| Odysseus | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name: | Odysseus |
| Descendent: | Odie |
| Species: | Demi-God |
| Spouse: |
Penelope |
| Children: |
Telemachus (Son) |
| Affiliations: |
Elysian Fields |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Hair color: | Black |
| Eye color: | Brown |
| Character Information | |
| First appearance: | The Trojan Horse (pictured) |
| GALLERY | |
Odysseus was the legendary Greek king of Ithaca and ancestor to Odie.
Appearance[]
Although many claim that he does not look like Odie, including Odie himself, the two do share a resemblance with one another.
Odysseus is a tall man with a lean but muscular build. He wears black/grey armor with gold trimming that appears to be what he wore during the time of his death.
During a telling of Odysseus's part in creating the Trojan horse, he has a much lighter skin tone.
Biography[]
In the The Trojan War, Odysseus devised a plan to sneak into the city of Troy unseen by hiding himself and his soldiers in a giant wooden horse (the Trojan Horse) under the guise of it being a gift for the city. When the "gift" was accepted and the horse was taken inside, Odysseus and his soldiers emerged and took Troy by surprise.[1] During this or another incident, Odysseus was also aided by a magical helm given to him by Autolycus that granted the wearer invisibility, allowing him to sneak into Troy unseen.[2]
After the Trojan War, Odysseus and his crew began their long journey home from Troy. To aid him, the god of wind Aeolus gifted Odysseus a magical bag containing the wind itself to fill their ship's sails.
On their way, Odysseus and his crew were captured by the cyclops Polyphemus (son of Poseidon) and trapped within his cave on an island. To defeat him, Odysseus and his crew blinded him with a giant flaming staff. They then managed to escape by clinging to the underbelly of Polyphemus's sheep as they were let out to pasture; when the blind Polyphemus touched the sheep's backs, he could not detect them, and so they were inadvertently let free. When Polyphemus ultimately discovered this trickery, he swore vengeance upon Odysseus as he fled the island, so Poseidon later attacked his crew in retaliation.[3]
Later, Odysseus came to the island of Ogygia and got stuck there for 7 years alongside the nymph Calypso. Calypso fell in love with Odysseus, who eventually left to resume his journey home. Though he left Calypso alone, she continued to harbor feelings for him over the next many centuries.[4]
Mythology[]
- Polyphemus likens the wine given to him by Odysseus to ambrosia and nectar.
- Odysseus is the grandson of Autolycus, who chose his name. Autolycus was a son of Hermes, and grandfather also to Jason, the ancestor of Jay. Thus making the two warriors cousins.
Appearances[]
- The Trojan Horse (cameo)
- Eye for an Eye (cameo)
- Forget Me Not (cameo, no vocal lines)
Trivia[]
- Odysseus's appearance differs between his original depiction as a statue bust in "The Trojan Horse" (bearded, with longer and straighter hair, and seemingly fairer skin) and his in-person appearance in "Forget Me Not". Additionally, Odie claims in the former episode that he and his ancestor "don't even look alike", which (in addition to, or aside from, Odie's less athletic physique) may have been a reference to the erroneous but popular concept that the people of ancient Greece were primarily light-skinned, while Odie is black. In "Odie-sey": Calypso (who was in love with Odysseus and then Odie, and thus may either be blinded by love or know most accurately what Odysseus looked like) claims Odie looks exactly like him, at which Jay and Neil scoffed. Later, Aeolus claims that Odie and Odysseus have no resemblance whatsoever. This is later changed by "Forget Me Not", in which Odie and Odysseus truly do look much more similar to each other, including sharing identical hair textures and skin colors.[5]
- In "The Trojan Horse", Odysseus's sneaking into Troy is explained with the traditional account of using the Trojan Horse.[1] However, in "Bad Blood", he is said to have done so with the use of a helm of invisibility given to him by Autolycus;[2] while some accounts do claim Autolycus possessed such a helm, it has no connection to Odysseus in the original mythology of the Trojan War and seems incompatible with the Trojan Horse account.
- In the original mythology, Autolycus was a grandfather to both Odysseus and Jason, making him related to their descendants Odie and Jay, who would themselves be cousins. However, this is not mentioned in the show, leaving it unclear if it is intended to be canon.
- Odysseus's boat, as depicted in illustrations in "Eye for an Eye", features a classical Greco-Roman motif of eyes painted on the bows (such as on triremes). A pole or figurehead on the bow also features a ram's head; this may either be a reference to his escape from Polyphemus by hiding on the underbelly of a sheep, or mistakenly to the journey of Jason and the Argonauts, who sailed to find the Golden Fleece.
- He is a hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in that same Epic Cycle.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Odie: "The war with Troy fell into a stalemate. Greece could not breach the walls that protected Troy. Odysseus devised a cunning plan: he ordered the construction of a large wooden horse that he presented to the Trojans as a gift. The Trojans dragged the horse into their city, unaware that Odysseus and Greece's greatest warriors hid inside, waiting to leap out and open the gates to the waiting army." (The Trojan Horse)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cronus: "The helmet that empowered Odysseus to sneak into Troy unseen." Hermes: "(...) a helmet is missing from my room. It's one that Autolycus gave Odysseus to sneak into Troy. The helmet makes you invisible." (Bad Blood)
- ↑ Chiron: "The hero Odysseus and his men were once captured by a cyclops named Polyphemus. To defeat him, Odysseus blinded the giant with a flaming staff. (...) Then he escaped by holding onto the underbelly of the cyclops' sheep as they were let out to pasture. The blinded Polyphemus swore vengeance upon Odysseus." (Eye for an Eye)
- ↑ Odie-sey
- ↑ Forget Me Not (see this image)
