A Note on the Odyssey Discourse

Good day, Nooklings, it's your friendly neighbourhood classicist here to join the discourse about the Odyssey because apparently that is what we are all doing now.

I have seen various opinions about the Odyssey film; let me share a few, and then let me share my own.

'I am mad that it isn't an accurate portrayal of Bronze Age Greece.'

'I don't care that it isn't an accurate portrayal of Bronze Age Greece because it is a myth, and myths change over time.'

'Agamemnon's helmet looks stupid.'

'I care that this one specific thing isn't accurate to Homer's telling of the Odyssey.'

'I'm not going to talk about the Odyssey because Classical mythology dominates the field.'

'I don't really care about it either way, I just want to see a fun film about some dude trying to get home to his wife.'

These are all valid. Do you want to know what isn't valid? People who think they are better than those who have a differing opinion.

I have said multiple times to many people that I am looking forward to pulling this film apart. I am going to judge the costuming, the script, the plot and how closely it sticks to the most well-known version of the myth, and do you want to know why? Because I enjoy doing that. I do it with almost anything historical, especially if it's an area I know a fair bit about. Doing this flexes my brain muscles, gives me things to research and often provides topics for discussion and opportunities to educate people. I also love seeing what media gets right, and I will also share those points.

Some of my fellow classicists just want to go and enjoy the story, and enjoy seeing something they love on the big screen. Some are excited to share a bit of their special interest with friends and loved ones in a way that is accessible to more people. Some are excited about how modern media introduces new people to our field. Some genuinely have no opinion either way and probably won't watch it. That is all fine!

What isn't fine is the people going into the comments of posts made by others and acting like their opinion is THE best opinion on the matter, or spouting falsehoods while trying to claim authority because they have studied Classics. I saw someone arguing today that 'Homer isn't even the real author and is just a name we (modern readers) gave to the author, and it was written purely as entertainment,' but it is so much more nuanced than that. We don't know who composed the Odyssey (or the Iliad, for that matter), and I say composed because they were oral poems before they were written down. They are likely much older stories than we can imagine, and could hold some truths in them. The main point here is that we simply do not know, and going off at someone in a comment on TikTok and stating things as facts that are actually things we can never know for certain - just because they disagree with you about a film - is ridiculous. Also, to the person who I saw saying, 'Why is he even there? He's not in the Odyssey.' He is, he's in book 11, in the Underworld. So fingers crossed that that is when we actually see him.

By the way, I personally think Agamemnon's helmet looks cool as heck, and Telemachus wearing trousers gives me an excuse to explain to people why that wouldn't have happened in the Classical period.

I apologise for the little rant there. My main point is, if people want to talka bout inaccuracies, let them. If people want to just enjoy a fun story, let them. If people want to do both? let them.