the comfort of voices

sting / 23 / posting all things Homer

[formerstingray]

Blog intro! :)

Hi guys! I realised I've never formally introduced myself on here. For those of you who don't know, I'm Sting :) I'm a classicist and poet from England, and go by any pronouns.

I share opinions about mythos and the ancient world, translations from Greek, and classical retellings. Mostly I just geek out about Homer, the Myceneans and Iron Age, and write Odyssey fanfiction! Here's a link to my AO3

Atm I'm writing mostly Odysseus x Penelope in a series called again and again, even though we know love's landscape.

I think that's mostly it! I'm friendly and always like to chat so don't hesitate to drop me an ask or message about anything.

[fraprr]

enkidu and gilgamesh

[catoxicc]

Odysseus and Penelope before Ody leaving for war

[kexytimes]

Diomedes in book 5 : These hands rated E for everybody

[formerstingray]

Just realised technically all my fics after palintonos should be marked as gifts on ao3 for @pisceanskies !!

[formerstingray]

I do see all these posts about Odysseus being lame as fuck and a bad flirter and very uncalculated when he tries to flirt with someone he actually likes... and I respect them... but I raise you charming brilliant witty Odysseus who doubles down on his game because if he actually likes someone (Penelope), flirting becomes a way to match wits and verbally spar and hence prove how alike they are...thoughts....

[marzimars]

Achilles sketches because I really like the illustrations from the Grahame Johnstone twins.

[masterofthewarcry]

@loresung too funny to not have on the blog

[formerstingray]

Ok do you see this vision: Odypen Regency era AU???

I rlly hate Jane Austen, but I think odypen would orbit an upper middle class scene like the ones she satirises. Or maybe they’d be caught between these middle class social/political circles and the early Romantic stuff happening at the time, ie Coleridge and his opium den. I think they’d find both circles corny and ridiculous; that’s what they’d have in common, along with their wit obv. Odysseus comes from a reputable noble family with little money left, grew up fairly rurally (for a lord) on a remote plot of land in Yorkshire. He comes to the big city to get an education, joins the militia for the invites to the parties and the connections. He meets Penelope, the well-read (potentially more cosmopolitan?) daughter of a Baron at an excruciatingly boring ball held for the coming of age of Helen. They end up at the same poetry night afterwards in the company of doped up poets, which is equally excruciating. They make fun of everyone together. I guess then the equivalent of the war at Ilium is the Napoleonic wars? Long story short, I see this vision. I don’t know how you knew to come here, but came to the right place for this.

[formerstingray]

The lord and lady exchange glances. Odysseus sees that the lord is unable to articulate the unfairness of the fact that Odysseus, a young man in a frayed waistcoat with unruly hair, has clearly spent time with the wealthiest Greek in London before the ball at his estate. 

Part of Odysseus is thankful when Diomedes appears by his side. They will fight the inanity of the conversation together, although his dear friend (shorn head, cleanly pressed blood-red sash) takes little pleasure in subtlety, as Odysseus himself does. As if on cue, Diomedes pops a cigarette into his mouth.

“Charming party, isn’t it?” 

The lord regains composure. “Tydides is here too, I see. You boys from the militia spending a little while in London, are you? Finding all the blood tiresome?” 

“Oh yes. Don’t mind if I smoke, do you?” Diomedes is saying this while smoke billows, Odysseus thinks a little performatively, out his mouth. 

“Pardon my friend’s manners,” Odysseus says, swirling his glass of port. Deciding to give up the pretences: “I was raised in the country. If I summer anywhere, it’s in the alehouses. Farmer's habit; I was raised with a cigarette in my mouth, and Tydides with a silver spoon in his. We both came to London and swapped, you see.” 

By now, the lord and lady are incredibly unsure of how to proceed in this conversation. The lord makes excuses to leave. Diomedes puffs happily, and winks at the lady, who follows her husband, looking dazed. 

“Civilities, Laertiades?” 

“Oh, civilities, Tydides.” 

“To be endured. I hear Tyndareus has a very pretty daughter that is being brought out into society tonight.” 

In a sputtering of plumage and pearls, the ladies have assembled on one side of the hall, the men in dark silk on the other. Odysseus leans close to his friend. “You hear that, do you? Well I’ll show you one better. I’ve seen her.”

[iemondropsss]

[baejax-the-great]

[vor-leser]

when one of your men says something so befuddelingly foolish you gotta hit em with the concerned captain stare

close up because the texture kinda ate

[formerstingray]

From the British Museum :,( Wonder how they gleaned that this figure is Ajax specifically, I couldn’t see any markings/writing on it. prob the context in which the figurine was found? And I guess male suicide stories are relatively rare for Greek myth so they narrowed it down? Anyway, I find this so haunting. I wonder what made the artist make it. Was it made in pain, as the artist reflects on Ajax’ sorrow, or with cool aesthetic detachment? I’m somewhat more interested in imagining the latter; have we always had something that resembles critical/artistic detachment and coolness?

[chotomy]

omg the iliad ❤️ that’s my favorite workplace sitcom

[borktice-deactivated20250927]

Some Penelope designs bc I need more of her 🥺💔 also, tried to stay loyal to the og "description" + historically accurate style (hope it's right ☝️😌)

[finelythreadedsky]

oh come on. when cassandra's screaming about how the house of atreus smells like slaughter and she can see children holding their own entrails on the roof of the stage building-- right behind the theater of dionysus is the altar of dionysus. where they have been killing animals and roasting their entrails for the dionysia. the smell of blood probably really was coming from the direction of the stage building.

[wolfythewitch]

valentine doodles