A quick refresher before you hit the theater: 5 must-know mythic facts about the ancient Greek epic The Odyssey
Read this before you head to the theater and you’ll feel it even more ✨
Summary
- Sequel to the Trojan War: the story takes place after the 10-year Trojan War and follows the Greek coalition commanders’ arduous journey home.
- Inventor of the Trojan Horse stratagem: the protagonist Odysseus is known for his “cunning,” and the famous Trojan Horse ruse was his idea.
- Ten years adrift at sea: on his way home he angers the sea god Poseidon and is obstructed by the Cyclops, the sirens, and the witch Circe.
- Penelope’s weaving scheme: his wife, to stall the hundreds of suitors, claims she’ll only remarry after finishing her father-in-law’s burial shroud, but secretly unravels it at night.
Whenever a major mythology-inspired movie hits theaters, it makes you want to revisit those ancient stories. With The Odyssey set to arrive soon, attention has once again turned to this sweeping ancient Greek seafaring adventure. The story is based on the epic poem by Homer, the ancient Greek poet of the 8th century BC. It follows Odysseus, king of Ithaca, on his arduous 10-year journey home after the Trojan War ends.
Before heading to the theater for the lavish visual effects and cast, brush up on five key pieces of background on this classic myth and get to know the gods, monsters, and battles of wits woven into the script.
- Related reading: Taking on a mythic epic for the first time: After Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s latest ambitious work, The Odyssey, is finally hitting theaters!
The sequel to The Iliad: a brutal journey home after the Trojan War
For one of the most complete worldviews in ancient Greek mythology, Homer’s two great epics are essential. The earlier work, The Iliad, centers on the 10-year Trojan War, while The Odyssey serves as its direct sequel, showing just how difficult the heroes’ journey home was after winning the war.
Odysseus spends 10 years away from his homeland of Ithaca fighting in the war, then another 10 years lost at sea. Twenty full years of his youth are spent on the battlefield and in the merciless waves of the Mediterranean. That’s why the English word “odyssey” later came to mean a long journey full of adventures.
The legendary Trojan Horse was his idea
Many people may not realize that the giant wooden horse that led to Troy’s final downfall was Odysseus’s idea.
What makes Odysseus so compelling among epic heroes is his human vulnerability and extraordinary resilience. He doesn’t have Achilles’ invulnerability, and against the sea’s cruelty and powerful enemies surrounding him, he relies on his gift for persuasion and quick thinking. This desperate drive to survive against all odds may be why the story has endured for thousands of years.
A 10-year fight for survival at sea: the classic mythological monsters
What makes this journey such fitting material for a fantasy epic is, above all, the mythological creatures Odysseus encounters along the way.
After blinding Polyphemus, the Cyclops son of Poseidon, god of the sea, Odysseus thoroughly enrages Poseidon, causing his fleet to suffer devastating blows time and again. Along the way, they also face the Sirens, whose songs lure sailors onto the rocks, and the witch Circe, who likes turning men into pigs. Each ordeal tests human greed, temptation, and willpower.
Penelope’s clever unweaving strategy: a battle of wits at the loom
The story’s other main thread unfolds in Odysseus’s homeland. With the king missing for nearly 20 years, hundreds of greedy nobles flood the palace, pressuring Queen Penelope to remarry while taking the opportunity to squander the royal family’s wealth.
Faced with these overbearing suitors, Penelope proves herself every bit as clever as her husband. She tells them she cannot make a decision until she has finished weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law. By day, she diligently weaves in full view of everyone; late at night, she secretly unravels what she has made. The scheme of this never-finished cloth successfully buys her three full years, until a maid betrays her and exposes it.
Athena and Poseidon’s game of strategy: divine intervention
One of the defining features of ancient Greek mythology is how often the gods intervene in mortal lives. In The Odyssey, Poseidon, god of the sea, is the ultimate antagonist, continually bringing disaster upon Odysseus; Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, is his powerful protector.
Athena not only admires Odysseus’s intelligence, she repeatedly takes different human forms to guide him at critical moments and even personally goes to Mount Olympus to plead with Zeus. Once you understand the intricate protection and punishment between gods and mortals, watching Odysseus set sail again on the big screen will leave you with a completely different sense of emotion and understanding.
With the movie about to hit theaters, share these mythological tidbits with the friends you’re planning to go with. You’ll surely connect with the story even more when you watch it.
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- Christopher Nolan’s first mythic epic: after Oppenheimer, his magnum opus Odyssey is finally in theaters
- Zendaya does it again: The Odyssey promo looks are gorgeous from Greek goddess to futuristic couture
- The crew really spent nearly four months filming at sea! 5 behind-the-scenes facts from The Odyssey that are even crazier than the movie
