The Odyssey by Homer is a story of homecoming, but the story in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey doesn’t align with that theme.
Homer’s work is a tale of a man who defies the gods to return home to his beloved wife and city. Like all humans, he sins and wrongs others, but he is shown immense grace and, ultimately, forgiveness.
Though not a Christian classic, Homer’s poem can still point us to the gospel. It paints a picture of the home that waits to welcome us, not because of the good we have — or haven’t — done, but because of the undeserved forgiveness shown to us by a God who loves us.
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey that premiered in July is definitely an epic. It depicts unforgettable battles and famous scenes in vivid and dramatic detail with an underlying theme of obedience to Zeus’ law: “Treat everyone as if they could be a god in disguise.”
In the end — spoiler alert — Odysseus breaches the law. He kills the suitors in his own home, who themselves abused the law. The punishment is banishment, and he surrenders Ithaca to his young son, Telemachus. So, if it’s an epic adaptation that depicts Odysseus’ struggle and journey, what’s the problem?
The problem is, that is not how the poem ended.
In Homer’s epic, Odysseus is restored to his home. He leaves, suffers, survives, and finally returns, restored to his kingdom and family upon his arrival. The poem ends with forgiveness, whereas the movie ends with banishment, changing the ending and altering the original message of the poem.
Or does it?
Molly Hayes ’30 offered a different perspective: perhaps both endings seek to establish justice. In Homer’s poem, the suitors’ abuse of Penelope’s hospitality creates an injustice that Odysseus corrects by killing them and reclaiming his rule of Ithaca. Nolan, however, emphasizes Odysseus’ own violence, suggesting that he may “perpetuate the cycle” he is trying to end.
“Is Odysseus a victim or villain?” Hayes asked.
She wondered whether handing the kingdom to Telemachus could restore justice. Her questions raise an important question: What does Odysseus actually deserve?
For me, the difference comes down to Athena’s role. In Homer’s poem, she is a goddess with a will and character of her own.
Even as Odysseus defies the gods, she guides him, provides wisdom, and ultimately restores peace.
In Nolan’s movie, as Caroline Stewart ’28 observed, Athena feels more like “a vessel of Odysseus’ own guilt and shame.”
Josh Read ’30 similarly described her as something that exists within Odysseus’ conscience; if there is no god to forgive sins, then man is left overwhelmed by his inability to keep the law.
Many students found themselves missing the simple beauty of a man finally coming home, even if he does not deserve to. That is what makes his homecoming worth telling. Despite the movie’s impressive battles, beautiful imagery, and epic scale, I didn’t want a new ending. I wanted to see why the old one mattered.