Jorge Rivera-Herrans
''Epic: The Musical'' (stylized as ''EPIC'') is a nine-part series of concept albums (referred to as "sagas") with music and lyrics by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. A sung-through adaptation of Homer's ''Odyssey'' inspired by musical theater, anime and video games, it tells the story of Odysseus as he tries to Returns from Troy, return from Troy to Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca after the ten-year-long Trojan War. Along the way, he must face gods and monsters that attempt to prevent him from returning to his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. Taking inspiration from diverse sources, the series makes use of various musical genres and narrative techniques derived from anime, video games, and theatre. The musical gained popularity in 2021 through social media such as TikTok, and faced production troubles due to multiple lawsuits between the creator and original record company. It has received praise from reviewers for the emotional depth and narrative complexity it exhibits through its musical ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divided into 24 books. It follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, and his homecoming journey after the ten-year long Trojan War. His journey from Troy to Ithaca lasts an additional ten years, during which time he encounters many perils and all of his crewmates are killed. In Odysseus's long absence, he is presumed dead, leaving his wife Penelope and son Telemachus to contend with a group of unruly suitors competing for Penelope's hand in marriage. The ''Odyssey'' was first written down in Homeric Greek around the 8th or 7th century BC; by the mid-6th century BC, it had become part of the Greek literary canon. In antiquity, Homer's authorship was taken as true, but contemporary sch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trojan Horse
In Greek mythology, the Trojan Horse () was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer, Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, and it is only briefly mentioned in the ''Odyssey''. It is described at length in the ''Aeneid'', in which Virgil recounts how, after a fruitless ten-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse at the behest of Odysseus, and hid a select force of men inside, including Odysseus himself. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night, the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under the cover of darkness. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city, ending the war. Metaphorically, a "Trojan horse" has come to mean any trick or stratagem that causes a target to invit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cyclopes
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', the Cyclopes are the three brothers, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges (Cyclops), Arges, who made Zeus's weapon, the thunderbolt. In Homer's ''Odyssey'', they are an uncivilized group of shepherds, the brethren of Polyphemus encountered by Odysseus. Cyclopes were also famous for being the builders of the Cyclopean masonry, Cyclopean walls of Mycenae and Tiryns. In ''Cyclops (play), Cyclops'', the fifth-century BC play by Euripides, a satyr play, chorus of satyrs offers comic relief based on the encounter of Odysseus and Polyphemus. The third-century BC poet Callimachus makes the Hesiodic Cyclopes the assistants of smith-god Hephaestus, as does Virgil in the Latin epic ''Aeneid'', where he seems to equate the Hesiodic and Homeric Cyclop ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lotus Tree
The lotus tree (, ''lōtós'') is a plant that is referred to in stories from Greek and Roman mythology. The lotus tree is mentioned in Homer's '' Odyssey'' as bearing a fruit that caused a pleasant drowsiness, and which was said to be the only food of an island people called the Lotophagi or lotus-eaters. When they ate of the lotus tree, they would forget their friends and homes and would lose their desire to return to their native land in favor of living in idleness. Botanical candidates for the lotus tree include the persimmon ('' Diospyros lotus''), which is a sub-evergreen tree native to Southwest Asia and Southeast Europe that grows to about bearing yellowish green flowers, as well as ''Ziziphus lotus'', a plant with an edible fruit closely related to the jujube, native to the Mediterranean region of Europe, Asia and North Africa. In Ovid's '' Metamorphoses'', the nymph Lotis was the beautiful daughter of Neptune, the god of water and the sea. In order to flee the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Outis
Outis (a transliteration of the Ancient Greek pronoun , meaning " nobody" or "no one"). is an often used pseudonym that appeared famously in Classical Greek legends. Modern artists, writers, and others in public life have adopted the use of this pseudonym in order to hide their identity and it has been used for fictional characters as well. Ancient Greek origin of the pseudonym The Homeric hero Odysseus used the pseudonym "Outis" when he was fighting the Cyclops Polyphemus and the monster demanded his name. Odysseus replied instead that the pronoun was his name in order to trick the monster. After Odysseus had put out the monster's eye, Polyphemus shouted in pain to the other Cyclopes of the island. When they shouted back, inquiring whether Polyphemus was in danger, he replied that "Nobody" was trying to kill him, so presuming that he was not in any danger, none of them came to his rescue. The story of the Cyclops can be found in the ''Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ancient Greece And Wine
The influence of wine in ancient Greece helped ancient Greece trade with neighboring countries and regions. Many mannerisms and cultural aspects were associated with wine. It led to great change in Ancient Greece as well. The ancient Greeks pioneered new methods of viticulture and wine production that they shared with early winemaking communities in what are now France, Italy, Austria and Russia, as well as others, through trade and colonization. Along the way, they markedly influenced the ancient European winemaking cultures of the Celts, Etruscans, Scythians and ultimately the Romans.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pp. 326–329 Oxford University Press 2006 Origins Viticulture has existed in Greece since the late Neolithic period, with domestic cultivation becoming widespread by the early Bronze Age. Through trade with ancient Egypt, the Minoan civilization on Crete was introduced to Egyptian winemaking methods, an influence most like ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Polyphemus
Polyphemus (; , ; ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and legends", "many-voiced" or "very famous". Polyphemus first appeared as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of the ''Odyssey''. The satyr play of Euripides is dependent on this episode apart from one detail; Polyphemus is made a pederast in the play. Later Classical writers presented him in their poems as heterosexual and linked his name with the nymph Galatea. Often he was portrayed as unsuccessful in these, and as unaware of his disproportionate size and musical failings. In the work of even later authors, however, he is presented as both a successful lover and skilled musician. From the Renaissance on, art and literature reflect all of these interpretations of the giant. Odysseus and Polyphemus Ancient sources In Homer's epic, Odysseus lands on the island of the Cyclopes during his jou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. Her major symbols include Owl of Athena, owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. In art, she is generally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear. From her origin as an Aegean tutelary deity, palace goddess, Athena was closely associated with the city. She was known as ''Polias'' and ''Poliouchos'' (both derived from ''polis'', meaning "city-state"), and her temples were usually located atop the fortified acropolis in the central part of the city. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is dedicated to her, along with numero ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lotus-eaters
In Greek mythology, lotophages or the lotus-eaters () were a race of people living on an island dominated by the lotus tree off coastal Tunisia (Island of Djerba), a plant whose botanical identity is uncertain. The Lotophagi race in the ''Odyssey'' are said to eat the fruit of the ''lotos'' "sweet as honey". The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were a narcotic, causing the inhabitants to sleep in peaceful apathy. After they ate the lotus, they would forget their home and loved ones and long only to stay with their fellow lotus-eaters. Those who ate the plant never cared to report or return. Figuratively, 'lotus-eaters' denotes "people who spend their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns". Etymology In English, the lotus-eaters (, ''lōtophágoi''), are also referred to as the lotophagi or lotophaguses (singular ''lotophagus'' ) or lotophages (singular ''lotophage'' ). Mythology In Homer's epic poem ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Polites (friend Of Odysseus)
In Greek mythology, Polites (), the friend of Odysseus, was a minor character in the epics by Homer. Mythology Polites was a member of Odysseus's crew. Odysseus refers to him as his dearest friend, though he is only mentioned twice. It is unclear whether he was killed by Scylla or by the lightning bolt that Zeus hurled at Odysseus's ship. Polites features more prominently in some versions of the folk tale known as The Hero of Temesa, which recounts the tale of one of Odysseus's crew (in some sources unnamed, but in others, including in the retelling by Strabo, identified as Polities) who was killed on the island of Temesa and returned as a vengeful ghost. Various sources give different accounts of the death—some say he was stoned after raping a woman, others simply claim he was murdered by the locals—but in all versions, the ghost threatened the populace and extracted a high tribute in exchange for a more peaceful coexistence until he was defeated by a visitor to the islan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |