History YMMV / TheOdyssey

* ValuesDissonance: The story is over two thousand years old, after all.

** For being one of the oldest examples of TheQuest, it's pointed out several times that Odysseus is ''not'' some grand adventurer yearning for treasure; he's just a soldier who desperately just wants to return home. Even in this day and age, it's a plight that ''many'' war veterans can relate to.

** Also, nowadays, the killing of the handmaidens who slept with the suitors and the goatherd who allied himself with them seems rather... unnecessary, and are cut from most retellings. The ones that do leave it in (like the TV miniseries) usually cut it down to a single handmaiden who is unintentionally killed in the crossfire [[LaserGuidedKarma trying to aid the suitors]].

* CommonKnowledge: Circe is a goddess, not a witch. More specifically, she's a lesser divinity of magic, the daughter of a titan and a sea nymph. It's not technically wrong to refer to her as a sorceress,[[note]]That does, however, require some artistic license, given that Circe isn't describe as anything other than a goddess who is ''capable of'' sorcery in the poem. Given that the word has a pretty imprecise meaning, and doesn't necessarily imply anything about the person's divinity, it's more a quirk of translation than anything else.[[/note]] but depicting her as a mortal woman who happens to be really good at magic is not accurate.
* DesignatedHero: There are many occasions when it's hard to see Odysseus as a hero, primarily because the Greeks believed a hero was closer to protagonist, performer of great and noteworthy deeds and were not really supposed to be moral. To a modern reader, Odysseus is an unrepentant war criminal, pirate, adulterer, generally a bad and selfish leader who got most of his crew killed thanks to his stupidity in announcing his name to Polyphemus and who on returning to Ithaca brutally kills the other suitors after committing ColdBloodedTorture and not even sparing servants and serving girls. Other modern readers will admit this but also agree with the Greeks, that Odysseus is nonetheless a highly compelling character, an embodiment of humanity's ruthless will to survive.
--> '''Harold Bloom''': ''The very name “Odysseus” (which became “Ulysses” in Latin) means either a curse’s victim or an avenger who carries a curse to others. This ambiguity hints both at the sufferings of Odysseus and at his dangerousness to his enemies. He is a survivor: prudent, wise, perhaps a little cold. You do not want to be in one boat with him, however admirable you judge him to be: you may well drown, but he will reach land.''

** What's the very first thing Odysseus does on his way home? He and his men make a halt on a foreign coast, where they attack and plunder a town, killing the men and taking the women as slaves. It's described as a completely normal thing for them to do. Although the Cicones were allies of the Trojans, so technically, Odysseus is at war with them.

** In the first song, Penelope politely asks a bard to change his song about the Achaeans' homecoming because it reminds her of her husband. Telemachus orders his mother to shut up, go back to her sewing, and leave the men alone. For a modern reader, this attitude is pretty rude, but in these times, women, even widows, were under the authority of a man who can be their own son. Penelope doesn't seem at all upset, in fact she may even have welcomed Telemachus' asserting himself - all her problems come down to not having a strong male protector after all.

** Scylla and Charybdis. The former is a monstrous, multiheaded dragon beast and the latter, though often thought of as a living whirlpool, is described more as a horrific EldritchAbomination consistent essentially of a giant living stomach with flippers. Heck, imagine having to cross between those two like Odysseus did (''twice''). You get two options: Either you take your chances with Charybdis, who will swallow your ship whole and then spit it and ''you'' out in pieces, or glide by Scylla, who has at least ten heads, all of which are always hungry and always ''[[HairTriggerTemper ticked the heck off]]''.

* CommonKnowledge: Circe is a goddess, not a witch.
** Well I mean she's still a female sorcerer, and many translations still call her a witch. Though at this point we'd be debating what one specific word meant.

** Probably FridgeHorror as well, but it's said that human flesh tastes like pork, hence the euphemism of "long pork" and the trope TheSecretOfLongPorkPies. ''The Odyssey'' may well be one of the earliest instances of recorded recognition of this, since Circe turns Odysseus' crewmates into pigs, in some versions with [[IAmAHumanitarian the intention of eating them]].

* IdiotPlot: But it seems that a good deal of Odysseus' problems either come from his own stupidity or, at the very least, his crew's. But he's already been stated to be a master tactician, and he worships frickin' Athena, patron goddess of [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guys]]. It's like every time they land on an island, Odysseus gets pegged in the face with the IdiotBall.
** There is a reason behind this. The Greeks strongly believed in a concept called ὕβρις, which is often rendered today as "hubris" and can be translated to modern days "{{Pride}}" or "Acting as a human shouldn't". Another thing that hubris carries along is punishment (if you are guilty of hubris, you are going to be punished somehow). All of Odysseus' mistakes are made out of hubris. For a better description of what hubris means, see Wiki/TheOtherWiki's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris explanation]].
** And after all, Odysseus' name is the Ancient Greek word for "[[MeaningfulName trouble]]."

** Scylla and Charybdis. The former is a monstrous, multiheaded dragon beast and the latter, though often thought of as a living whirlpool, is described more as a horrific EldritchAbomination consistent essentially of a giant living stomach with flippers.
*** Heck, imagine having to cross between those two like Odysseus did (''twice''). You get two options: Either you take your chances with Charybdis, who will swallow your ship whole and then spit it and ''you'' out in pieces, or glide by Scylla, who has at least ten heads, all of which are always hungry and always ''[[HairTriggerTemper ticked the heck off]]''.

* TearJerker: The whole story of Odysseus' dog, Argos. Don't know the story? Well, Argos was his dog, who he trained when he was a pup. Then Odysseus had to leave for 20 years, going to Troy, trying to get back, ect. During his leave, the dog, since his master wasn't there anymore, had to live outside, staying on a pile of dung to keep warm, getting too old and sick to move anywhere else anyway. Odysseus eventually gets home and walks past his dog (disguised as a beggar by Athena). Argos senses that the person is his master and proceeds to ''die by the happiness and shock of seeing his master again''. And the worst part? Since Odysseus is pretending not to be himself, he can't even grieve for his now-dead dog. You can't say that you didn't get a bit teary eyed when you read about that.
** [[ThePowerOfLove Argos is a very special dog.]]
** And totally SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments.
** Also a bit of WritersCannotDoMath, given that a dog is ''extremely'' unlikely to live that long in an era without veterinarians.
*** Then again, considering the [[HistoricalFantasy genre]], it could simply be Homer's way of telling us just how strong the bond was; it's doubtful he and his audience were unaware of the relative shortness of an average dog's lifespan.
** To make it even worse, one comic book adaptation had Athena carrying the dog's spirit away to the afterlife with a sweet, motherly smile on her face.

** What's the very first thing Odysseus does on his way home? He and his men make a halt on a foreign coast, where they attack and plunder a town, killing the men and taking the women as slaves. It's described as a completely normal thing for them to do.
*** Although the Cicones were allies of the Trojans, so technically, Odysseus is at war with them.

*** Also, Aeolus' bag of winds. If keeping it closed was so important that he didn't dare go to sleep while guarding it, why did he even need to bring it with him at all? Letting Aeolus hang onto the bag, opening it only after news of Odysseus' safe return reached him, would've saved Odysseus years of travel later and a whole lot of sleeplessness right away.
*** Except WHEN Aeolus got the news may have been an issue...

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Penelope is a major one for both Ancient Greek and modern readers alike for being one of the more complex and well-rounded women in mythology and her incredible devotion to her husband despite having a significantly passive role in the plot compare to Odysseus and Telemachus. It is telling that in many cities, ''she'' was the one that was worshipped as the symbol of faithfulness and displace ''the goddess of marriage'' itself Hera.

* DesignatedHero: There are many occasions when it's hard to see Odysseus as a hero, primarily because the Greeks believed a hero was closer to protagonist, performer of great and noteworthy deeds and were not really supposed to be moral. To a modern reader, Odysseus is an unrepentant war criminal, rapist, pirate, adulterer, generally a bad and selfish leader who got most of his crew killed thanks to his stupidity in announcing his name to Polyphemus and who on returning to Ithaca brutally kills the other suitors after committing ColdBloodedTorture and not even sparing servants and serving girls. Other modern readers will admit this but also agree with the Greeks, that Odysseus is nonetheless a highly compelling character, an embodiment of humanity's ruthless will to survive.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: When Odysseus and Penelope finally get back together, they can't stop talking to each other, and Athena has to personally delay the dawn goddess to give them time to talk, [-maybe do other things,-] and finally get a bit of sleep.

** And totally CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming.

%%* MartyTzu: Odysseus

* ValuesResonance: The story makes a point of averting DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale by acknowledging that Odysseus is [[SexSlave held against his will]] by Circe and Calypso and clearly condemming them for their actions.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Some old sources and poems see Odysseus as a low coward who tricks his way out of fighting [[ARealManIsAKiller violently like a real man]]. The ''Literature/ProseEdda'' even shows or posits the transformation of the Greek gods and heroes into the Norse ones – and Odysseus transforms into the trickster, Loki, 'Lie-smith.'

** Athena... ''[[MindRape influences]]'' the suitors' minds, leading to a [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness frightening description]] of their hallucinations.

* ValuesDissonance: What's the very first thing Odysseus does on his way home? He and his men make a halt on a foreign coast, where they attack and plunder a town, killing the men and taking the women as slaves. It's described as a completely normal thing for them to do.
** Although the Cicones were allies of the Trojans, so technically, Odysseus is at war with them.

* [[AmericansHateTingle Romans Hate Ulysses]]: Odysseus was a national hero to many hellenic states, where he was praised for his cunning, intelligence, and guile. The Romans, who called him Ulysses, despised him as a villainous, dishonest, deceitful falsifier. Vergil constantly refers to him as "Cruel Ulysses" in ''The Aeneid''; his character did not lend itself well to the Romans, who has a rigid sense of honour and respected the Trojans for their gallant and determined defence. Indeed, the Romans championed the Trojan prince Aeneas as the ancestor of Romulus and Remus.

** Odysseus sleeping with several women and thus cheating on his wife during his journey home while Penelope remains steadfastly faithful would be considered to be rather jerkass behavior of Odysseus, but in Ancient Greece, this behavior was rather normal. Although some of Odysseus's... "adventures" can hardly be considered consensual in the first place.

** There is a reason behind this. The Greeks strongly believed in a concept called ὕβρις, which is often rendered today as "hubris" and can be translated to modern days "{{Pride}}" or "Acting as a human shouldn't". Another thing that hubris carries along is punishment (if you are guilty of hubris, you are going to be punished somehow). All of Odysseus' mistakes are made out of hubris. For a better description of what hubris means, see TheOtherWiki's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris explanation]].

* AmericansHateTingle: Odysseus was a national hero to many hellenic states, where he was praised for his cunning, intelligence, and guile. The Romans, who called him Ulysses, despised him as a villainous, dishonest, deceitful falsifier. Vergil constantly refers to him as "Cruel Ulysses" in ''The Aeneid''; his character did not lend itself well to the Romans, who has a rigid sense of honour and respected the Trojans for their gallant and determined defence. Indeed, the Romans championed the Trojan prince Aeneas as the ancestor of Romulus and Remus.

* DesignatedHero: There are many occasions when it's hard to see Odysseus as a hero, primarily because the Greeks believed a hero was closer to protagonist, performer of great and noteworthy deeds and were not really supposed to be moral. To a modern reader, Odysseus is an unrepentant war criminal, rapist, pirate adulterer, generally a bad and selfish leader who got most of his crew killed thanks to his stupidity in announcing his name to Polyphemus and who on returning to Ithaca brutally kills the other suitors after committing ColdBloodedTorture and not even sparing servants and serving girls. Other modern readers will admit this but also agree with the Greeks, that Odysseus is nonetheless a highly compelling character, an embodiment of humanity's ruthless will to survive.

* DesignatedHero: There are many occasions when it's hard to see Odysseus as a hero.

** In the first song, Penelope politely asks a bard to change his song about the Achaeans' homecoming because it reminds her of her husband. Telemachus orders his mother to shut up, go back to her sewing, and leave the men alone. For a modern reader, this attitude is pretty rude, but in these times, women, even widows, were under the authority of a man who can be their own son.

** Furthermore, Zachary Mason's ''The Lost Books Of The Odyssey'' is ''full'' of AlternativeCharacterInterpretation, such as the story from the POV of a solitary, gentle Cyclops, one where Odysseus [[UnreliableNarrator actually crafted most of the story up in his life as a bard]], and one that posits that [[WildMassGuessing both]] ''[[WildMassGuessing The Iliad]]'' [[WildMassGuessing and]] ''[[WildMassGuessing The Odyssey]]''[[WildMassGuessing are an extremely elaborate description of a chess game]].

** MargaretAtwood's ''The Penelopiad'' retells the story from the point of view of the women left behind on Ithaca, Penelope and the maids of hers that Telemachus hangs in ''The Odyssey''.

* MartyTzu: Odysseus