08/01/2026
So today I was finally able to see the movie The Odyssey, and I thought it was a great movie. However, I taught the text of the Odyssey and watched the original movie for about 20 years when I was teaching 9th grade English, and although the story lines were similar, I thought the focus of this movie was much more on the humanity of what these men were experiencing, rather than just focusing on Odysseus as this great hero with hubris.
For example, there's a scene where the men are hiding inside the Trojan Horse, and one of the soldiers says that they're literally sitting in human waste. It's gross, but it pointed out that these men were uncomfortable, exhausted, and scared, not just winning warriors.
There were a few other things like that. At one point, Odysseus says that they are going to Troy because Agamemnon wants to break through Troy for trade routes. The original text says the war started over Helen, “The face that launched a thousand ships.” I thought the new movie’s version feels more realistic to what humans actually do. We want a resource, we have power to take it, so we ransack whatever is in the way to get it.
And without giving anything away, one of the final lines really stuck with me. Odysseus says, “The dawn will break on the darkening world… and once again our mistakes will be forgotten." It’s so true. Humanity forgets the lessons it should have learned from the past.
This movie was darker, less fantastical, and more focused on the human condition.
Also, this summer, while visiting Corfu, Greece I got to see Odysseus’s ship (sort of). Corfu is traditionally believed to be the home of the Phaeacians who finally helped Odysseus get home.
And right off the main beach in Corfu is this really strangely shaped island (see pic!) that, according to legend, is actually Odysseus' ship. The legend says that Poseidon turned the ship to stone after the Phaeacians helped him.
It was just really neat to see my teaching experiences and my travel experiences collide. Sometimes the things you've spent years reading about or teaching suddenly become places you can actually stand.
Have you seen the movie? What were your thoughts?
