Polites

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"Canon" Polites design illustrated by Mirscy
Biographical Information
Aliases	My friend (by Odysseus) Pancake (By The monster who killed him)
Gender	Male
Occupation	Soldier of the Greek Army
Affiliation	Kingdom of Ithaca Greek Army Odysseus
Status	Deceased
Died	Beaten by Polyphemus' club
Behind The Scenes
Appearances	The Troy Saga The Cyclops Saga The Underworld Saga The Wisdom Saga The Vengeance Saga
Actor	Steven Dookie Macy Mateer (Demos)
Range	C3-B4 (D5 Falsetto)

This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms!

-Polites ("Open Arms")

Polites was Odysseus' best friend and a soldier in his army.

Biography

Early life

From early songs we find out that Polites grew up with Odysseus in Ithaca. From Your Light, we find out that Odysseus once saved Polites from a boar sent by Athena when they were playing in the woods.

Act I

Polites first appears as Odysseus' army sets sail for Ithaca after having defeated the Trojan Army. When Eurylochus informs Odysseus that the food supply has run out, Polites is the one who points out the island of the Lotus Eaters in the distance and suggests asking them to share some food. Odysseus chooses Polites to accompany him onto the island. In Open Arms, Polites tries to convince Odysseus to open up and be more trusting and kind. He attempts to show him that being kind can be better than jumping to violence. When facing the Winions, he asks them kindly if they have any food to share, and they offer the pair some Lotus Fruit. Odysseus points out that the fruit is dangerous to eat as it can control the mind. He tells Polites that this is what kindness and trust gets you, to which Polites kindly asks the Winions where they can get other food. The Winions point out an island to the east where they can find different food, and the pair are sent on their way. Polites shows Odysseus that they can be successful if they greet the world with open arms.

Soon, the crew arrive at the island in the east, and a small group of men go to explore, Polites among them. They are overjoyed to find a large cave with plenty of sheep for them all to eat. Things take a turn for the worse as they find out that the cave belongs to the Cyclops, Polyphemus, who demands retribution for the lives of his sheep. A fight breaks loose and the men fight for their lives against the giant. Things look to be going in their favor until the Cyclops decides he has had enough and pulls out a club. Polyphemus proceeds to bludgeon many of Odysseus' men including Polites, who dies calling for his captain to help him.

The loss of Polites leaves a shadow on the rest of the musical as his death changes both how Odysseus acts and feels, and how the surviving soldiers view him.

Appearances

The Troy Saga

• Full Speed Ahead (Debut)
• Open Arms

The Cyclops Saga

• Polyphemus
• Survive
• Remember Them (Mentioned)
• My Goodbye (Mentioned)

The Ocean Saga

• Keep your Friends Close (Mentioned)

The Underworld Saga

• The Underworld (Open Arms Reprise)
• Monster (Mentioned)

The Wisdom Saga

• Love In Paradise (Open Arms Reprise)

The Vengeance Saga

• Get in the Water (Open Arms Reprise)

Trivia

• In the demos, Polites was voiced by Macy Mateer, Jorge Rivera-Herrans' friend in college who helped him work on his first musical, My Heart Says Go.
• Polites was only mentioned twice in the source material.
• Polites is represented by Mallet type instruments.
• Polites is lovingly referred to as a pancake amongst the fandom due to his unfortunate death at the hands of the cyclops Polyphemus.
• While Polites himself does not appear in the song itself, Odysseus (song) has Eurymachus make a reference to his song Open Arms when trying to plead with Odysseus to let him and the remaining suiters live.

References

1. https://www.tiktok.com/@jorgeherrans?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
2. https://genius.com/albums/Jorge-rivera-herrans/Epic-the-musical