The comic was initially created in Greek, in a black-and-white version, and then an online version in colour was introduced accompanied by an English translation. It retells the myth of Aphrodite’s affair with Ares discovered by Helios and revealed to all the gods by Hephaestus’  intrigue. The myth is known from the 8th book of The Odyssey by Homer, where the aoidos Demodocus sings it to the ruler of the Phaeacians. In the comic, however, it is Homer himself who paraphrases the incipit of The Odyssey while urging the Muse to impart the story to him.

Magda van Tilburg allows the illustrated characters to speak with the words straight from the text of The Odyssey. To make the comic its own cohesive entity, rather than a story within a story delaying the narrative arc, the author slightly modifies the Homeric text. The alterations are rare - certain words are rearranged or omitted, phrases, verses, and sentences are grammatically simpler (no need to search for a predicate of a sentence from within four verses). As a result, the text ceases to be an epic hexameter and becomes a lively dialogue in the form of comic bubbles (and with comments in additional boxes). 

Although the myth was sourced directly from the ancient literature, the author modernizes it, adapts it to today’s young readers and makes it more approachable providing illustrations. The topic of a love affair and infidelity caught in flagrante delicto might not be as sublime or epic as the duels of heroes of Troy, but with the witty illustrations the comic escapes vulgarities and brings the ancient lovers closer together. The theme was interpreted suggestively to connect the elements of Antiquity with modernity. The depictions of the Greek gods are quite conventional and that is why it is easy to recognise each of them individually by their attributes (thunder, trident, caduceus, corona radialis diadem, kithara, Corinthian helmet) or animals (owl). The drawings are also based on ancient works of art, such as the image of Aphrodite Kallipygos from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples (see below) or Poseidon of Melos, but every time they are enriched with modern details - expressive colours, shading, characterization of personalities with additional features, such as Poseidon’s eyebrows and facial hair in marine colours or tresses shaped like seahorses as he was god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses 

Because of the  level of difficulty of the text and the evoked eroticism, the comic is not aimed at younger children, but young adults can certainly use it to enrich the school-prescribed scope of readings from ancient texts and to see for themselves how relevant Homer can still be.

Print-screens courtesy of the Author