#euryclea

[cescalovestowrite]

Telemachus returning to Penelope by Angelika Kauffmann, around 1770-1780.

[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!

[ulises-aithon]

And here we have the winner's of this round!:

Daily life at Ithake (post-Odyssey)

Characters: Penelope, Odysseus, Telemakhos, Eurykleia, Medon, Laertes, Phemios, Philoitios, Eumaeos, Autonoë, Hippomedeia and three other servants

The structure is inspired by Mykene's wall structure and the lion gate while the palace is a mix of the basic palace plan. The murals are based on: Orkhomenus' boat mural and Minoan dolphins.

Meanwhile the patterns are all based on Mycenean textiles I was able to find while I was unable to find veils for Penelope so it's quite basic while Laertes' crown's based on sea people's headgear.

What's happening here is that Odysseus and his family where about to go down to the agora but one of Eumaeos' pigs just "escaped" and Odysseus's checking the animal, (some callback to Circe), Telemakhos' is tired and Penelope embarrased as she has weaved his tunic and is afraid of him . Meanwhile Eurykleia is just "like father like son, help me the gods". While Laertes' talking to Philoitios about something without caring about the commotion Odysseus' making hehehehe. He's such a farm boy I swear.

Tagging everyone: @katerinaaqu, @laiapolypharmakos, @ironspdr6700, @holy-mother-of-whumpers, @venomspecs, @fawnblooms, @fullyconsumedbywhatlovesme, @maximumqueer, @arkimessa @post-troy-stress-disorder, @midnightlighthowlite, @myblacknightworld, @miles-crow, @dinofanx, @perroulisses, @simugeuge, @smokey07, @lone-rhapsodist @arkimessa, @atar-a-ifigenia, @v4mp1rism, @cauliflawava, @shipperofthenineseas, @discordant-tongues @jamescartoon, @herb-on-a-stick, @tunguszka20, @thhouseofblack, @dolihannah @when-the-pawnn @thhouseofblack, @most-sane-classicist

Hope yall like it! 🩵And please if you want to comment or ask why some headcanons please feel free to do so!

[hero-shrine]

🤱🏼Eurycleia worship guide/suggestions🤱🏼

Domain: Midwifery, nurses, households, elderly women, faith, Recognition

Epithets: Daughter of Ops, wet-Nurse of Odysseus/Telemachus, Granddaughter of Peisenor, old, devoted, dear nurse, prudent, escort, fond, dear to Laertes

Imagery/symbolism: hair wrap/veil, foot basins, infant, pitcher, torch

Color: white, grey, blue, brown

Animal: Dog

Offerings: Flowers, Candles, incense, art, poetry, lamps, hair wraps, pitchers, infant imagery, water, milk, tea, wine, fruits, vegetables, bread, seeds, honey, silks, household imagery, olive branches, coins, oils

Devotional acts: Reading the Odyssey, taking care of Children/infants, assisting elderly people, focusing on faithfulness, supporting nurses, veiling, cleaning your house

[laiapolypharmakos]

More Christmas gifts for mutuals

These two coloured Flaxman illustrations are dedicated to Odysseus and Penelope's No. 1 shipper @cescalovestowrite and No. 1 Penelope fan @when-the-pawnn

The first illustration depicts Penelope going to propose the bow competition to the suitors. Penelope, Hippodamia, and Autonoe are depicted (the latter two are the ¿slaves? and/or ladies-in-waiting whom Penelope asks Eurynome to accompany her in Od. 18, 182).

Od. 21, 8-12:

And she went her way with her handmaidens to a store-room, far remote, where lay the treasures of her lord, bronze and gold and iron, wrought with toil. And there lay the back-bent bow and the quiver that held the arrows, and many arrows were in it, fraught with groanings

After Penelope makes her request to Eurynome, she falls asleep and Athena takes the opportunity to give her a skincare treatment and make her more attractive to everyone. She then goes to the room where the suitors are and, sure enough, everyone finds her more beautiful and, after talking about their lamentations, she proposes the bow competition.

The second illustration is my favourite part of the entire Odyssey, which is the moment when Penelope finally recognises Odysseus. After Odysseus almost gets a heart attack for telling her that they have moved her bed made from an olive tree trunk, Penelope throws herself into his neck and kisses him on the forehead (Od. 23, 205-8):

So he spoke, and her knees were loosened where she sat, and her heart melted, as she knew the sure tokens which Odysseus told her. Then with a burst of tears she ran straight toward him, and flung her arms about the neck of Odysseus, and kissed his head, and spoke.

Not me shaking every time I read this.

(Artistic justifications below)

In both illustrations Penelope is wearing a violet dress, I got inspired in this art in Cesca's Tumblr, I think violet suits Penelope a lot.

First illustration:

I wanted the illustration to be a little gloomy (I'm not very good at painting or playing with light and shadows hehe), given that Penelope does not want to or is acting somewhat against her will. At first, I thought bridal colours would be appropriate, as I tend to associate yellow and orange with weddings, due to the saffron veils worn by brides in Roman times. Then I decided against it, because of the thing going against her will, but I kept the golden yellow for the edges of the cloak and the orange for the background of the place where her supposed wedding is going to be announced. The dark cloack is Tyrian purple bc of the association with royalty.

I assumed the bow was made of horn, and the arrows, described as fraught with groanings I painted red because of my association with Athena and Ares in the sense of war.

My assumption, based on nothing, is that the one in pink is Autonoe and the other is Hippodamia. I wasn't sure if they were really slaves or if they were more like ladies-in-waiting or something like that. In any case, to add angst to the composition, I painted them with more colour than Penelope to create more contrast.

My hc is that Penelope has black hair. In this case, I have given her blue eyes, but it is possible that my hc will change from one day to the next, so I cannot say anything for sure about the eyes (same for Odysseus).

I always associate Penelope with pearls. I think that being the daughter of a naiad and being a queen and living on an island makes her the perfect target for liking pearls, and she puts them everywhere, which is why both her two crowns and the gifts Hippodamia carries have pearls.

The suitor wearing red is Antinous. My hc is that he has reddish hair. He will be the first to die, which is why the arrows are the same colour as his cloak.

Second illustration:

Penelope has not changed her clothes (as I mentioned earlier), but she has changed her crown. It is said that Eurynome washed and dressed Odysseus in a beautiful dress and cloak, as Eurynome is very fond of green (btw, Eurynome is the blonde, the other one is Eurycleia) and the tunic is made of bleached linen, which is quite difficult to make, and I think it contrasts a little more with his tanned skin.

When Odysseus reveals himself to Telemachus (Od. 16, 175), it is said that Athena beautifies him, restoring him to his natural form with his bronze skin and dark beard. I loved that from the very beginning, and I made his beard darker than his hair.

He wears the pileus because he wants to, Eurynome wanted to take it off, but Odysseus wouldn't let her (joke).

The two seats are made of wood with gold details, and the covers are Tyrian purple dyed because they are mentioned too many times in the Odyssey not to include them LOL.

Shoutout to @aaronofithaca05 always being in my colouring delusion.

💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝

!دي، أتمنى لك أعيادًا سعيدة وسنة جديدة سعيدة

Cesca, lo stesso vale per te, ti auguro buone feste e un felice anno nuovo!

Hope you like this gift, girls!

[helpmeimblorboing]

Hey, fun fact. Odysseus’ name, Odysseus ? Yeah, that connects to the Greek verbs ὀδύσσομαι (odusommai) or “to hate”, ὀδύρομαι (oduromai), or “to lament” and even ὄλλυμι (ollumi) or “to be lost”

That’s sets up an interesting idea, because all Greek mythology revolves around this idea that fate is an unchangable thing. That your life’s story been set in stone long before you were born, that the Fates spun your yarn and marked its cutting-point centuries before your oldest ancestor came into this world

And nowhere is that better represented than here - Odysseus comes into the world with a name already marking him with the tragedy of the Odyssey. There was no avoiding this for him

However !! A point to be noted. His wet-nurse, Euryclea, actually suggested that he be named Polyaretos “for he has been much prayed for”. It was, in fact, his grandfather Autolycus who named him Odysseus, his reasons basically being “a lotta people pissed me off in life, so I’m gonna name you Piss-off”

So, I like to imagine that Autolycus actually unknowingly fucked his grandson over with that pun, and that if he had listened to Euryclea, the tragedies of the Odyssey could be avoided. In this essay I will

[calliope-and-her-words]

100 Days of Productivity: Day 14

Did a presentation about the women of the Homeric Poems for my Classical philology class. I talked about Arete, Penelope, Adromache, Helen, Nausicaa and Eurycleia. It went really well, and I think I will post about them on this blog!

[mothmanismymainman]

y'all liked the iliad as troubled birds post so here's the odyssey as troubled birds:

penelope:

telemachus:

that one guy who ate the cows:

circe:

eurycleia:

the suitors:

polyphemus:

scylla and charibdis:

athena:

bonus! odysseus from the iliad post: