u/Crash_FNF_Eddsworld

Rather than the Greeks being the heroes and the Trojans the villains, Ilium seems deeply sympathetic towards Troy, especially Priam, Hector, Cassandra, and Paris.

Nearly every snippet centers on wanting. Priam wants to save Troy. Cassandra wants to prevent fate. Paris wants meaning and love. Hector wants honor. Menelaus wants vengeance/glory. The war itself could be framed as human desire spiraling beyond control.

“Fire” strongly implies that just because there’s a prophecy, doesn’t mean you don’t have a choice. You do have a choice, but the choice will become the prophecy. Basically every Greek tragedy.

Ilium may actually avoid a single hero and instead rotate focus between Hector, Paris, Achilles, Cassandra, Priam, and maybe Helen, which would distinguish it from more straightforward adaptations.

Because she’s like:

I can't help but wonder what this world could be
If we all held each other with a bit more empathy
I can't help but feel like I led you astray
What if there's a world where we don't have to live this way?

But here’s what it’s referencing that you all miss.

In Book 24 of the Odyssey, the Suitors’ families come to take revenge on Odysseus and his father, Laertes. Athena allows Laertes to kill Antinous’ father, Eupheites, then asks Zeus to end the conflict. Zeus tells her she caused the problem, so she must deal with it. When she can’t, Zeus finally agrees to step in and parts the combatants with a thunderbolt. And then Athena, in the guise of Mentor, establishes a peace treaty, so now they all HOLD EACH OTHER WITH A BIT MORE EMPATHY.

That’s the reference I just wanna say I found it thanks

In song 38, Odysseus kills the Suitors of Penelope. But here’s the thing: these were the most eligible suitors on his island kingdom. And he murdered them. Odysseus could’ve prestaged political deals to invalidate the suitors’ powerbases, or maybe even shaped the narrative so the public supported him for killing them. But no. Odysseus just kills them outright. Could this maybe cause possible prophecies of vengeance to happen unexpectedly and ironically as a result?

What was the last thing Odysseus did before he wound up on Ogygia? He sacrificed all of his men to Zeus. That’s why Zeus wanted Odysseus on Ogygia: he wanted him to feel the survivor’s guilt.

He knew the only person with the power to release Odysseus was him.
And he knew he wouldn’t.
So when Athena came knocking, Zeus told her that first, she’d need to convince “them” that Odysseus is worth releasing. When Zeus said “them” was “Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Hera, OR me”, he basically meant “Yeah, these guys totally can be convinced. But, really, it’s only MY vote that matters.”
Hence why everyone was like “Great”, “Alright”, etc. Everyone agreed to play. Except for Zeus.
Athena thought it would be really easy if she tried to convince only the other gods, because then surely Zeus would be convinced?
No.

I don’t see Zeus’ “You dare to defy me” verse as outrage. I see it more as him being smug, if a little violent, like he’s saying “Oh, you really thought? Well you were wrong. And you know why you were wrong. Because I lead with VIOLENCE.” And so he shows her a taste of said violence.

* Big Clive: A hunter from Cape Town, South Africa.

* Sheikh Amir: The sheikh of a nomadic tribe from Rub’ al Khali, Arabian Peninsula.

* Merturano de Mare: A footballer from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

* George and Mike: A trained emperor penguin from Antarctica and his son.

* Barry R. Reef: A surfer from Brisbane, Australia.

The fandom hears “Odysseus is Hermes’ great-grandson” and now they think it’s his whole personality, like it’s something important. Now if Odysseus were Hermes’ son, I would understand it. But the relationship between Odysseus and Hermes is so distant that you might as well call them strangers to each other. And get this: Odysseus is also Zeus’ great-grandson. Because he is the son of Laertes, the son of Arcisius, the son of Zeus. And actually, in the Odyssey, that’s more important: as Odysseus is constantly referred to as “Zeus’ child” because of this, because Zeus started the Ithacan royal line. Arcisius was the first king of Ithaca, and he declared that Arcisius and his sons would each have only one son to be the next king of Ithaca.

So is Odysseus more related to Hermes… or to Zeus?