Hey everyone! I’m back again
With more of the Odyssey
Because I love this epic so so much
AND I think these things are helpful for people who study mythology! Especially as Certamen gets more niche and stories start connecting.
In any case, let’s get on to the cool facts!
Cow Cow Irony
So when Odysseus returns to Ithaca in the disguise of a beggar (disguised as a dude named Aethon, the son of Deucalion [who is the son of THE King Minos] and brother of Idomeneus–ignore the fact that Odysseus can make up INSANELY layered backstories in less than three seconds), he goes around the suitors begging for scraps.
Now this scene is often remembered as Antinous hits Odysseus with a stool (what a bum lol), but there’s a more interesting detail.
A suitor named Ctessipus, son of Polytherses, from Samos hits Odysseus/Aethon with a cow’s hoof while Odysseus is begging for scraps. Later on, in the Battle against the Suitors, Philoetius, the cowherd strikes Ctessipus in the chest, killing him.
Cowherd kills guy who threw cowhoof?? Crazy coincidence.
Heracles and Odysseus Met a Guy Once
So, Odysseus’s huge, hard-to-string bow is a huge part of the Odyssey. But where did it come from? Who did Odysseus get it from?
Well, Odysseus got the bow from Iphitus’s son Eurytus. They met in Messene, at the house of Ortilochus. Odysseus was trying to recover three hundred stolen sheep from some pirates (???), and Iphitus was trying to recover twelve lost horses.
They chatted, and Iphitus gave Odysseus his dad’s old bow (his dad died lol), and Odysseus gave Iphitus a sword and spear in return.
However, before Odysseus and Iphitus could meet again, Iphitus was the guest of Heracles on this horse-recovering journey.
Heracles was all chill, letting Iphitus eat. Then he killed Iphitus. Then stole the horses. Not chill. Heracles is a bum.
Odysseus Is [Not?] Slick Bro
This one is smaller. But when Odysseus is talking to Penelope (when he first meets her again, aka when he’s disguised as Aethon), he first addresses her using the word “gyne,” which is translated in mine as “my lady.” Fine, right?
BUT. “Gyne” doesn’t just mean lady. It can also mean WIFE.
ODYSSEUS CALLED HER HIS WIFE. BECAUSE SHE IS.
I had to close my book for a second because OK ODYSSEUS. SMART BOI.
The Miiiind Of Scylla
So. Scylla. Daughter of Cratais/Ceto/Hecate (sources!). One of my favorite enemies in Greek Mythology.
(I don’t know what word to use for her lol)
But anyway. A lot of people think (especially after EPIC) that Scylla cannot control what she is doing. That, after she was metamorphosed into the monster she is (she used to be human!!), she lost cognitive function and is mindless.
And no hate there! That’s what I thought too!
HOWEVER, if we look at Ovid’s retelling on the backstory of Scylla (Metamorphoses, Books 13-14), Scylla, after being turned into a monster by Circe (context: the sea god Glaucus fell in love with a maiden named Scylla, but she didn’t love him back. He asked Circe to help him with earning the love of Scylla, but Circe loved Glaucus. She asked him to give her his love, but he refused. Thus, an angered Circe poisons Scylla’s bathing pool, thus turning Scylla into a monster), is understandably mad at Circe.
So, when she sees a chance, she takes her hate for Circe out on? NONE OTHER THAN ODYSSEUS.
Thus she attacks his ship and eats his men. After this, however, she is turned into a rock in the Straits of Messina!
This is why Aeneas is able to pass her without losing any men. So, Scylla was metamorphosed twice!
There’s all the Odyssey facts I could find! (In my crap ton of post-it notes…it’s so hard to find anything lol)
I hope you enjoyed them and help you :3
Bye!