Blockbuster filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s epic movie “The Odyssey,” set to release on July 17, has fans prepping for the viewing with the intensity of studying for a literature exam.
While Nolan’s cinematic experience has its own dedicated fanbase, this release is introducing the Greek mythological world to several newcomers, making them instantly obsessed while giving nerds a reason to dust off their books for a re-read.
Although it is impossible to cram the entire scope of Greek history into a single article, here is your essential Greek guide to “The Odyssey” before you watch the movie.
While many are aware of the famous Greek gods and their tales, which have been interpreted in different ways throughout the years, the family tree of these characters extends beyond time itself. And remembering a few key names from the epic may give you more than enough context to understand the story.
“The Odyssey” is a second epic written roughly 2,800 years ago by the ancient Greek poet Homer who was also blind.
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It follows his first epic, “The Iliad,” which is set during the Trojan War and tells the story of the conflict that erupted between the kingdoms of Troy and Sparta as a result of the love between Paris and Helen, which is a background story essential to understanding the events of “The Odyssey.”
During a celebration amongst all the gods and goddesses, a competition over who the fairest goddess is among Athena (the goddess of wisdom), Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty), and Hera (the queen of the gods and wife of Zeus) starts to brew and the decision to settle the quarrel falls into the hands of Paris, the prince of Troy, which sparks a great war. Promised the love of the most beautiful woman in the world by Aphrodite, Paris chooses her.
Fate leads Paris to Sparta, where Helen, the beauty of all beauties, is married to King Menelaus. All hell breaks loose when Aphrodite’s charm makes Helen fall in love with the Trojan prince, leading them to flee together.
This provokes Menelaus to gather the most skilled and powerful kings and warriors from the surrounding kingdoms to wage war against Troy and win back his queen.
One such powerful king in the troop was Odysseus, the ruler of Ithaca, known for his cleverness and cunning war strategies.
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The Trojan War lasted for ten years, costing the lives of several great kings, but the Greeks won in the end, thanks to a crafty plan led by Odysseus, which defeated the Trojans and brought back Helen.
Nolan’s film focuses on Odysseus’s journey back to Ithaca after the war. It took Odysseus an additional ten long, gruelling years to reach his home and finally reunite with his faithful wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus.
The gods kept sabotaging his ship each time he set sail because he had been cursed by Poseidon, the god of the sea, after Odysseus harmed the sea god’s son, the Cyclops, during one of the many trials he faced on his way home.
Director and producer Christopher Nolan brings these epic mythological events to life with a promising cast, featuring Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as his son Telemachus, Zendaya as Athena, and Anne Hathaway as Penelope. The film has already received significant buzz, drawing both positive and negative criticism from its trailer alone. Fans are eagerly waiting to watch this ancient spectacle unfold to see if it reaches their massive expectations.