Once more, for the people in the back:
An "epic hero" (*cough* Odysseus *cough*) is not an "epic hero" because they are a role model that does everything right. They were never meant to be an unproblematic fandom icon.
People bending themselves into pretzels to prove Odysseus (and others) never did anything wrong, questionable, or "problematic" are doing a disservice and flattening mythology into fan fiction.
Said what I said.
@TarkabarkaHolgy I love Odysseus but he's definitely a problematic fave 😅
However, a flawed hero is much more interesting to me than some moral saint. Would Herakles be interesting if he never did anything wrong? No, because like 90% of his adventures are atonements for the shit his choleric murder streak (and Hera) caused. Stories can be compelling even if everyone is an arsehole. They just need to be interesting arseholes. I feel like the Iliad is a case in point? 😂
Dr. Zalka Csenge Virág
Erotic Mythology 🏳️🌈