Reading Notes: Homer's Odyssey part b

More Character analysis

Teiresias

• I actually am familiar with his character, as I was in an Oedipus play with Teiresias as a main character
• seems very stereotypical wise old man figure, carries a staff, kind of weird that he drinks sword blood but he's dead so I don't know
• just like every other character, he gives odysseus a long monologue about what he is going to do in order to return home
• gives them a warning about staying out of trouble or they'll probably die

Anticleia

• Odysseus's dead mother, seems very devoid of personality and just sad to be dead
• she is just like any mother, she asks her son a ton of questions about where he's been and where he is going

Various women in the underworld

• Tyro, a queen who Poseidon seduced while pretending to be someone else, described as noble, has many children and lived a solid life
• Antiope, slept with Zeus and had two successful sons
• Alcmene, who had Heracles
• Megara (I know her from Hercules lol) who married some guy
• all the women in this section are just described as someone's mother or wife, and none of their own accomplishments or lives are said besides their sons and partners
• Jocasta, rip she literally dated her son Oedipus, she must be miserable
• Chloris, a queen who everyone wanted to marry
• There are more women here but they are not important as this section is just Odysseus talking about all the dead babes he saw

Persephone

• I am unsure of how people feel about her
• sometimes she is described as "dread" and other times as "sacred"

Agamemnon

• kind of dramatic, hates all women forever since his wife killed him
• seems like he thought highly of himself and his accomplishments and is sort of a bro to odysseus

Achilles

• really upset about dying, he says he'd rather be poor than be dead
• he wants to know about his son and his legacy
• was happy to hear about his son's greatness, maybe being dead isn't so bad now

Ajax

• Already mad at odysseus from the beginning, now he is dead and odysseus is not so this can't be a fun conversation
• odysseus then greets many warriors and legends like Orion, Tantalus and 
• Sisyphus

  

  Monster Scylla, Wikimedia Commons

Sirens/Scylla/Charybdis

• The sirens sing haunting songs to lure Odysseus and his crew
• Scylla is strong, terrifying and cool, kinda evil but I like it
• Charybdis is just a vortex of terror

bibliography

• The Odyssey by Homer. Source