#And later got either attributed to Odysseus or people (or Homer) went ‘oh yeah Odysseus definitely encountered this too’

[specialagentartemis]

The Odyssey stands the test of time as a story because it latches into the deep storytelling desire within us to go “and then some MORE weird random shit happened”

#tagamemnon #it’s really funny because like. There’s not really a ‘traditional’ narrative structure per se because it predates a lot of those #But it’s not even about a coherent event like the Trojan War either #It’s just. Odysseus Encounters Every Random-Ass Monster And Magical Person In The Aegean #Shenanigans Ensue. People Die Probably #I have to wonder how many of these stories or monster concepts pre-dated the Odyssey as an epic #And later got either attributed to Odysseus or people (or Homer) went ‘oh yeah Odysseus definitely encountered this too’ #‘I had a smart idea for how you could outwit sirens so I’m gonna tell a story about how Odysseus encountered some sirens and did that’ #The Odyssey