#eumaeus

[roachcicle]

sketch dump trying 2 figure out designs

[inumbrapugnabimus-maybe]

when the first thing your long lost husband does with his son is brutally murder over 100 people

it’s gonna take a while to clean up

[blended-ice]

if u have time can you pls draw telemachus and ody tgt having father son reunion/bonding time?

for sure!

I love them very much.

Also I made an odyssey version of their reunion:

[firinnie]

Talking to your sister after 20 years So Odysseus, where is her husband? Eurylochus was your brother-in-law and you promised Ctimene you'd bring him back. Where is he?

[katerinaaqu]

What are the meanings behind the names of the main Iliad and Odyssey characters? Just curious.

Certainly dear Anon! Let's see

(GOSH! This turned out longer than what I expected!)

~~~

Some of the Greeks:

Achilles -> The Suffering of the People, The Grief of the People coming probably from the greek word "ἄχος" (achos) which means "pain" or "suffering" or "sighing" or "grief" and "λαός" (laos) which means "people". (Apollodorous gave us a different origin, that his name came from the greek α which is a compartment that means "no" or "non" and the word χείλος aka "lip" so it means to him "No Lips" because according to a myth he transfers Achilles was fed by Chiron with the marrow of lions etc and his lips never touched the breast of a nursemaid) The original name of Achilles according to Apollodorous was also supposed to be Λυγίρων Ligyron aka "the whining one" or "the crying one"

Odysseus -> The Anger Bringer, The Hate Bearer, Hated, Furious According to the Odyssey coming from the verb ὀδύσσομαι which means "to be angry at" given to him by his grandfather Autolycus who was angry at many people and many people were angry at him

Menelaus -> The Anger of the People, The Fury of the Army Coming from the Greek μήνις aka "fury" or "anger" and the word λαός which stands for both "people" and "army"

Agamemnon -> Very Steadfast, Unbowed, The One Who Provides Much, The One Who is Much Thoughtful Agamemnon's name seems to have a dual potential. One comes from the words "ἄγαν" which stands for "very much" or "grandiosely" or at some free translation "great" and "μέμνων" could indicate someone who "insists" or someone who "remains". The other is the verb "μένδομαι" which means "to think on" or "to provide" or "to be mindful".

Ajax (Aias) -> The One of the Earth, The One who Cries 'Ah me!' Ajax or Aias as it is in the Original Greek has rather interesting roots. The two primary I found is the word αἶα which seems to be another word for γαῖα aka "earth" however from Sophocles "Ajax" we seem to get phonetic association of Ajax the Great's name from the exclamation αἰαῖ which translates as "ah me!" or "ah! ah!" and the verb αἰάζω which means "to cry"

Teucer (Teukros) -> The Trojan, The Builder, The Maker According to one interpretation the Greek name of Teucer comes from one of the tribes of Trojans named "τευκροί" so it seems that he simply was named to resemble the name of that tribe. Another is the word τεύκτωρ or τευκτήρ which means "the maker" essentially or "the one who builds"

Patroclus -> The Glory of his Father Coming from the Greek πάτερ aka "father" and κλέος aka "glory" (if someone brings a female counterpart that would be the famous name "Cleopatra")

Diomedes -> Divine Council, Divine Wisdom From the word δίος aka "divine" and μήδος "council"

Nestor -> The Traveler, The One Who Returns The name seems to potentially have roots to the verb νέομαι where the word νόστος (nostos) comes from. The verb means "to return" or in one way "to travel". Nestor seems to be one of the few kings that returned to their homeland after Troy without much loss along the way. He has also traveled more than once in his life if we take the myth that has him as one of the Argonauts

Antilochus -> Against Battle Cries, In Front Of Battle Cries The name of the son of Nestor comes from the compartment αντί which means "against" of "opposite" or "on the other side of" and λόχος which stands for "battle cry"

Machaon -> The Fighting One, The Knife-Holder The healer's name comes from either the verb μαχάομαι aka "to fight" or "to battle" or the word μάχαιρα aka "knife". Both attributes for his healing aspects (surgical knife and the fight for life) as well as his attribute as a soldier and fighter

Idomeneus -> The Fury of Ida Deriving from the name of mount Ida Ῑ̓́δη and μένος aka "fury"

Helen -> The Bright One, The Radiant One Helen's name deprives from the root Ελ which means "light" or "shine" similar to the first compartment of the name of Greece Ελλάς (Hellas)

Penelope -> Wild Duck, Wild Goose, The Weft-Like Woman Two possible origins for Penelope's name seem to appear. One is the word πηνέλοψ that stands for a predatory bird most likely a goose or a duck but one other seems to be the combination of the Greek πήνη "weft" aka the loop-like thread at the end of the weaving process and ὤψ which stands for "face" or "eye" or "look" aka "appearance"

Telemachus -> Away From The Battle, Distant Warrior The name deprives from the particle τηλέ which means "from afar" or "from a distance" and μαχάομαι which means "to fight".

Antinous -> Against All Reason, Unreasonable, Madman Depriving from the compartment αντί which means "against" or "opposing" or "opposite of" and the word νους which stands for "mind" or "reason"

Amphinomus -> Between Two Rules, Between Two Shares Depriving from the compartment αμφί which means "two things" or "two sides" and νόμος "rule" or νομή aka "share"

Eurymachus -> Of Wide Battle, The One of The Wide Strife From the adjective ευρύς "wide" or "spread out" and μαχάομαι "to battle"

Polites -> Citizen The Greek word πολίτης

Eurlylochus -> Of The Wide Battle Cry From the compartment ευρύς which means "wide" and λόχος which means "battle cry"

Peisistratus -> Persuasion Of The Army, Obedience Of The Army From the ancient Greek πεῖσις "persuasion" or "obedience" (coming from the verb πείθω "to persuade") and στρατός "army"

Euryclea -> With Much Glory From the adjective ευρύς "wide" "plenty of" and κλέος "glory"

Anticlea -> Without Glory From the compartment αντί which means "against" or "opposite" and κλέος "glory"

Laertes -> The Gatherer of People From the Greek λαός aka "people" and εἴρω which means "to gather together" or "to rise up someone"

Eumaeus -> The One Who Searches Well, The Good Seeker From the compartment εὐ "good" or "well" and probably the verb μαίομαι which means "to search" or "to seek"

Philoetius -> Beloved of Fate From the word φίλος "beloved" or "friend" and οἶτος "fate" or "destiny"

Ctimene -> The Acquired One From the verb κτάομαι "to acquire"

Neoptolemous -> New Warrior, Young Warrior From the word νέος "new" or "young" and the word πτόλεμος aka an archaic form of πόλεμος which means "war" (giving also the name to πτολίεθρον aka "citadel" or "city surrounded by walls" or "castle") (Name given at birth Πύρρος Pyrrhus aka "Fire-Like" or "Fiery Like Fire" or potentially "Red Like Fire")

Argos -> Swift, Fast, Quick From the homeric word that means such

~~~

Some of the Trojans:

Priam -> The Bought One Priam's name is technically his slave's name according to Dares the Phrygian and comes from the verb "πρίαμαι" which means "to buy" when his sister Hesione gave her golden veil as a payment for her brother to Heracles (According to the same source Priam's birth name was Ποδάρκης Podarkes which means "swift-footed")

Hector -> The Holder, The One Who Holds Out, The One Who Possesses, The One Who Holds (Everyone Together) Hector seems to emanate from the verb ἕχειν which means "to hold" or "to have" or "to possess"

Andromache -> The Battle of Men Depriving from greek άνδρας aka "man" and μάχη "battle"

Astyanax -> Ruler of the City, The King Of The City Coming from Greek ἄστυ "city" and άναξ which stands for "king" or "prince" or generally "ruler"

Paris -> Youth, Beautiful Youth Most versions seem to agree on Luwian origin and the name Parizitis which stands for "youth". His nickname Alexander comes from Greek αλεξ which means "to repel" or "to protect" and άνδρας which means "man" so the name means "Protector of Men" and "Repeller of Men" which he got when he protected the shepherds that raised him There is some folk etymology on the Greek word for backpack "pera" so his name could also mean "The One Carried in a Backpack" in this case but most likely not entirely the case

Sarpedon -> Someone On High Power, The One who Sees High Power Possibly of Luwian origin (according to Dunford) sar-pēdan with sar standing for "up" or "on" unless you also add the possibility of a Greek addition to εἴδω which stands for "to see"

I know I am not including them all nor that this is by any means perfect but I hope it helps dear Anon!

[ilions-end]

ahh elizabeth vandiver's lectures pointing out a heartbreaking moment in the odyssey i wasn't even aware of:

telemachus addresses eumaeus the swineherd as atta (ἄττα). in my fagles edition it's translated as "old friend", but as vandiver points out, atta has two meanings: it can be used as a familiar-but-respectful form of address to an older man (which is how telemachus uses it), but significantly it's also baby-talk for "father", parallel to papa/dada. it's what telemachus WOULD have called odysseus growing up, but now telemachus refers to him as xenos, a visiting stranger/foreigner.

like imagine. odysseus is in disguise as a beggar, it's the first time he's seen his son since infancy, and one of the first things he hears telemachus say, to another man, is "daddy, who is this stranger?"

[theodysseyofhomer]

odysseus and penelope's slaves: a primer.

eurycleia: odysseus' childhood nurse, as well as telemachus'. her backstory is briefly mentioned (book 1): she is the daughter of ops, bought by odysseus' father laertes when she was young. specific mention is made that laertes never slept with her, in order to keep peace with his wife anticleia. (her name has the opposite meaning of odysseus' mother's.) at the time of the odyssey she is old, and among named slaves has probably been with the family the longest. she is the only character who recognizes odysseus unprompted (and he threatens to kill her about it). they trust her heavily throughout the plot to kill the suitors; afterward, she handpicks the other enslaved women who have slept with the suitors, so that odysseus can execute them. if i were to beg for one thing, it would be that you consider what living in close proximity to her owners for so long might do to her psychologically, and how her experience with laertes might skew her view of the "disloyal" women.

eurynome: another older woman who attends penelope (and eventually odysseus).

hippodameia and autonoe: two younger slave girls who attend penelope.

actoris: a slave penelope mentions once (book 23) as the only person besides her and odysseus who knows the secret of the olive tree bed, because she used to guard their room. actoris was given to penelope by her father. it's possible that she's already dead by the time of the odyssey, as she never appears in person.

the unnamed traitors to penelope: three times in the odyssey, we hear the story of penelope unweaving a shroud for laertes at night to hold off the suitors. two of those times the suitors tell it, and say that a female slave told them the truth of what was going on. later penelope tells the beggar-who-is-odysseus, and she says that they caught her in the act with the help of her slave girls.

dolius, his unnamed sons, and their unnamed mother: dolius is another slave given to penelope by her father (book 4). now an old man, he seems to look after odysseus' father laertes, who no longer lives in the main house. father of melantho, melanthius, and six other sons by a sicilian woman who also cares for laertes. it is unclear whether she is the mother of all dolius' children, or only the six sons present in the farmhouse. dolius' first and last appearance on page is in book 24, when he greets and kisses odysseus; in the text, he never learns that odysseus has executed two of his children.

melantho: the daughter of dolius, who penelope raised "like a daughter" and pampered (book 18), though clearly only to a point. she is sleeping with the suitor eurymachus (also book 18). the text doesn't offer insight into how she actually feels about eurymachus.* she has two scenes, and in both insults the beggar. both odysseus and penelope berate her and call her a dog. melantho is often assumed to be the one who betrayed penelope's weaving ruse to the suitors, but this is never stated in the odyssey.

[*EDIT: the translations i have read and have on hand to check (fagles, wilson, fitzgerald, lattimore) describe melantho variously as sleeping with eurymachus, making love to him, being his lover, or being his sweetheart. to me, these words indicated an action or a role rather than her internal feelings or state of mind. but there are also translations that say she loved him. the greek phrase in question is μισγέσκετο καὶ φιλέεσκεν—the former word seems undoubtedly sexual, and the latter derived from phileo, which also does, or can, denote love or affection. this is basically the extent to which i am able to discuss the greek, but as far as i can tell, both translations (sexual or non-sexual) are valid here. it's ambiguous.]

melanthius: the son of dolius and brother of melantho, a goatherd who sides (vehemently) with the suitors. it is said that eurymachus is his favorite (book 17). he insults the beggar and eumaeus multiple times as well. he is present for the bow contest, helping the suitors, and when the slaughter begins, he brings them armor and weapons. odysseus orders the two herdsman on his side to tie him up, hoist him into the rafters, and torture him. they leave him tied until after the fighting, when "the men" (presumably odysseus, telemachus, eumaeus, and philoetius) cut off his nose, ears, and genitals to feed to the dogs, then chop off his hands and feet.

the unnamed hanged women: twelve (out of fifty) enslaved women whom eurycleia handpicks for death, because they were sleeping with the suitors (according to her, book 22). all the enslaved women are hiding during the slaughter; afterward, eurycleia goes to them, calls the twelve, and brings them to odysseus, who has them clean up the corpses and blood. odysseus means to execute them with swords when they're done, but telemachus decides to hang them instead, specifically to deny them a clean death. melantho is presumed to be one of these twelve. like with her, the text offers no insight into how they feel about the suitors.

eumaeus: a swineherd with an extensive backstory told in book 15. his father ctesius was the king of syria, but his enslaved nurse ran away and took him with her, intending to sell him, when he was too young to know better. she died on the ship, and laertes bought him in ithaca. like melantho, he was brought up there by the queen, in proximity to odysseus' younger sister ctimene. when they were older, ctimene was married and eumaeus sent to the country. he is well-off enough to own a slave of his own. in the odyssey, eumaeus personally takes care of the beggar, tells him all about the situation in the palace, and tries to protect him from the suitors, though he is openly skeptical of anything the beggar has to say about odysseus. when telemachus returns to ithaca, it's eumaeus he goes to first, greeting him like a family member. odysseus finally trusts his identity to eumaeus right before he wins the bow contest. he promises to give him a wife, wealth, and a house near the palace (and freedom, implicitly? unsure). eumaeus participates in the slaughter, the torture of melanthius, and possibly the executions. if i were to beg for one thing regarding eumaeus, it would be to consider how often in ancient literature, the only enslaved characters who are portrayed with dignity or sympathy are those who were, at one point, nobility.

mesaulius: a slave who serves and cleans up after eumaeus. eumaeus traded for him while odysseus was away, with his own money (book 14).

philoetius: a cowherd and overseer. like eumaeus, he is kind to the beggar and expresses loyalty to odysseus. he says that he would have run away, except that he still holds out hope for odysseus' return. odysseus reveals himself to philoetius along with eumaeus and promises him the same things (wife, wealth, a house). also participates in the slaughter, torture, and executions.

medon: house slave who has become a favorite of the suitors, but reports on them to penelope (book 4). telemachus tells odysseus to spare him (along with phemius, the bard) due to medon caring for him when he was young. medon then comes out of hiding to corroborate this and profess his loyalty. toward the end, medon hears the people of ithaca assembling to avenge the suitors and tries to discourage them, saying that he personally saw a god helping odysseus.

-

a lot of other unnamed slaves are mentioned in passing. i love the passage in book 20 when odysseus overhears an enslaved woman grinding grain as she prays to zeus for relief from the suitors. to odysseus, this is an omen, but it's also a very human moment which has nothing to do with him. there are more like this; i couldn't include all of them.

i wrote this up because i see a lot of people who are more familiar with retellings of the odyssey than the epic itself getting interested in these characters, often without really understanding a) that they are enslaved and b) how they function in the odyssey. both those things are important to grasp, if you're going to question both the assumptions of the cultural world of the poem and many knee-jerk modern responses to it—including what is, or isn't, deemed suitable in a retelling.

[miles-crow]

Furry Iliad AU // Odyssey edition🌊

First, Telemachus icon for @/kamol-rzeczny

Ramification of Odysseus aka my frist struggles with his Athena-given disguise (I don't like the bluish black tbh,,,)

Eumaeus concepts ft. gay pencil art by @/agniki. The middle one is the closest to my vision. I usually draw from right to left, so the very far right, a bit too young looking for my taste, was the first attempt

Polyphemus 𓃰 The monsters are going to be extinct animals with clothing inspired by prehistoric eras :)

Sneak peek at Poseidon:

Bonus:

I may have originally planned to put Menelaos as a woke dog

Characters in order of appearance:

Telemachus - geep (goat/sheep hybrid)

Odysseus - goat (normal / ram (disguise)

Athena - little owl ft in a meme

Eumaeus - donkey

Polyphemus - woolly mammoth

Poseidon - Friesian based horse / hippocampus

Penelope - sheep

Diomedes - lion

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