What a wonderful question! I know I don’t write nearly enough Penelope in this series-
Penelope feels a little odd, but not in a bad way. Odysseus has been around at least one god for his entire life, and he has interacted much more with them, aside from his heritage.
Penelope is used to Athena, but even that took some adjusting. She has heard more about Athena than she’s interacted with her, as she probably only started really getting to know her around the time Telemachus was born. And then she left with Odysseus for war. And then just, showed up again? Within the past couple years? Around the time Telemachus started pushing back against suitors?
Penelope is the daughter of a nymph, so she’s used to some divine nonsense going on. Athena she got used to, especially having heard stories from Odysseus. Hermes is something else entirely!
Odysseus hasn’t told her about Hermes. She likely learned about him from listening to Anticlea tell Telemachus stories of his ancestor. In the case of “not afraid to send a message”, Penelope meets Hermes a few times while Telemachus is young before they set up their routine. Outside of that fic’s circumstance, I have a personal hc that Penelope goes to where Anticlea often sits and waits for Odysseus only to catch a glimpse of Hermes comforting her in her final moments before disappearing with her shade.
That moment is enough for Penelope to evaluate him. She feels confident that the prayers she has sent him for her husband’s safe passage are being heard because this god is clearly kind and devoted to his family - so if Athena has brought him here to recover after he nearly died to uphold that which hire prayers sought? He’s family. I think she has a hard time walking the line of respect for the gods (still giving Athena and Hermes titles, not saying a word to instigate them, continually offering sacrifices) and the openness she feels toward someone who appears so young, so close in age to her son (gentle touches, eye contact, offering to help even though he can usually take care of himself).
Hermes is also a little more buttoned up around her - throughout this series I make a point of him struggling with being a Proper, Dangerous god and acting casually with his family - and Penelope isn’t his by blood. He did not bear witness to her birth, did not instill her with cunning and nimble fingers. So they both kind of fumble over how to act - and it might be fun for me to write a fic focused on them, too! A painfully awkward fic lmao,
Tl;dr Penelope accepts Hermes as family without question but neither of them know whether they’re Formal or Casual
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TheGrammarHawk Wed 02 Apr 2025 11:22PM UTC
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