As Always Your Analysis And Theories Are Such Great Food For Thought And Great Inspiration As Well ✨✨

As always your analysis and theories are such great food for thought and great inspiration as well ✨✨ despite the fact that I'm newer to the depth of Odyssey and Iliad than most people here it's somehow adds to the fun to explore it 😆

Jesus Christ just thinking about spending 11 days without sleep blows my mind! I had to spend a little more than 48 hours awake to finish some deadlines and I was already having blurred distorted vision! So to be in a stressful situation, in an environment that can become dangerous, plus trying to guard the thing that will help them get home from his own men, all that combined with his previous struggles and now extreme sleep deprivation?? Sounds like a special kind of hell! And not only that but almost like a sort of vicious cycle, because it could be indeed that the sleep deprivation itself was getting to Odysseus attitude as you theorize, which in turn could definitely influence his man's behavior as well.

Gosh but as said before the tension after his men opened the sack and they all got sent back must have been like a damn cloud over their heads for days! Someone was struggling not to kill 😂

That is a very good point, by guarding the sack in such a way Odysseus could definitely be making his men feel untrusted and even antagonized by their own leader, which would definitely trigger an hostile response in the form distrust right back at him, and the suspiscion of what he could possibly be hiding from them in such a manner. It did not help at all!

On the other hand the effects of sleep deprivation mixed with previous stress and anxiousness to be so close to home are such an interesting and human reaction from him! That's such a scary list, and I can definitely imagine it impacting Odysseus little by little the more he remains awake! And the more he becomes more violent and irritable yelling and such the more his men would feel like he was becoming a whole different person and get progressively more and more worried, irritated and suspicious in turn! Plus I can definitely imagine them indeed questioning his authority especially as his mental state becomes erratic with hallucinations!

His own insistence to do things alone and putting himself in such a situation definitely bit him back! It was very toxic behavior especially with himself and his health, which passed to his man, and despite his intentions it added to the disaster! Being the leader is definitely not easy since everyone is looking at you as an anchor, and if the anchor fails, everyone can drown pretty easily! Overall both sides had their fair points and their mistakes and flaws and ultimately that makes for an awesome compelling narrative! Awesome stuff girl!! ✨

And gosh for real! This is such brilliant inspiration for Caleb and the rebellion as well! Caleb is definitely the one to want to carry the burdens of his men, and many times he is putting himself through unhealthy toxic situations to do so! Can imagine him also not sleeping for days for many reasons! To keep watch, to protect provisions and his resting comrades, to go on into dangerous missions... And the stress and fear hitting him inside too! And it would definitely mess with his attitude and response to others as well 👀 And it also reminds me of Diego, in the times he was made to take charge, or later when he felt his ultimate sin and plan against Caleb about to be discovered!!

Odysseus not sleeping for 9 days increased suspicion to his men unconsciously (a small analysis based on sleep deprivation and Odyssey)

So it seems that the limits that we know so far is around 264 hours or just above 11 days of staying awake consequently. That is surprisingly just above what Odysseus did who stayed awake for 9 days or approximately 216 hours! That seems ironically accurate on Homer's part that it occured.

According to Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus remained awake for 9 consequent days, guarding the sack containing all the winds blowing over the Mediterannean (a gift of the god of winds, Aiolus). Overcome by fatigue, once the island of Ithaca came on sight Odysseus fell asleep but at that moment his men, thinking that the sack contains rich gifts, they opened it up, releasing all the winds out and pushing Odysseus back to the islands of Aiolus. Aiolus witnessing upon that sign of bad luck, he refused to help Odysseus again.

Now of course one might say why on earth wouldn't his men trust him when he told them not to open the sack and why were they so overcome by not just distrust but also greed? Well, apart from the symbolism of the Iliad, ironically their distrust was perfectly logical even if in a way misplaced. And here's why

Odysseus was guarding the sack

No matter what one says, Odysseus was still acting distrustful to THEM. In a way he felt like his warning was not enough and he needed to take some extra precaution. The fact that he was still feeling the need to guard the sack like a guard dog, because of his natural suspicious nature, made his men feel not trusted and therefore evn more suspicious of his behavior. Why all of the sudden their captain had his guard so high up? Why did he feel like he had to take extra precaution? Didn't their captain; the captain they spent almost 15 years together trust them anymore? What did he have to hide? This behavior drove them suspicious back thinking there was more to that story than what Odysseus was saying.

Behavioral changes due to sleep deprivation

Odysseus was sleep deprived, that much everyone could tell. However interestingly the signs of sleep deprivation might unsconsciously increased suspiciousness to the already tensed atmosphere. Some of the early signs of sleep deprivation are:

drowsiness

irritability

impaired decision-making

impaired judgement

altered perception

memory deficits

vision and hearing impairments

decreased hand-eye coordination

increased muscle tension

tremors

increased risk of accidents or near misses

Therefore already from the first two or three days without sleep, Odysseus's character began to swift due to fatigue. He was expected to become more irritable, more drowsy, having difficulty to concentrate and having tension to his muscles. He would become increasingly more and more aggressive in his reactions. The longer he stayed without sleep and one could expect

mtabolism disruptions

hallucinations

delusions

mood swings

risky behavior

decreased attention

inflexible reasoning

The more Odysseus remained without sleep, the more unpredictable he would become and the more suspicious and aggressive his behavior would be. Imagine if at some point some of his men would want to give him some food or drink and Odysseus violently pushing them away, yelling at them that he needs nothing but to be left alone. He would become more and more irritable by basic things even if those things had the kinder intentions.

He would seem more and more like a tiger in a cage, more and more paranoic about the precious sack he guarded; seemingly getting all the more anxious the closer they got to his beloved home. At some point if he actually got hallucinations (talking to things that aren't there or looking around like a madman) would also make his men suspicious on his capability to lead them if an emergency were to occur.

Conslusion:

Therefore in his zeal to protect the sack at all costs, in his fixation upon doing everything himself, in his obsession with getting anxious and not trusting his own shadow, Odysseus made the bad decision to remain awake for so long that affected his mental and behavioral health, thus leading to more suspicion on his men's part to doubt his words and believing he was lying and that he was hiding gold and gems instead of their salvation. In a way Odysseus's obsession, just like all his plans, turned boomerang against him. Sleep deprivation made him aggressive. His aggressiveness was perceived as suspicious and his men didn't believe in him.

Still stupid on their part but one can understand their thoughts a bit. Having a captain that is slowly breaking guarding a seemingly precious sack rose plenty of suspicion. Of course that mistake costed them not only their home but also their life, but one can probably understand them a little.

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odysseus the odyssey homer iliad Odysseus and Caleb are clones

A small "inconsistency" in Homer and my explanation for it (an Analysis based on Rhapsody/Book 10 of Odyssey)

As we know Odysseus's narration of his past misadventures begins at Rhapsody/Book 9 when he reveals himself to his hosts and we already have a wild ride. In Book 10 we have also the misadventure of Aeolus island (see also my other analysis on this) in which Odysseus guards the sack for 9 days and finally in the 10th he is overcome by fatigue and falls asleep, thus giving his men he opportunity to open the sack. However here's an interesting idea while reading the passage:

"And so, all the same, we sailed for 9 nights and 9 days and on the 10th our homeland already came to sight; we could see the fields and the fires kept lit, for we were so close: then sweet sleep came over me and I fell asleep, for I was all the time at the stern of the ship, for I couldn't give it (here: the sack of Aeolus or the steer) to my comrades, so we would get to our native land faster. However my comrades began talking to each other and believed I had gold and silver bringing home with me as gifts from Aeolus, the great-hearted son of Hippotas, and they spoke thus while looking at one another:"

(Translation by me)

So...what's wrong here, one might ask? Well, Odysseus claims he fell asleep and THEN his comrades began to talk one another (Odysseus even proceeds to give us a sample of their dialog before they open the bag). So...what happens here? How was Odysseus able to tell what was happening if he was asleep? How could he hear what they were saying if he was asleep?

That seems like an interesting inconsistency on Homer's part and, sure enough rises several questions. So, in my opinion we have two possible explanations for this small "plot hole":

Odysseus either lies or asumes on the reason his comrades opened the bag

Odysseus was exhausted and asleep and wakes up in his terror when the winds are released from the sack. He has no idea why his men opened it in the first place which is why when he has to narrate his story to the Phaeacaeans, he has to come up with a reason why they did it and why they denied his authority or why they would get tempted in the first place. The first thing that comes to his mind is curiosity and greed. Seems a possible motive for him so he ASSUMES his men were believing he had gold and silver thus opening the bag to see. He even adds a piece of dialog he ASSUMES they spoke to each other so he might as well lie that he heard them with his own ears but rather he is adding the words to their mouths based on what he wholeheartedly believes happened while he was asleep.

He was always on his guard even after falling asleep from fatigue

The second explanation is that Odysseus was always on his guard; sleeping with always one eye open. He fell asleep from fatigue but his brain kept fighting off the sleep. Probably he got to close his eyes for a few minutes and truly be out of the world for a little but then the whispers that came to his ears, made him half-awake. He was already on the edge all those days so it would make sense that his brain was still alert and adrenaline-injected even if fatigue overcame him for a little. So his men are the ones to ASSUME he is asleep totally so they begin to talk. Perhaps their arguement becomes all the more heated while they believe Odysseus cannot hear. So if Odysseus can hear why not jump off immediately to stop them? I would assume in this scenario he is still half-asleep. He WANTS desperately to wake up but his body is still resisting due to fatigue. He is still dizzy and drowsy but all the more aware. Another possible scenario is that in his drowsy state he thinks he is dreaming. Many times over we believe we are dreaming because we are still between sleep and wake. Odysseus sees from afar a blury image of his men talking and holding the bag but his brain is still trying to wake up and he truly does only when the winds are released from it!

My thoughts:

I believe anyone can pick any of these that suit them best. Both seem equally plausible to my mind. If I were to pick which one I would lean more to (but not completely rejecting the first either) that would be the second.

Odysseus did comment on his companions many times in the poem, including their "bad thoughts" but he doesn't name them "greedy" before (at least not to that extend). He names them careless or unthoughtful but not straight out greedy. Of course he could also be self-projecting since he also is naturally curious but to say that his men would try to rob him in his sleep because they thought he wasn't sharing with them, somehow seems farfetched to assume without the slightest bit of evidence if he truly was out of the world asleep.

However given the state he was in before he fell asleep, himself coming in and out of sleep because of his adrenaline overdose, his worry and his guard being constantly up somehow makes sense. I could imagine while he was totally asleep, his men removed him from the steer and took the bag off him. At that point Odysseus probably didn't understand a thing. However I imagine him slowly waking up, feeling at his side where the bag USED TO BE and still his mind trying to comprehend what's happening. His ears get some distant voices and he tries to force himself to wake up to see more but he cannot. Only to jump fully awake in terrible realization.

I would surely take the dialog he gives to the Phaeacaeans with a small pinch of salt because even if I do support the second scenario more, I would assume Odysseus wouldn't be able to distinguish with undoubtful precision all the words they spoke to each other but he definitely caught the core of them so he fills in the gaps based on what he believes on them.

But what do you guys think? Let me know in the comments and reblogs! ^_^ (also am thinking of writing this scene in the future. Shall I?)

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yararts-stash

4 months ago

Awesome ✨ and yeah the spice! I might create one too for the stuff I've been randomly cooking up.

Alright alright alright! After popular demand (well in reality a handful of my watchers here but hey I received an ask too so that counts as "popular" to me!) I created an AO3 account with the same username to make our lives easier!

https://archiveofourown.org/users/katerinaaqu

In the accounts I will most likely post my fanfictions or retellings of my stories and since I am allowed to create more mature themes there I will also maybe update the ones already here and add more scenes! Also some of the more spicy stuff I am working with @yararts since we are working on several projects that do include more sensitive matters to the wide audience! So yup! Guys see I listen to my asks!

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yararts-stash

10 months ago

Visual Development For The Little Mermaid (1989)

Visual development for The Little Mermaid (1989)

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yararts-stash

2 months ago

ARCANE | Oasis Matte Paintings | Sébastien Flores

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yararts-stash

10 months ago

Hahaha that character being there for good measurements and comparisons 😆

Yeah I think it's s fantastic how Odysseus has all the ingredients to easily fall into the Mary Sue category, and yet he's so well thought out and balanced with both strengths and weaknesses that he becomes engaging, he is very human and the perfect character to symbolize the human will to survive even while facing great odds and suffering! For sure he breaks with extreme sorrow, anger and guilt which is such a raw realistic reaction, his faith can also falter in the worst moments, and no matter how formidable he is, he is still at danger of being hurt and killed which makes the risks he faces very real and scary threats! And the fact that he can get over himself with his talents shows the downside of his confidence and yet it's that same confidence and determination that ensures his survival! (Yeah I also think that could be a a bit a stretch hehe)

Yeah even in the way Odysseus can be an actor which fits Diego a lot too hahaha oh man Caleb sure is! And that's probably why he fits so well living in the middle of the Tribal Galhots 😂 but gosh yes his honesty and his boldness jumping to danger hahaha yes the young old man haha oh man he is which makes it tragic how Caleb went through more suffering in his youth than in his older years!

Gosh the parallels are so good they just write themselves 😂

Hahahaha don't you love it when characters in the homeric poems go like;

Agamemnon the warrior and king and Menelaus who has loud war cry we have Ajax who is huge and freaking strong we have Nestor the amazing peace maker and diplomat and so on and so forth and while we have kings and mariners hither thither and finally we get Achilles, the one known being fast, best in war, great with spear and sword and somehow surpassing almost everyone at almost everything (usually war related) and a capable musician...

And then we have Odysseus 😂

Like wits that rival the gods, master mariner, expert with the spear and great archer fast and fierce despite his age, ultimate survivor, master of disguise a diplomat and a speaker, hunter, carpenter and builder schemer and actor master tactician and a freaking goddess magnet

Like...Homer my dude...leave some talents for the rest of the crew will ya??

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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odysseus greek mythology homeric epics Odysseus and Caleb are clones

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yararts-stash

1 month ago