Another big thanks to Helix for sponsoring this episode! My spine also says thank you! (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ Visit helixsleep.com/jonsolo to get up to $200 off your Helix mattress, plus two free pillows! #helixsleep
Video Idea Rccomendation: Jon, might I recommend doing an episode for "Famous Folklore" on The Koopalings from the Mario franchise? I mean if you want an origin story that is certainly messed up) then I think you're in for a treat. Especially you have to compare their video game to their animated counterparts. Yes, they have "cartoon counterparts" in both "The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3 and "Super Mario World." Heck, there's even the messed-up fact they're based on a creature from Japanese Mythology, called the Kappa.
Don't forget Galatea was also the name of the woman Pygmalion sculpted out of ivory who Aphrodite transformed into a real woman in answer to Pygmalion's prayer.
So which came first? Was Pygmalion creating a statue of the nymph that Polyphemus fell in love with, or was the nymph that Polyphemus met formerly a statue, or are they just two women with the same name?
@@obiwan-in-a-pudding2909 most likely differs between version, also likely the last. It's less uncommon for mythological characters to share names (so much that, depending of where you look, you can read that there were two Eros: the primordial god and Aphrodite's son). It's inevitable in a pantheon of ~30k
I love mythology..I’m so glad this channel exists since I’ve read the stories for years, but now I’m having issues reading so I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Thank you, Jon.
Would be really cool for you to go through the Iliad and Odyssey in a video series, could put a messed up origins twist on it too I’d love to have it broken down into bite sized pieces the way you do
It's also worth everything to me to have his grounded, empathetic presence in these stories. Like when Jon said "this is far from the most toxic relationship in mythology", BOY did I feel that. I failed my online Greek Myth course because I could not stand all the women-as-property. Students are just graded on literary analysis (i.e. how much sparknotes did you read?) and that showed in our "discussions". It felt like nobody in the class cared about the atrocities and the reality of ancient Greek culture. I hated it. And I loveee this channel for making it something that interests me and inspires me again.
In my highschool mythology class I read The Odyssey. The story of the Cyclops was my favorite part. I thought that the guys hiding under the sheep was very clever.
The second lesson was to never reveal your real name while committing a crime. This mistake cost Odysseus many crews. What I got from the Odyssey was to avoid travelling with survivors. Sure, they tell great tales when they get back, but I never thought my odds of making it back were as good.
The story about the elderly couple is one of my favorite Greek myths. So many mortals who win the favor of the Olympians make selfish, short-sighted wishes. This couple gave their wish considerable thought, and in the end, they make a very humble and wholesome request that shows how much they care for and love each other. Neither of them wished to leave the other with the burden of burying their dead body and living on alone in the world they spent so many years together. It is a story not only about Greek hospitality being honored, but also an example of a married couple very much in love and growing old together.
If I correctly remember the Aeneid, the (Roman) story of Aeneas, he was not a part of Odysseus's crew, because Aeneas was of Trojan descent. I feel like there's some mythological shenanigans or misunderstandings or something wrong. You may need to do a video on the Aeneid (Roman) vs. the Odyssey (Greek) because Aeneas visits some of the same places that Odysseus does.
you are correct.aeneas was prince of dardanos and son of venus.he did visit the island of the cyclopes and took on acamenedes on his ship knowing he was greek.acamenedes also warned them of cylcopes and to not linger or even make port on the island.jon got a few details of the story wrong but this one i cannot forgive
I was wondering if I was the only one who caught that Honestly I think if Aeneas had seen Odysseus again, he probably would have killed him for burning down Troy
@@joellynncrowthers4623 yes,seeing as it was only venus's intervention that spared helen from his wrath,i think he would have lept on odysseus with the quickness had he seen him
Love your channel, as a mythology buff I know a lot of the stories you tell about these characters, but at the same time you tell me versions I haven't heard yet, and that's awesome. Keep up the good work Solo!
How timely of you to be covering this ! I created a tiny cryptid called an Autch (pronounced ‘ouch’), which is a tiny black bipedal triangle that so happens to be a cyclops. They’re vampiric but aren’t dangerous. They’re a bit dim and annoying, but not to be feared.
One bit of context that is often missing is that many parts of the odessy are a story within a story. So telling a story about hospitality being breached might have proven useful.
When you mentioned the intertwining trees, I remembered an episode from ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ called ‘The Perfect Pear,’ which covers the backstory of the parents of one of the main characters. There’s a wedding scene where they plant each other’s trees (feuding fruit farm families) on each other’s land, and the characters find it at the end, and see that it has grown into a giant intertwined monument to their love. Just a coincidence? Then show actually does take inspiration from mythology several times, that doesn’t bother to be especially accurate. I’d love to see a video covering that series.
I find the artworks with cyclopes' eyes in the middle of the forehead, with eyebrow ridges and apparently closed normal eyes underneath, to be very... creepy
Jon Solo, have you done a video explaining nymphs, they show up nearly all Greek myth and it's never really explained what they are. Your videos are fun, mellow, and insightful ☮️🖖🏽
Interesting I was expecting you to talk his hatred of Zeus as form of his inhospitality. Also since you are comparing myths, have you never noticed giants are usually shepherds and herdsman? Compare him with Geryon the one in Heracles labors not the inferno.
I wonder, maybe ancient shepherds wished they were giants, so that they could herd the flock as easily as a docile pack of mice or something. It brings to mind the biblical analogy of a powerful god capable of defending his "flock".
I find it interesting how some interpretations of a cyclops either keeps the eyes and adds a third, or removes the two but keeps the brows. I think the brows version actually looks fairly interesting.
I look forward to seeing your take on the Second Percy Jackson film, let's be honest the first film was terrible....BUT not nearly as much as Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. 😂🤣😂🤣 I hope you really tear into it. Also, not Greek mythology related, but I hope you eventually do what I suggested on Twitter and actually do your video on Robin Hood. It's a legend that will always be timeless, yet so many people have misconceptions about it. People often for example believe Robin Hood actually stole from the rich to give to the poor, and people have used this to justify stealing if the people that are being robbed are rich or insured, too many people have this mentality today, as well as also using Robin Hood as a symbol and justification for Socialism. Really it was actually stealing from a tyrannical government that was over taxing its citizens who had become impoverished because of it. It would be good for you to clear up those misconceptions about him, as well as going over each of the major stories and adventures he goes on.
I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology, so I really enjoy these videos 😊 What’s even better is when they make these stories into movies that I watch with my husband and I’ll start rattling shit off before it happens and he’s just dumbfounded. 😂 He knows I love Greek mythology and have since I was a very young girl, but I guess he didn’t know how much. They look on his face is priceless when I rattle shit off 😂
almost a week later, but still watching.😃your readings of these vast interpretations of these historically influenced stories made me get into mythology more due to how easy it is to soak in these incredible tales! 😁 EDIT: when you were talking about the cyclops in the beginning and talking about the "snackage" I was eating a sandwich with hot sauce so...not the BEST timing on my part 🤣
I have always wondered. What kind of sheep are big enough to carry a full grown man?! The story doesn’t seem to mention anything odd about the sheep other than they belong to a cyclops. Greek mythology usually mentions when something is weird about the livestock. Man eating horses, perfect white bull, unstoppable boar, murderous golden sheep, etc So what kind of sheep can carry a grown man?
Omg Jon solo I had spinal surgery too last year it was for scoliosis. what a coincidence haha 😹 Btw love your videos especially the Greek and Norse mythology ones 😁
Not to be biased, because, O Brother Where Art Thou is my favorite movie of all time. But the sharpened wood is referenced in the movie. Only it doesn't kill the Cyclops as he catches from the sky. It's when our heroes of this southern tale drop a burning cross on him instead. That's a burtal way to go in my opinion.
I have a problem with the Polyphemos didn't treat his guests well, so he was punished. Odysseus and his crew are not guests, they are thieves. They broke in and started to steal food. I don't see how Polyphemos owes them guest rights. They didn't present themselves as guests before entering.
you probably already know it, but actually it is thought that the large hole in the center of the Deinotheriumskulls (wich is an ancestor of elephants and has a hole that suggests a pronounced trunk) to the ancient Greeks, could well be the foundation for their tales of the fearsome one-eyed Cyclops.
In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Big Dan(the cyclops) almost has his eye impaled by a flagpole, but catches it in the nick of time. You did not mention it, so I have for you.
I do love how Odysseus is supposed to be very smart yet was stupid enough to let someone who would definitely come after them or have someone do it for him his true name after tricking him
Has anybody else started to thing that Greeks practically made fanfiction about their favorite characters. like their end in a story isn't just the end of them because they had a minor role.
The name "Polyphemus" is amazingly fancy for a shepherd; since it supposedly means something like "really famous," I can only assume that this was a winking reference to someone really famous. So the Homeric version was, at some time, slanderous. Does no one question the scene of a man reaching between his legs to check his woolly sheep?
Two quick things: Most of the Odyssey is a lesson on how to be a good host and guest according to Greek culture Also, the story of the old couple also has ties to the story of Noah's Ark because in some versions they're told to toss rocks behind them as they flee the flood. The rocks turn into men and women (based on who did the tossing), and thus they repopulated the place.
My dad has quite a bit of back pain himself. To the point he can't really even walk. He uses these lidocaine patches that stick to his back and they help a lot. I don't know if that would work for you, but there it is if you want it. Probably should not take medical advice from randoes on the internet, so don't take this as medical advice. I'm just randomly telling you what works for my dad.
I also use this cream which you rub on your back and it loosens up the muscles making it less painful (no idea what it’s called), but yeah like you said, strangers telling you to take these random treatments is kinda sus
The problem with punishing Polyphemos for not respecting the law of Xenia is that it was Odysseus who did not respect it: He and his men went into the cave with theft in their hearts.
