’re monsters who sing at passing sailors, promising their greatest desire. In Odysseus’ case, that is KNOWLEDGE, specifically about his family and friends

Although, funnily enough, Odysseus does come across young girls doing their laundry in a river after shipwrecking. And he is naked at the time. But there is NO seduction happening. He just politely asks if maybe he can borrow some clothes and also could someone point him in the direction of the nearest town, please and thank you

Obsessed with the idea that you have to get Odysseus black out drunk in order to shut him up

Okay, maybe those ladies were supposed to be Circe too—she turns people into pigs (or frogs, in this case) AND sleeps with Odysseus

I spy a Cyclops. Polyphemus, the bible salesman

Which is funny, btw, because Odysseus basically calls Polyphemus godless for breaking hospitality rules and eating several of his men, which does happen here in a way

There is crying in damn near every single book of the Odyssey and it’s a shame there’s so little of it here

*reference to the Carter family, legends of American Folk music*

Odysseus just has a son, Telemachus, but I think the little girls are supposed to be the Graces? The Muses? idk trios of women are really common

I love this because at first Telemachus doesn’t recognize his father either (partly because he’s never actually met him and partly because Athena’s put him in disguise)

Neither does Penelope until Odysseus proves himself by a) winning the archery contest and b) knowing the secret of their marriage bed 

“Not since you got hit by that train!” perfect

“Odysseus died in the war!” Penelope says. *Odysseus, sitting right in front of his family, looking at Athena like she’s a camera on the Office*

Penelope has, like, thirty suitors who showed up to the house one day and just refused to leave until she picked one of them to marry and she can’t get them to leave until Odysseus returns and kills them all

Oh wait, there’s seven little girls. Right, probably the Muses then. Especially since they sing. That’s cute, I love that

If anyone is as big a liar as Odysseus, it’s definitely Penelope. That’s why he loves her. Totally in character

Penny. Penelope. Close enough.

I think it’s hilarious that Everett can’t fight. Especially since Odysseus just. murders all the suitors without much fuss since he’s so great at everything all the time

“Just a drifter, I guess” she says about Everett, which is great because Odysseus shows up disguised as a beggar at first and it’s unclear if Penelope genuinely can’t recognize him or if she’s playing along with his scheme to get the suitors out of the house

“Don’t trust women” is a BIG thing in the Odyssey, unfortunately, which is a little hypocritical of it since it’s main character is a lying, scheming, murdering, pirate and war criminal who cheats on his wife repeatedly

I don’t CARE if Hermes told you to, Odysseus, it’s still a double standard

The movie theater scene reminds me of the bit in the Odyssey where they travel to the Underworld and talk to some of Odysseus’ friends. Agamemnon tells him not to go home lest he be betrayed by his wife and murdered like he was

THERE’S the crying

I… I can’t explain the Klan scene except for, well, Polyphemus gets blinded by a stick that’s on fire, so. There’s that. Maybe they’re Polyphemus’ sheep? The suitors trying to kill Telemachus?? idk

The whole world is not against Odysseus, he’s just a liar who’s too smart for his own good and occasionally his selfishness makes him a little stupid, that’s all

More disguises! I love it

More Penelope not recognizing Odysseus until he proves himself! Excellent!

See, at least Everett doesn’t have to kill a room full of people in order to solve his problems

Oh oh oh, wait, is them having to go get the ring like Odysseus’ Lost Adventure to the people who’ve never seen the sea in order to lift Poseidon’s curse?? Or is it like Odysseus proving he knows that his and Penelope’s marriage bed was made out of a living tree and can’t be moved without cutting it??

See? Don’t go after livestock that ain’t yours

I guess this makes Poseidon the Devil here

Orrr this is when the families of the dead suitors try and kill Odysseus?

The flood at the end is definitely Athena’s deus ex machina though

Couldn’t tell an Odyssey story without a little bit a water, could you?

Ending with the little Muse girls singing with the blind prophet?? Amazing, I love it

Hercules (1997)

Clash of the Titans (2010)

[rye-views]

The Odyssey of Homer translated by Allen Mandelbaum. 7.6/10

I never knew much about Greek mythology. Is is a mythology? Did people ever actually look up to these gods and goddesses or are these stories? How did we come across this author or Homer and why we can’t tell if he really wrote this and if he is one person and so on.

Are all guests treated so well? WHOMST. Can I be a guest? LOL. This must be for the elite, right? Or like if you just happen to look kindly to a beggar?

Interesting to think about gods and goddesses so into human affairs.

Hearing the word Ithaca triggers me hah.

Memorable Quotes: “But I must – for now – submit and suffer: I’ve no choice.” “at times I ease my heart with tears, but then again, I stop – the chill of endless sadness is too much.” “gave this gift: consummate art and understanding hearts.” “no thing he finds can be more sweet than what he left behind.” “–a bright calm.” “Nothing’s harder for a mortal than roaming” “I do not hold with telling over what has been well told.” “all that is low has gained the upper hand” “when they’re without a master, servants lose the will to work.”

Spoiler: [About Odysseus being away from home for 20 years because of the anger of Poseidon preventing him from coming back. Athena getting approval from Zeus to get him back. Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, waits patiently for his return while suitors are wasting away his wealth and resources as they court her. Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, going to Pylos to see if anyone has any word of if his father is alive or not. Odysseus and his men had defeated the Trojans in Troy, Odysseus confined by Calypso because she wants him, Odysseus being taken care of in Nausicaa, being prisoners in the cave of the Cyclops, Odysseus destroying on of the Cyclops’s eye and escaping, constant turmoils on the sea including a bag of winds being unleashed by his shipmates, Laestrygonians eating men, Circe turning the men into swine, travelling to Hades’ hall, Tiresias prophesying Odysseus’s return home, metting his mother’s, and others’, shade, the death of all his comrades due to their greed, Phaeacians and their well built ships helping Odysseus home, his return to Ithaca, and Athena helping disguise him as a beggar. In Ithaca, Odysseus visits his loyal swineherd, Eumaeus, fabricating his life story, testing Eumaeus’s loyalty, Athena telling Telemachus to come home, planning revenge on the suitors, Odysseus revealing himself to only his son, heaing home, all the suitors trashing on Odysseus being a beggar, Penelope welcoming the disguised Odysseus and wanting to know what he knows of Odysseus, learning of disloyal handmaids who consorted with the suitors, Odysseus winning a fight against a beggar named Irus, Eurycleia, Odysseus’s old maid, washing his feet and discovering his scar and recognizing him, keeping it all a secret from his wife, Penelope setting up an archery test to whoever is allowed to win over her, Odysseus being the only one able to string his bow, and the beginning of the killings of the suitors by Odysseus, Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoetius. All the suitors killed, the disloyal handmaids hung, mutilated Melanthius, cleansing the halls with fire, Penelope waking and hearing the news, Penelope testing Odysseus to know if he is really him, Odysseus talking about how their bed was made by him and it checks out, them catching up, Odysseus going off to see his father, revealing himself to his father and a joyous reunion, going back hom as rumors fill the town, everyone wants revenge, and a peace and pact is made by Athena and Zeus shutting everyone down.]

[mythologicc]

Odysseus

Svenskt namn: Odysseus  Engelskt namn: Odysseus Grekiskt namn: Ὀδυσσεύς Kön: Man

Odysseus var en legendarisk grekisk kung av Ithaca. Odysseus är känd för sin intellekt, list och mångsidighet. Han är känd som Odysseus den listiga. Hans hemkomst, som tog 10 år, från det trojanska kriget är välkänt.

Han var son till Laërtes (eller så köpte Laërtes honom från Sisyphus) och Anticlea. Hans yngre syster var Ctimene. Han var make till Penelope, far till Telemachus och Acusilaus. Hans farfar eller styvfarfar var Arcesius och hans morfar var Autolycus. Alltså var Odysseus barnbarnsbarn till den olympiska guden Hermes.

TROJANSKA KRIGET

När Helen bortförs, uppmanar Menelaus de andra friarna att hedra deras ed och hjälpa honom att få tillbaka henne, det leder till det trojanska kriget. Ett orakel har sagt till Odysseus att om han är med i kriget kommer hans hemkomst vara väldigt lång, så han försöker att undvika det genom att låtsas vara galen. Han kopplar fast en åsna och en oxe till hans plog (eftersom de har olika steglängder hindrar det plogens effektivitet) och så börjar han så hans fält med salt. Palamedes försöker i Menelaus brors Agamemnons befallning att motbevisa Odysseus galenskap och placerar hans spädbarn Telemachus framför plogen. Odysseus vrider bort plogen från sin son och avslöjar sitt knep. Odysseus och andra sändebud av Agamemnon reser till Scyros för att rekrytera Achilles eftersom en profetia sa att Troja inte kunde tas utan honom. Achilles mamma Thetis försöker dölja honom som en kvinna för rekryterarna, för ett orakel hade förutspått att han antingen skulle leva ett långt händelselöst liv eller uppnå evig ära men dö ung. Odysseus upptäcker smart vem av kvinnorna som är Achilles eftersom han är den enda som visar intresse för att undersöka de vapen som är dolda bland en mängd prydnadsgåvor för deras värds döttrar. Odysseus ordnar ljudet av ett slaghorn som uppmanar Achilles att ta tag i ett vapen och visa sin upptränade disposition. När förklädnaden är avslöjad går han med Agamemnons inkallning bland the Hellenes.

Odysseus hade mycket inflytande under det trojanska kriget. Tillsammans med Nestor och Idomeneus var han en av de mest pålitliga rådgivarna. Många ifrågasatte Agamemnons kommando, Thersites talade emot honom en gång. När Agamemnon, för att testa soldaternas moral, meddelar att han tänker lämna Troja återställer Odysseus ordningen i lägret. Senare, efter att många av hjältarna lämnat slagfältet på grund av skador, övertalar Odysseus återigen Agamemnon att inte dra sig tillbaka. Tillsammans med två andra sändebud väljs han i den misslyckade ambassaden för att försöka övertyga Achilles att återvända till strid.

När Hector föreslår en enda strid duell, är Odysseus en av dem som motvilligt erbjuder sig att slåss mot honom. Telemonian Ajax blir den som till slut strider mot Hector. Odysseus hjälper Diomedes under natten att döda Rhesus, eftersom det hade förutsagts att om hans hästar drack från Scamander floden, kunde Troja inte tas.

Efter att Patroclus har dödats är det Odysseus som råder Achilles att låta männen äta och vila snarare än att följa hans raseri-drivna önskan att återgå till offensiven och döda trojaner omedelbart. Så småningom, och motvilligt, går Achilles med på det. Under Patroclus begravning hamnar Odysseus i en wrestling match mot Ajax “The Greater” och ett fotlopp med Ajax “The Lesser”. Wrestling matchen blir oavgjord och med hjälp av Athena vinner Odysseus loppet.

Enligt en version förlåter Odysseus aldrig Palamedes för att ha avslöjat hans fejkade galenskap. Odysseus övertygar en trojansk fånge att skriva ett brev som låtsas vara från Palamedes, en summa guld har skickats som belöning för Palamedes förräderi. Odysseus dödar sedan fången och döljer guldet i Palamedes tält. Han ser till att brevet hittas av Agamemnon och hintar på var guldet är. Det är tillräckligt med bevis för grekerna, och de stenar Palamedes till döds.

När Achilles dödats är det Odysseus och Telemonian Ajax som hämtar kroppen i mitten av striden. Under begravningen för Achilles, säger Thetis att Achilles armar ska gå till den modigaste greken, bara Odysseus och Telemonian Ajax vågar göra anspråk på den titeln. De hamnar i en tvist om varandras meriter att få belöningen. Grekerna vågar inte välja en vinnare för de är rädda att förolämpa någon av dem och att de överger krigsinsatsen. Nestor föreslår att de låter de fängslade trojanerna avgöra vinnaren. Odysseus vinner. Ajax är upprörd och förnedrad och drivs galen av Athena. När han återfår sitt förnuft skäms han över att han slaktat boskapen i sin galenskap, han tar livet av sig själv med svärdet han fått av Hector efter deras duell.

Tillsammans med Diomedes hämtar Odysseus Achilles son Pyrrhus för att hjälpa grekerna, ett orakel hade sagt att Troja inte kunde tas utan honom. Efter uppdragets framgång ger Odysseus Achilles rustning till honom.

De får reda på att kriget inte kan vinnas utan Herakles giftiga pilar, som ägs av den övergivna Philoctetes. Odysseus och Diomedes lämnar för att hämta dem. Philoctetes lider fortfarande av såret och är upprörd på Odysseus och hans män för att de övergivit honom. Hans första instinkt är att skjuta Odysseus, men han och gudarna övertalar Philoctetes att inte göra det. Odysseus återvänder till lägret med Philoctetes och hans pilar.

Odysseus största bidrag till kriget är utformningen av trojanska hästen strategin. Den byggs av Epeius och fylls med den grekiska armén och leds av Odysseus. Odysseus och Diomedes stjäl palladiet inom Trojas murar, eftersom de hade hört att staden kunde inte plundras utan den.

RESAN HEM TILL ITHACA

Hans resa hem från det trojanska kriget till Ithaca tog honom 10 år.

På vägen hem, efter en räd på Ismarus, drivs han och hans tolv fartyg ur kurs av stormar. De träffar de slöa Lotus-ätarna och fångas av cyklopen Polyphemus medan de besöker hans ö. Efter att Polyphemos äter flera av Odysseus män, har de en diskussion och Odysseus berättar för Polyphemos att hans namn är “Ingen”. Odysseus tar ett fat vin och cyklopen dricker det och somnar. Odysseus och hans män tar en trästav, tänder det med resten av vinet, och förblindar honom. När de flyr, gråter Polyphemus av smärta och de andra cykloperna frågar honom var som är fel. Polyphemus gråter “Ingen har förblindat mig!” och de andra cykloperna tror han blivit galen. Odysseus och hans besättning flyr, men Odysseus avslöjar förhastigt hans namn och Polyphemus ber till sin far Poseidon att hämnas. Odysseus stannar hos Aeolus, vindens mästare, som ger honom en väska med alla vindar, utom västvinden, en gåva som borde säkerställa en säkert återkomst hem. Men sjömännen öppnar dumt påsen medan Odysseus sover och tänker att den innehåller guld. Alla vindar flyger ut, och den resulterande stormen driver fartygen tillbaka vägen som de hade kommit, precis när Ithaca kommer i sikte.

De ber förgäves till Aeolus om hjälp igen. De börjar på nytt resan och möter de kannibaliska Laestrygonianerna. Odysseus fartyg är det enda som kommer ifrån. Han seglar vidare och besöker Kirke som förvandlar hälften av hans män till svin efter att ha matat dem ost och vin. Hermes varnar Odysseus om Kirke och ger honom orten moly, som motstår Kirkes magi. Kirke attraheras av Odysseus motstånd, blir kär i honom och släpper hans män. Odysseus och hans besättning stannar kvar med henne på ön i ett år. Slutligen övertygar Odysseus män honom att åka till Ithaca.

Med Kirkes instruktioner korsar Odysseus havet och når en hamn vid den västra kanten av världen, där Odysseus offrar till de döda och kallar den gamla profeten Tyrserias anda för råd. Odysseus träffar hans mors anda, som dog av sorg under hans långa frånvaro. Från henne får han reda på nyheter om sitt eget hushåll, som hotas av Penelopes friares girighet. Odysseus talar också med hans fallna krigskamrater och Herakles dödliga skugga.

Odysseus och hans män återvänder till Kirkes ö och hon ger dem råd om de resterande stadierna av resan. De kommer till sirenernas land, passerar sundet mellan Skylla och Charybdis. Dock får Skylla tag i årorna och äter sex män.

De landar på ön Thrinacia, där ignorerar Odysseus män varningarna från Tyresias och Kirke, de jagar Helios heliga boskap. Helios berättar för Zeus vad som hänt och kräver att Odysseus män ska straffas, annars tar han solen och lyser den i underjorden. Zeus uppfyller Helios krav genom att orsaka ett skeppsbrott under ett åskväder där alla utom Odysseus drunknar. Han sköljs upp på ön Ogygia där Kalypso tvingar honom att stanna som älskare i sju år. Han flyr till slut när Hermes ber Kalypso att släppa Odysseus.

Odysseus får skeppsbrott och blir vän med faekaerna. Efter att han berättat sin berättelse är faekaerna överens om att hjälpa honom komma hem. När han sover levererar de honom till en dold hamn på Ithaca. Han hittar sin väg till Eumaeus koja, och möter Telemachos som kommer hem från Sparta. Athena döljer Odysseus som en vandrande tiggare för att lära sig hur saker står till i hans hushåll.

När Odysseus återvänt efter 20 år är det bara hans trofasta hund Argos som känner igen honom. Penelope meddelar att den som kan stränga Odysseus stela pilbåge genom tolv yxhuvuden kan få hennes hand. Odysseus identitet upptäcks av hushållerskan Eurycleia när hon tvättar hans fötter och ser ett gammalt ärr som han fick under en vildsvins jakt. Odysseus hotar att döda henne om hon berättar för någon.

När tävlingen börjar kan ingen av friarna stränga bågen. Efter att alla gett upp, ber den förklädda Odysseus att få delta. Friarna vägrar till en början men Penelope tillåter “främlingen” att delta. Odysseus stränger lätt bågen och vinner tävlingen. Han slaktar friarna (han börjar med Antinous som han sett dricka ur hans kopp), med hjälp av Telemachos, Eumaeus och Philoetius. Odysseus berättar för tjänarinnorna som sov med friarna att städa upp bland liken och sedan hänger han kvinnorna. Odysseus släpper förklädnaden men Penelope kan fortfarande inte tro att hennes make är tillbaka, hon är rädd att det är en gud i förklädnad som i Alcemes berättelse. Så Penelope testar honom genom att beordra hennes tjänare Euryclea att flytta sängen till bröllops-kammaren. Odysseus protesterar emot detta eftersom när han byggde sängen gjorde han ett av sängbenen utav ett levande olivträd. Penelope accepterar äntligen att det verkligen är Odysseus.

Nästa dag besöker Odysseus och Telemachos sin gamla far Laërtes lantgård. Medborgarna i Ithaca följer med och planerar att hämnas morden på Penelopes friare men Athena ingriper och övertygar båda sidor om att göra fred.

[chronomally]

No one:

Eumaeus and Philoetius: Let's chop Melanthius' dick off

[commodorechaaint]

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (t

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (t

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (typed). I. Loyalty and disloyalty are contrasted throughout Books 13-24 of the Odyssey. a) Pick 4 of the following 5 individuals and identify who they are (their role in the Epic) and b) whether the individual remained loyal or was disloyal to Odysseus: Eumaeus; Eurycleia; Antinous; Melanthius; Philoetius. II. We…

[endesuch]

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (t

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (t

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (typed). I. Loyalty and disloyalty are contrasted throughout Books 13-24 of the Odyssey. a) Pick 4 of the following 5 individuals and identify who they are (their role in the Epic) and b) whether the individual remained loyal or was disloyal to Odysseus: Eumaeus; Eurycleia; Antinous; Melanthius; Philoetius. II. We…

[katerinaaqu]

One of the most underrated reunion scenes (Book 21 of Odyssey analysis):

Okay we all cry our eyes out in the amazing reunion between Odysseus and Telemachus or with his father Laërtes or with Penelope and for a good reason! But, if I may, I believe there is one more scene that people do not talk much about and is this one! :

"And so he spoke and he pulled the rugs aside, revealing the great scar and when they saw it they understood everything, bawling in tears both threw themselves at Odysseus shamelessly/unrestrained kissing his hands and head and shoulders and in similar manner Odysseus kissed their hands and heads. And they could remain so crying till the sunset if it weren't for Odysseus to restrain them by crying out:"

(Translation by me)

This is the moment when Odysseus has clearly as day revealed to his two loyal slaves, the swine hearder Eumaeus and his cattle and goat herder Philoetius who he is and that he came back after 20 years and shows them his scar as proof. He also promises them each a wife and possessions and houses next to the palace for the good they do by being loyal to him. He even says they are forever considered his friends and his son's.

But the two men did not react to the gifts but they reacted upon seeing him! And their reaction is one of tye most touching, most beautiful scenes I have ever seen! 😭 and Homer describes it so beautifully that it is impossible not to get touched in my opinion.

For starters we see the unbelievable affection they both feel for their master. They do not just kiss his hands gratefully for his promises and they do not fall on their knees before him! They literally ATTACK him with kisses and embraces (δαΐφρονι) and they show their affection "shamelessly" aka without any restrain or showing the slightest regard for his royal status (κύνεον)

They do not just kiss his hands but his head his shoulders etc. They literally both have just rushed at him showing with their kisses and their tears 😢 and Odysseus responds as Homer says in a very similar manner (αύτως). You can imagine him embrace them both, kissing their heads and hands...like a caring father or a good brother.

It is as if he is not a king

It is as if they are not slaves or servants

They are all equal at that moment or almost equal. Both the men are openly showing their affection for their master and Odysseus does so back for he now sees them as family for in the middle of this great distress and web of betrayal he sees the pure love and dedication these two men show to him. Odysseus is no longer hiding his tears in shame like he did many times during the poem. He is openly showing them his gratefulness and his affection. In this time of chaos these men showed him sunshine of hope.

And as Homer says all three of them were practically inconsolable if Odysseus himself hadn't first snapped out of it to call them back to reality!

And this break of affection happens right a few rhapsodies before the murder of the suitors and these scenes of affection (both sad ones like the first meeting between disguised Odysseus and Penelope and happy ones such as this) are letting the reader relax before the violent scene that is about to follow.

This is the moment that Homer shows how loyalty is so important and that transcends status or royal blood. And it is done in no better way than this beautiful reunion between these men ✨️. Odysseus just showed them his ultimate trust by not just revealing himself but also by naming them his friends and above all his SON'S friends; whatever most precious he has and he trusts them fully with him. And they respond with the most genuine happiness not for his gifts or even his trust but because he is back and alive!

I am surprised this is not talked more or even depicted more on art (ancient or other).

[colorgamesblog]

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (t

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (t

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (typed). I. Loyalty and disloyalty are contrasted throughout Books 13-24 of the Odyssey. a) Pick 4 of the following 5 individuals and identify who they are (their role in the Epic) and b) whether the individual remained loyal or was disloyal to Odysseus: Eumaeus; Eurycleia; Antinous; Melanthius; Philoetius. II. We…

[endesuch]

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (t

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (t

Using and quoting from the Odyssey, answer the following questions completely (typed). I. Loyalty and disloyalty are contrasted throughout Books 13-24 of the Odyssey. a) Pick 4 of the following 5 individuals and identify who they are (their role in the Epic) and b) whether the individual remained loyal or was disloyal to Odysseus: Eumaeus; Eurycleia; Antinous; Melanthius; Philoetius. II. We…

[katerinaaqu]

Yk those 12 maids that were hanged at the end of Book 22 of the Odyssey? I've seen some people say they helped the suitors of their own accord, but others that they were kinda forced / even raped? Ik there was the obvious power dynamic but one of them (Melantho) seemed pretty accepting to me? Or maybe that was my translation or that was just her experience? So sorry for the long ask! I really respect your opinions and wanted to hear your thoughts :) Also ive heard some people use slave instead of maid, do u think this is accurate? sorryyyy and thank

Oh please not at all! the longer the better! Heheh please do not apologize it is not long at all! And I feel honored that you asked me this question and you say that you want to hear my thoughts on that! In my turn I apologize if my reply is long!

***

Well it makes sense that many people would assume they were forced given their lower status in the house. In theory if they were unwilling they wouldn't be able to resist the suitors and they would be raped by them. But in my opinion there are more than plenty of signs to see this is not the case:

As you brilliantly stated, Melantho is very much okay with it. In fact she gains insolence from her relationship with her lover and becomes more rude and more proud even against the guests at the house and she openly mistreats Odysseus who is disguised as a beggar. There was no sign of her disagreeing to it whatsoever. If anything Odysseus tries to talk some sense to her by trying to convince her to stop, which she mocks. Her example is also kinda like a general looking glass for the entire group of the women in the palace that said to have conspired with the suitors.

Odysseus spent several days in the palace observing the behaviors of others, making sure he could detect who was loyal to him and who was not. While being there he encountered many of his servants or slaves that were forced to do things for the suitors and his rage did not expand to them. For example Philoetius who had no choice but to herd the cows and the goats that the suitors often were demanding to slay and eat or even Eumaeus who was bringing the pigs. Phemius was one of them as well for he was singing entertaining the suitors but against his will and Telemachus vouched for him as well leading to Odysseus's mercy.

During the poem we do not see the verb "αναγκάσσω" which means "to force" or "to press to do something" while the relationships of those girls were brought upon the text.

It is also hinted that these women who also resided in the chambers of Penelope betrayed her secret and her scheme to keep the suitors at bay with the shroud of Laertes that was being destroyed every night.

So, all in all, their relationship is of course part of interpretation since there is an obvious power chasm between them and the lords of the Cephallinians however Homer pretty much clarifies that their relationship is consensual. Moreover they conspired with them and betrayed Penelope's secrets.

Now were these girls in love with the suitors? For Melantho that seems pretty clear but maybe not all of them are but maybe they hoped that if one of them were to marry Penelope, the rest of them might consider them as their partners so perhaps they would accquire their freedom or independance? Take this hypothesis of mine with a grain of salt but if not for all of them to be in love with the suitors I am sure their relationship was consensual, just for different reasons other than love. Now were they played for fools by the suitors? That could also be possible if the suitors promised them marriage or freedom or whatever just to have their fun with them however by n large Homer gives them full responsibility for their actions.

And as I said before, Odysseus observes their actions. If he had seen them being pulled by force or being hestant, he would have spared their life like he did to the musician Phemius.

***

Now for the last question often they are just called as "women in the megaron/palace" however more often whatnot they are called "δμῳαί" which is a very specific term used for "slave accquired at war" and it is used for females. So yes they are slaves-prices that they were accquired during some war or some sort of transaction. So they were either given to Odysseus as price for some battle (similar to the thing we see in the Iliad like Chriseis or Briseis for Agamemnon and Achilles respecfully) or they were accquired at war by someone else and given to Odysseus as a gift or as an exchange.

Therefore technically both of the terms are correct and one can use them at exactly the same time. They are slave girls that were accquired by Odysseus one way or another, probably in battle or for some thing he did and they work as maids at the palace. The same status seems to be held by other figures who are loyal to Odysseus such as Euryclea (a slave woman who had the duty of nursemaid to Odysseus) and Eumaeus who is working as swine herd to him. And Odysseus had 50 of those slave women in his palace and all the loyal slaves to him embraced him in happiness when he came back which is perhaps an indicator that Odysseus was not a cruel master to them so even if in theory the slave girls would have no reason to be loyal to Odysseus it seems there is no reason for them to betray him either which is what seals their fate while others who remained loyal to him not only were spared but were also rewarded (see Eumaeus and Philoetius for instance)

I hope that helps! ^_^