The Odyssey. It gets me every time. Odysseus spends ten years in Troy, like everyone else. But unlike everyone else, it takes him a further ten years to get home. His resolve and determination is tested beyond the limits of imagination by the gods’ bitter twists of fate: he is tempted by the Sirens, held captive by Calypso, he is dared to sails past the six-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis, his men are drugged and turned into pigs by a witch called Circe, and he has get past the Cyclops. And after all that he returns to his homeland of Ithaca and his wife Penelope, who after twenty years, is still waiting for him, still faithful, refusing the courtly attention of every suitor in the land, and his son Telemachus waits too, champing at the bit to restore order. And finally father and son join forces and quell the rebellion. It’s the most romantic, epic, heroic myth of all time.
Tom Hiddleston, on his favourite ancient myth
Katie Antoniou interviews Tom Hiddleston | Blog | Run Riot
Which reminds me, that I need to get around to reading the Odyssey. I studied the Aeneid at school in Latin and in English (I took both Latin and Classical Civilisations so managed to cover the same stuff in both which made it far more interesting and a lot easier to do well in). And… Aeneus, the hero, is a bit of an ass. Everything I know about Odysseus leads me to believe he is less of an ass.
Which, of course, is the most important thing.
(via herdivineshadow)
Actually reading the Odyssey now (I’m doing the Greek & Roman Mythology course on Coursera, alongside my Masters and a billion other things).
Odysseus IS less of an ass. However, he doesn’t half put it about. Aeneas didn’t hop into quite so many ladies beds. Possibly because he was an ass. BUT YOU KNOW.
At least Odysseus *sounds* more attractive. Which, of course, is the important thing. Or the other important thing.