Overall, a Big Thumbs-up: Classics Faculty React to Nolan’s Odyssey Movie

Associate Professor of Classics, Chair of Classics Department Jennifer B. Clarke Kosak :

Ancient Greek and Roman storytellers take advantage of two facets of mythic stories: their recognizable core and their flexibility. Because audiences bring with them an understanding of the myth's basic premise, they will appreciate (or not) the choices that different storytellers make in constructing their narratives. With reference to the core, the early fourth-century-BCE Greek comic poet Antiphanes wrote, "Tragedy is a lucky genre in every way, since first of all the stories are known by the spectators before anyone even says anything; thus, a poet only needs to remind. So I'll just say, 'Oedipus' and they know all the rest: the father is Laius, the mother Jocasta, their daughters and sons, what he will suffer, what he has done."

Aristotle made a similar point about The Odyssey itself, writing in the Poetics, "Of The Odyssey, the core story is not long: a man is away from home for many years, carefully watched by Poseidon and all alone, while at the same time things at his home are in such a state that his property is being destroyed by suitors and his son is being plotted against; he arrives, storm-tossed, and after making some people recognize him, he attacks and survives, but destroys his enemies. This is the core story; the rest is episodes." I note a distinction between these two accounts, though: Antiphanes suggests that just the name alone-Oedipus-does all the work, whereas Aristotle deliberately provides the story of "a man," not naming Odysseus himself. And indeed, while Homer's Odyssey claims Odysseus's homecoming story as its central theme, the poem repeatedly plays with the name and identity of its hero (an issue that I feel Nolan's film only lightly touches upon).

"I enjoyed Nolan's spectacular film and am still pondering the choices he made. For me, Homer's epic remains the most fascinating and satisfying version of Odysseus' story."

Ancient poets use the existence of the core to play with the details, sometimes in radical ways, in order to emphasize their own thematic interests. The many stories that feature Odysseus depict him above all as an extraordinarily capable survivor, but that survivor can be wily, empathetic, cruel, or humble, depending on the interests of the storyteller. The competitive aspect of ancient poetry rewarded the poet who could tell the most compelling version of the mythic tale, sometimes even with prizes; that version became the foundation upon which all the others built. I enjoyed Nolan's spectacular film and am still pondering the choices he made. For me, Homer's epic remains the most fascinating and satisfying version of Odysseus' story.