The difference is that the characters in 13 years a slave are historical people who lived barely 200 years ago.
The character win the Odyssey are mythologized: Helen is the daughter of Zeus/Jove
Lmao. Nice spin.
Also the difference between something based on a memoir, actual people actual events; and something probably almost entirely fictional. And as somebody else pointed out, Greece ain’t that far from Africa, who knows where that blood comes from. The myth says Zeus in the form of a swan impregnated Leda, so not Leda’s husband. I’ve often wondered about Zeus’ “side quests”, they seem like an ok way to excuse affairs “no honey I didn’t cheat on you, it was Zeus, in the form of a swan, I swear.”