On The Odyssey

The forthcoming movie treatment of Homer's epic has generated a lot of commentary, from most of which I dissent. I thought, for example, that Elliot/Ellen Page would have been an excellent choice for Achilles in the Odyssey, as in the Odyssey Achilles is dead. We don't meet Achilles in the Odyssey, we meet the Shade of Achilles. The treatment is largely a meditation on the passing of mortal glory for a hero who was once thought the greatest of men, and has now been unmanned by death. Though Page's situation is different, the actor is better fit than many to fill such a role. 

I do agree with this Chronicles suggestion that you should probably encounter Homer's Odyssey itself before seeing the movie. I dissent a bit from the suggestion as to how.

I’d like to urge those interested in the film to read An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic, a 2017 memoir by Daniel Mendelsohn. Of course, you can also read Homer’s The Odyssey itself. Yet if you are looking for a brilliant exploration of the ancient poem, An Odyssey can’t be topped. 

Over the course of my life I've spent a lot of time with Odysseus, both in the Iliad and the Odyssey, but also as Plato treats him in the Lesser Hippias. I agree with the suggestion to pursue the encounter; not to read anything. 

Both the Iliad and the Odyssey are works of oral epic poetry. They are meant to be heard, not read. You will find them shockingly more engaging if you listen to an audiobook version aloud rather than trying to sit down with a huge tome and read it. If you develop a taste for the form, as I did in my youth, I recommend The Singer of Tales by Albert Lord, based upon the research of his mentor, Milman Parry.

There is a lot of discussion about which translation into English is best; much recent commentary dislikes the 'feminist' translation referenced by the director, although I have frankly heard good things about it from academics I know. Dad29 recommended a different one a few years ago, which I reviewed very briefly. I retain my opinion that the Fitzgerald is the best in English. Here is an unabridged audiobook: it is ten hours of your life, well-spent.

If any of you are interested, here are some things I've written at the Hall on the topic:

The debate within the Lesser Hippias, which is also in praise of disagreeable men like myself.

A discussion of Odysseus' invocation by Plato in the Laws.

Also from the commentary on the Laws, a comparison of Conan and Odysseus -- as well as a discussion of piracy!