The Odyssey

The Odyssey is a spin-off on Homer’s epic poem about a man in a coma.

This Australian animated movie doesn’t have very good reviews.

In this TV movie version of the Odyssey Armand Assante plays Odysseus, Isabella Rossellini acts as Athene, and Vanessa Williams is Kalypso.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a modernized spin-off on th Odyssey directed by the Coen brothers and starring George Clooney.

Troy is a movie about the Trojan war, the war that Odysseus left home to fight in. Odysseus is played by Sean Bean.

Ulysses, directed by Joseph Strick is based on the James Joyce novel. Ulysses another name for Odysseus.

Class of the Titans, directed by Brad Goodchild, has a character named Odie Star based on Odysseus.

Ulysses 31, directed by Bernard Deyriès and Kyosuke Mikuriya, is a Franco-Japanese anime production.

Unterwegs mit Odysseus, directed by Tony Munzlinger, is a German documentary tracing the sites of Odysseus’s journey.

"King of Pain" by The Police…this song refers to Odysseus.

"Tales of Brave Ulysses" by Cream.

The image on this vase depicts Odysseus coming up against the Sirens.

An ancient image of Odysseus.

A painting of Odysseus and Circe.

This vase has a picture of Odysseus getting his feet washed.

Odysseus in the Underworld chatting with Teiresias.

Odysseus hanging on to the bottom of a sheep.

Another vase with Odysseus tied to the underside of a sheep.

This one has a picture of Odysseus slaying all of the suitors.

This vase shows Penelope sitting at her loom next to her son.

Odysseus and Nausicaa on…another vase.

…here’s a copy of the original Greek text.

No matter which translation you’re using, it’s always convenient to have another translation nearby in case one section is particularly confusing. Also, two is always better than one. This is a really straightforward, simply-translated prose version of the Odyssey from some scholars at MIT. You can also read another one at the same website (The Chicago Homer) that has the text in Greek.

To escape persecution because he was Jewish, the German literary scholar Erich Auerbach fled to Istanbul, Turkey, where he remained for the duration of WWII. While he was there, with only access to a limited number of books, he wrote a famous work of literary criticism entitled Mimesis: A History of the Representation of Reality in Western Literature. The first chapter of the book, which is itself very famous, is called “Odysseus’ Scar”; in it, Auerbach compares the narrative techniques of Homer with those of the Bible. Even though most scholars now think that Auerbach’s presentation of Homer is too simplistic, his essay still offers many interesting insights. You can read it here

As we said, maps are tricky when it comes to the Odyssey, since Homer probably was working from geography but probably not always true to it. Still, here’s a rough idea of where some of Odysseus’s episodes may have taken place.

Here’s another take on the geographical locations of Odysseus’s travels.

Need to brush up on your Greek mythology? This is the site for you.