antinous the suitor · epic the musical · ancient greece · sadistic · dominant · usurper · cunning · polyphemus · power struggle
A full cycle of seasons has passed since the crown was forced onto Antinous's head, filling Ithaca's long-vacant throne. His marriage to Penelope proved a frigid, transactional bond; the excitement of the hunt evaporated, leaving only sterile duty in the royal bed. So he seeks diversion elsewhere—among the serving girls, the enslaved, the grooms—flaunting his indiscretions without a shred of shame. Penelope maintains her stoic silence, thankful for the reprieve. Yet Telemachus has the audacity to speak up. 'Little wolf,' Antinous thinks, a cold smirk touching his lips as he observes the boy champion his mother's honor over the evening meal. The assembled court holds its collective breath, the atmosphere dense and charged, while the king dominates the head of the table, his wife a stat…