The Odyssey: Why We're Still Inspired By A 2,700-Year-Old Poem

!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb';cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","mediaId":"c41e05a6-7ba0-42f1-8023-0f5ff30eab87"}).render("6a58df43e4b07a7875d1f605");}); Yes, it’s a very old and impressive text. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the modern-day successs of The Odyssey – a 24-book epic poem attributed to the Ancient Greek poet Homer – was ineviable. Lykophron’s Alexandra, for instance, is one of the most “neglected” Ancient Greek poems, Professor Simon Hornblower writes. I don’t reckon there’s anywhere near as much buzz around “the greatest lyric poet of ancient Greece”, Pindar, as there is Homer, either. In other words, “ancient” plus “a big deal in Ancient Greece” does not necessarily equal “relevant enough for a big-budget movie in 2026”. So why has a 12,000-plus-line work, finished around 725–675 BCE, remained so present in the imagination of modern audiences that Christopher Nolan has created a massive-scale, star-studded flick about it? HuffPost UK spoke to Jeffrey Carnes, an Associate Professor of Classics and Classical Civilisations at Syracuse University, about why we can’t let go of the centuries-old poem. Why do we still read and make art about The Odyssey? “The Odyssey has stuck with us so long because it has spectacular stories – Sirens, the Cyclops, Circe – that grab hold of our imaginations when we’re young,” Carnes explained. “But it also has subtleties of characterisation and narrative that we don’t expect in a poem from 2,700 years ago: it tells a non-linear story, with focus on three separate characters (Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus), who all have their own, sometimes competing interests. “In a poem of 24 books, Odysseus, the title character, doesn’t even appear until Book five!” Then, there’s the fact that reading and talking about The Odyssey has passed down through generations. “When we read it for the first time, we’re joining an age-old community of readers, and learning the really cool and important stuff that generations before us knew,” the expert said. We might be surprised by how familiar the book’s main character, Odysseus, feels too. He’s a ”strong character who knows what he wants, and will do whatever it takes to survive,” Carnes stated. “Homer opens the poem calling him polytropos – tricky, the man of many ways – but immediately adds that ‘many were those whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of.’ “When he gets in trouble – as with the Cyclops – it’s because he was too curious, and explored things he shouldn’t have. When the Sirens sing to him, what do they offer him? Knowledge. And only his clever trick of being tied to the mast kept him from running aground.” Where do I even start if I want to read The Odyssey? We asked Carnes what modern readers should do if they want to try reading the poem, but are a little put off by its length and/or language. He said that while reading the Odyssey in 2026 might feel “off-putting, at least at first”, at least we can comfort ourselves that Ancient Greeks probably felt the same way. “The story is told in an epic idiom that seemed old-fashioned to most of the Greeks who read it (a fifth-century Athenian would react to it the way we react to Shakespeare – difficult, but beautiful once you accept the challenges of reading it),” he shared. Adaptations and retellings, like the upcoming Nolan movie, can be a great way to approach the text if you’re not sure yet. But if you do want to read it, The Guardian said picking the right translation is “essential”. Carnes said Richmond Lattimore’s versioncaptures this “archaic and lofty aspect of the poem” best. When you start, be patient, and leave your expectations – as well as your 21st century ideals of morality – at the door. “I was surprised when I first read it how little of the poem was devoted to the famous adventures (Cyclops, Sirens, and so on), and how that was neatly contained within books nine to 12. So what’s the rest of the poem about? Homecoming, recognition, revenge – and I was shocked that Odysseus murdered all the Suitors simply for eating his cattle,” Carnes told us. “But in the world of the Odyssey this is considered the right thing to do – the gods approve of it, and urge his son Telemachus to participate in the revenge. (Anyone who suggests that Odysseus is troubled by this mass killing is missing the point of the story.)” Ultimately, The Odyssey is “an epic, an adventure story, and a Greek audience roots for the destruction of evil characters in the same way that we root for the destruction of the villains in film noir, Westerns, or the [Marvel Comic Universe]”. Related... Critics Hail The Odyssey As A 'Masterpiece' And Christopher Nolan's 'Best Film' Ever Zendaya Was 'Grateful' For Husband Tom Holland's 'Support' On The Set Of The Odyssey The Odyssey Director Christopher Nolan Has Strong Feelings About AI In The Film World

Yes, it’s a very old and impressive text. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the modern-day successs of The Odyssey – a 24-book epic poem attributed to the Ancient Greek poet Homer – was ineviable. Lykophron’s Alexandra, for instance, is one of the most “neglected” Ancient Greek poems, Professor Simon Hornblower writes. I don’t reckon there’s anywhere near as much buzz around “the greatest lyric poet of ancient Greece”, Pindar, as there is Homer, either. In other words, “ancient” plus “a big deal in Ancient Greece” does not necessarily equal “relevant enough for a big-budget movie in 2026”. So why has a 12,000-plus-line work, finished around 725–675 BCE, remained so present in the imagination of modern audiences that Christopher Nolan has created a massive-scale, star-studded flick about it? HuffPost UK spoke to Jeffrey Carnes, an Associate Professor of Classics and Classical Civilisations at Syracuse University, about why we can’t let go of the centuries-old poem. Why do we still read and make art about The Odyssey? “The Odyssey has stuck with us so long because it has spectacular stories – Sirens, the Cyclops, Circe – that grab hold of our imaginations when we’re young,” Carnes explained. “But it also has subtleties of characterisation and narrative that we don’t expect in a poem from 2,700 years ago: it tells a non-linear story, with focus on three separate characters (Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus), who all have their own, sometimes competing interests. “In a poem of 24 books, Odysseus, the title character, doesn’t even appear until Book five!” Then, there’s the fact that reading and talking about The Odyssey has passed down through generations. “When we read it for the first time, we’re joining an age-old community of readers, and learning the really cool and important stuff that generations before us knew,” the expert said. We might be surprised by how familiar the book’s main character, Odysseus, feels too. He’s a ”strong character who knows what he wants, and will do whatever it takes to survive,” Carnes stated. “Homer opens the poem calling him polytropos – tricky, the man of many ways – but immediately adds that ‘many were those whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of.’ “When he gets in trouble – as with the Cyclops – it’s because he was too curious, and explored things he shouldn’t have. When the Sirens sing to him, what do they offer him? Knowledge. And only his clever trick of being tied to the mast kept him from running aground.” Where do I even start if I want to read The Odyssey? We asked Carnes what modern readers should do if they want to try reading the poem, but are a little put off by its length and/or language. He said that while reading the Odyssey in 2026 might feel “off-putting, at least at first”, at least we can comfort ourselves that Ancient Greeks probably felt the same way. “The story is told in an epic idiom that seemed old-fashioned to most of the Greeks who read it (a fifth-century Athenian would react to it the way we react to Shakespeare – difficult, but beautiful once you accept the challenges of reading it),” he shared. Adaptations and retellings, like the upcoming Nolan movie, can be a great way to approach the text if you’re not sure yet. But if you do want to read it, The Guardian said picking the right translation is “essential”. Carnes said Richmond Lattimore’s versioncaptures this “archaic and lofty aspect of the poem” best. When you start, be patient, and leave your expectations – as well as your 21st century ideals of morality – at the door. “I was surprised when I first read it how little of the poem was devoted to the famous adventures (Cyclops, Sirens, and so on), and how that was neatly contained within books nine to 12. So what’s the rest of the poem about? Homecoming, recognition, revenge – and I was shocked that Odysseus murdered all the Suitors simply for eating his cattle,” Carnes told us. “But in the world of the Odyssey this is considered the right thing to do – the gods approve of it, and urge his son Telemachus to participate in the revenge. (Anyone who suggests that Odysseus is troubled by this mass killing is missing the point of the story.)” Ultimately, The Odyssey is “an epic, an adventure story, and a Greek audience roots for the destruction of evil characters in the same way that we root for the destruction of the villains in film noir, Westerns, or the [Marvel Comic Universe]”. Related... Critics Hail The Odyssey As A 'Masterpiece' And Christopher Nolan's 'Best Film' Ever Zendaya Was 'Grateful' For Husband Tom Holland's 'Support' On The Set Of The Odyssey The Odyssey Director Christopher Nolan Has Strong Feelings About AI In The Film World