The Odyssey Characters: Ancient Major General
Episode 28
Enjoy this comedic and musical review of all the main characters in The Odyssey!
Transcript
I am Professor Pipes and this is Piper’s Paraphrases, see
I’m singing now today to list the names from Homer’s Odyssey
They do get quite confusing and let’s face it they’re an oddity
So let’s just jump right in and don’t forget to listen carefully
ODYSSEUS the hero has spent 20 years in jeopardy
His wife he left in Ithaca is beautiful PENELOPE
Their son TELEMACHUS has gone out searching for him recently
His dad LAERTES then rounds out Odysseus’s family
The gods and goddesses play an important role as well, you see
There’s wise ATHENA who just wants to aide our hero’s victory
POSEIDON, though, who hates him is the god of earthquakes and the sea
Then ZEUS is king but mostly he just does his job through HERMES
While on his journey he encounters villain, beast, and animal
The LOTUS EATERS, though addicted, are quite nice and affable
But POLYPHEMUS, blinded now, a cyclops who eats men as well
And speaking of that LAESTRYGONIANS are giant cannibals
AEOLUS is the king of winds who tries to help them on their way
And CIRCE turns his men to pigs but frees them so they choose to stay
She sends him to TERESIAS who’s dead and blind, a prophet too
He tells him how to get back home and what to do and not to do
The SIRENS sing a lovely song, and they’re not mermaids, they’re part bird
CHARYBDIS is a whirpool, sinking ships, that’s just absurd
Then there’s monster with six heads who eats six men and that’s SCYLLA
EURYLOCHUS then gets them all to eat cows at THRINAKIA
CALYPSO is a goddess and she keeps our hero 7 years
ALCINOUS and ARETE then take him when he appears
ANTINOUS the biggest jerk, the leader of the suitor crew
EURYMACHUS he talks a lot and tries to claim they’re not a coupe
NESTOR is an army friend who tries to help TELEMACHUS
But he’s got bupkis so he sends him off to see MENELAUS
Whose wife is HELEN, she’s the reason that they all got sent to war
And on the way to see them all ATHENA’s dressed up as MENTOR
Two servants help fight suitors, they’re EUMAEUS and PHILOTEUS
And then there is the prophet hanging out that’s THEOCLYMENUS
And EURYCLEIA is a maid who recognizes Ody’s scar
Which brings us to the end and now you know who all the people are!
