It's Greek to Me

Tonight we saw the bad side of Poseidon.  I mean sure, he seems like a nice guy with the trident and all.  Who can forget that time he helped out Jason and the Argonauts, this ginormous figure emerging and holding back those collapsing cliffs.  And how can any guy responsible for the oceans of the world be that much of a jerk?  But he sure gave Odysseus a hard time this evening, that's for sure.

Tonight we were back at the Ed Cabell Theater to see a production of "The Odyssey," which was imaginative and unique.  It was a very creative telling of an ancient story, one that the three of us enjoyed quite a bit.  It was pretty long, and we were somewhat tired by the end of it all.  But I'm sure Odysseus was even more exhausted.  The poor guy went through quite a bit.  Here he is below, rowing again, hoping to get away from something:

That something may be a Cyclops.  Who happens to be Poseidon's son.  Who Odysseus pokes in the eye with a burning stick.  Hence Poseidon getting a bit perturbed.  But the cyclops had it coming, certainly after that faux pas of eating some of Odysseus' crew members.  Awkward!

The cyclops was pretty amazing, and they did a great job with Charybdis and Scylla.  This great duo has been wreaking sea havoc for years.  I think "Scylla and Charybdis" would be a great rock band name, by the way.  But can we talk about Charybdis a moment?  Scylla I get.  It's a multi-headed sea monster.  But Charybdis?  It's a whirpool.  And while it seems threatening, it seems sort of easy to avoid.

ODYSSEUS:  "Sail on, men!"

POLYETHANOL:  "But sir!  It's Charybdis!  Off the forward bow!"

ODYSSEUS:  "Then sail to the starboard."

POLYETHANOL:  "Is that right or left?"

ODYSSEUS:  "Right."

POLYETHANOL:  "But that's where the sea monster Scylla is!"

ODYSSEUS: "Then go to the port side instead.  What's so hard about this?"

POLYETHANOL:  "?"

ODYSSEUS:  "Port is left."

POLYETHANOL:  "Right, sir!"

ODYSSEUS:  "No, left."

Charybdis is just a bit Greek whirlpool.  To add a bit more menace, there are some illustrations online if you want to look them up, drawings that show a whirpool with teeth.  As if it is part Sarlacc monster.  In both cases, the danger comes when you get near said creatures.  Sort of like when you get close to a yellow jacket nest.  The solution:  don't go near them, and you should be okay.

That is, unless you run into the sirens, or Circe, who turns everyone into pigs.  

Tonight's play had a lot that Madison was familiar with.  She said as much during the intermission, as they must have been talking about this in school recently.  That's great, because Greek mythology is a lot of fun. Sure, it's weird.  But it's got some fun elements too.  We should check out some other Greek mythology movies like "Hercules," "Jason and the Argonauts," "Medea," and "Madea's Family Reunion."

Okay, no on that last one.  But we have seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which was fun.  Daddy remembers studying Greek mythology in sixth grade, and having the role of Hades.  As much fun as it was, James Woods did it so much better in "Hercules."

Last week we were learning about Greek mythology in the stars, with constellations telling stories.  And now here we were again with Odysseus, so it seems to be another little theme here, right?

We'll see.  Tonight we were pretty tired getting home after the lengthy play.  Daddy sat directly by the tallest man in Hall County.  He was in the front row, and I'm not making this up:  he had to duck in order to get through an average doorway.  That's how tall this guy was.  And he was wide too.  It was slightly challenging to see, to say the least.  But the theater is set up in a way that there's action all around you, and this was a fun play to see.  Madison didn't have any view obstructions, and got to see it all.  Athena was pretty cool.

The rest of the day was work, piano practice, and cleaning up the house a bit.  Which was just as adventurous as a trip overseas to battle a giant whirlpool.  Actually, that would be a great name for a toilet, wouldn't it?