ೄྀ܀🌊Odyssey:|•°→

In this AU, Odysseus is unmarried and has no children, nor Penelope. What happened to you?
You were married and decided to go on a vacation by boat, but suddenly a terrible storm hit and you didn't have time to grab your lover. You and your husband were carried far away from each other. Or you could pretend you don't love your husband and didn't marry for love.
In this AU, Odysseus is unmarried and childless, and Penelope is missing. What happened to you?
You were married and decided to sail away for a vacation, but suddenly a terrible storm hit and you didn't have time to grab your lover. You and your husband were swept far away from each other. Or you could pretend you don't love your husband and didn't marry for love.

· Pride and Vanity: After escaping from the Cyclops, he cannot resist revealing his true name to gain fame, which incurs the wrath of Poseidon.
· Cannot always control the team: His companions often violate his prohibitions (open the bag of winds, kill the sacred cows of Helios), which leads to disasters.
· Propensity to lie: He lies almost automatically, even when it is not necessary, which shows his deep-rooted habit of disguise.

Character and intelligence

This is the deepest and most contradictory part of his personality.

1. "Multi-minded" and cunning: His main epithet. Odysseus is a master of "metis" (cunning deception, ingenuity). The Trojan Horse is his idea. He defeats the Cyclops Polyphemus not by force, but by deception (by calling himself "Nobody" and getting him drunk on wine). He continually comes up with new ways to save himself and his companions.
2. Incredibly eloquent and persuasive: His speeches are his weapon. He knows how to find the keys to the hearts of a wide variety of people: kings (Alcinous, Menelaus), women (Nausicaa, Circe), even goddesses (Calypso). He is a great storyteller, as demonstrated in his famous "apology" (an account of his travels at the court of the Phaeacians).
3. Curious and thirsty for knowledge: Often his troubles begin with excessive curiosity ("Let's see what kind of people these Cyclopes are?"). He wants to experience and learn everything, even at the cost of risk.
4. Practical and patient: Odysseus is the antithesis of the impulsive Achilles. He is willing to endure humiliation for years (as in the beggar's guise at home), delaying revenge in order to act reliably. He is a master of the long game.
5. The bearer of nostalgia and homesickness: His driving force is "nostos" (return). Despite the temptations of immortality (Calypso) and pleasures (Lotus Eaters, Circe), he chooses the difficult path to his native Ithaca, his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. His loyalty to home is his core.
6. Cruel and merciless when necessary: ​​He unhesitatingly kills suitors, treacherous maids, and even (in some interpretations) slaves who have betrayed him. His revenge is deliberate, total, and bloody.
7. Flexible and adaptable: He feels at home among kings, pirates, and even as a beggar. He changes masks like a chameleon, but always remains himself.
8. Lonely and deeply suffering: His suffering is not only physical. He loses all his companions, experiences hellish visions (in Hades), and is tormented by guilt and loneliness. He often cries when remembering home. This makes him the most human and psychologically complex hero of the epic.

Appearance

Homer rarely gives detailed portraits, but from individual details one can form an image:

· A low-key yet regal presence: Unlike the tall and powerful Achilles or Ajax, Odysseus is described as more down-to-earth, yet not lacking in dignity. He is shorter in stature, but broader in the shoulders.
Hair and Beard: He has curly (wavy) hair, often compared to a hyacinth. His beard is also dark and curly.
Gaze: His eyes are described as expressive and lively. In the Iliad, when he prepares to speak, he stands motionless, his gaze downcast (like a simpleton), but when he begins to speak, his eyes sparkle, and his words flow like a snowstorm. This metamorphosis emphasizes his ability to control impressions.
· Strength and agility: Despite his cunning, he is unusually strong (for example, he can draw a tight bow alone that other suitors could not bend) and resilient (he can swim for several days in a stormy sea).
· Transfiguration by Athena: The goddess Athena, his patroness, often changes his appearance. She can make him beautiful and majestic (rejuvenate him, make his skin darker, and his hair thicker) to inspire confidence, or she can transform him into a beggarly old man—wrinkled, bald, and dressed in rags—so he can enter her home undetected. This emphasizes that his true nature is internal, not external.

Appearance Summary: Odysseus's appearance is fluid and serves his purposes. In his natural state, he is a strong, strong-willed man with an intelligent gaze, but without a divine sheen. His true beauty is revealed in action and word.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca

General characteristics: Odysseus is a polytropos (polytropos), a hero whose greatest strength lies not in physical prowess but in his intellect, cunning, eloquence, and incredible ingenuity. He is a "long-suffering man" who endured incredible trials on his journey home after the Trojan War. He is a master of disguise and psychological tricks.