You know, I’ve had thoughts along the line of “Polites is constantly aligned with other ideologies Odysseus has to defeat” and I am SO gratified at the bit in Odysseus where he kills the suitor who tries to invoke the “open arms” philosophy.
No matter how much Odysseus loved Polites, no matter how much he misses his friend, no matter howmuch he might wish he could honor Polites’ memory… he can’t.
If he wants to save his home, he has to let go.
He has to kill Polites.













