Performing Homeric islands: Homeric receptions in (post-)Hellenistic Asia.

This article critically examines Homeric receptions in two distinct contexts: the Sophytos inscription from (post-)Hellenistic Central Asia (Kandahar, Afghanistan) dating to the second century BCE–early CE, and the 2023 K-pop song "Sugar Rush Ride" by TXT from South Korea. Both works engage with episodes from Homer's *Odyssey*, notably Odysseus' fabricated Cretan identity, the lotus-eating motif, and the Phaeacian episode, but reflect their unique socio-cultural and economic milieus. The Sophytos inscription reinterprets anti-mercantile themes in the *Odyssey* by legitimizing long-distance trade and mercantile performance, while "Sugar Rush Ride" metaphorically addresses modern colonial legacies of sugar production and consumption, linking K-pop's global cultural economy to historical and neo-colonial dynamics. By juxtaposing these receptions, the article advocates for a decolonized approach to Hellenistic studies that recognizes diverse local appropriations of Hellenism beyond traditional Eurocentric frameworks, highlighting the epistemic limitations in understanding ancient Central Asia and contemporary East Asian classical receptions.