Odyssey is almost three hours long and I was riveted from start to finish. It was a little bit like watching Titanic, where we all know the ending, but we still sit at the edge of our seats, hands balled to fists, feet fidgeting.

But then, it was the Odyssey, after all, based on one of the oldest works of literature in human culture. Attributed to Homer and first written and composed around the 8th or 7th century BC, the Odyssey is actually a series of 24 books of poetry. Yes, ancient Greek poetry in the dactylic hexameter, which is a form of meter commonly used in both ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Unfortunately, I have never studied Greek and therefore can’t appreciate Greek poetry, but I have read Latin poetry, particularly Ovid, and it’s also in the same meter, the dactylic hexameter. Trust me, reading Latin poems in the original is one of the most beautiful experiences in literature, and one of the most difficult ones – after all, who can read Latin?

Back then, most people were illiterate, and in order to tell a story, and repeat a story, it was best to have it be a poem, so it flowed smoothly, somewhat like modern songs, where we remember the lyrics because they are associated with music and a rhythm.

Per Wikipedia, here is a picture of the oldest-known manuscript fragment of the Odyssey, produced in Ptolemaic Egypt during the 3rd century BC and unearthed in Medinet Ghoram:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=152028761

Christopher Nolan started with the poems of Homer in the Odyssey, left out much detail but focused on the most memorable and iconic imagery and drama that we all know even today, almost 3,000 years after it was first written.

It’s amazing how much information from the Odyssey made it into our current culture. We all know the names of Odysseus, Achilles, Athena and Penelope. We know locations like Sparta and Ithaca, which is even today a modern city in upstate New York. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, a state in ancient Greece. There is Calypso, the nymph who rescues Odysseus from the sea and nurses him to health but then holds him prisoner as her lover for many years. We know of the gods Zeus, Poseidon and Helios, all of which play central roles in this story. We know the Scylla, a multi-headed monster who eats sailors that pass by its den. We know of Sirens, mythical half-bird, half-woman creatures whose song is so seductive, sailors jump into the ocean and to their deaths because they have to get nearer to the Sirens. The English word “siren” came from that. We know of the cyclops Polyphemus, a giant one-eyed goat-herder who will eat humans like sushi. But he is also the son of the god Poseidon and he directs his father to take revenge. There is the goddess Circe who turns Odysseus’ men into pigs. In the poems, Circe and Odysseus become lovers and he stays with her for a year. And of course, the most iconic reference of the Odyssey is the Trojan Horse, which takes a leading role in this drama. Everyone knows what a Trojan Horse is.

All of this makes it into the movie Odyssey. Matt Damon plays a very credible Odysseus. The fighting scenes are numerous and intense, almost like our modern superhero movies. But that, too, is consistent with battle scenes in other epic movies that we have all seen, with themes like Napoleon, World War II, the Civil War or the Vietnam War. Be ready for lots of blood and gore, not always visible, but in your imagination.

In summary, Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is a monumental cinematic achievement. It is breathtaking with outsized cinematography and an intense soundtrack. I think there was some Oscar material in Odyssey. I am glad I watched it and I recommend you do too, and perhaps then study up on the classic origins of it all. This Wikipedia link will help.