The Odyssey - Related texts
Canonical classics
Ancient Roman interpretations
C19th Interpretations
C20th Interpretations
Dante's Inferno
Goethe's Faust???
Arthur Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel."? (Inspired 2001 A space odyssey)
Alfred Lord Tennyson - "Ulysses", "The Lotus Eaters" (Poems) https://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/122402-alfred-lord-tennysons-lotos-eaters-analysis/
C. P. Cavafy, "Ithaca" from C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Translation Copyright © 1975, 1992 by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Reproduced with permission of Princeton University Press.
- Virgil's Aeneid
- Ovid's Metamorphoses
- Lucian of Samosata - A True History - satirical novel involving a long journey across the seas and into space.
C19th Interpretations
- Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote - F CER
- H Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang, The World's Desire (1890) describes Odysseus' final voyage, undertaken after arrives from his second to find Ithaca plague-ravaged and his wife dead. His guide is Helen of Troy and the story revolves around the court of the pharaoh Meneptah and his queen Meriamun..
- The adventures of Telemachus (1871) translated from French tale of 1699 by Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai. Written as a moral text for a aristocrat he was tutoring, it tells the adventures of Odysseus' son and his tutor, Mentor, also led by Athena/Minerva. It was a common part of noble boys' education during the enlightenment period.
C20th Interpretations
- James Joyce - Ulysses
Dante's Inferno
Goethe's Faust???
Arthur Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel."? (Inspired 2001 A space odyssey)
Alfred Lord Tennyson - "Ulysses", "The Lotus Eaters" (Poems) https://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/122402-alfred-lord-tennysons-lotos-eaters-analysis/
C. P. Cavafy, "Ithaca" from C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Translation Copyright © 1975, 1992 by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Reproduced with permission of Princeton University Press.
Feminist Interpretations
The Greek epics are shockingly misogynistic, with heroes who rape and pillage, and passive, patient (and beautiful) women who wait passively or violent, deceitful (and still often beautiful) women who trap or destroy men and are punished for their power. (Has anything actually changed in contemporary superhero narratives?!). While these narratives can be seen to reflect the subordinate status of women during the time the stories were told/written, it is still important to realise that, as critical readers, we are invited to identity with the hero's mistreatment of women and to ascribe valour to events such as rape and honour killing.
Despite Penelope's guile in tricking the suitors by undoing her weaving at night, The Odyssey is no different (Although you should read Emily Wilson's version, the first translation by a female writer). Women usually appear as the spoils of war (the raid on Ismarus), evil seductresses (Circe) or blatant monsters (Scylla and Charybdis). Even when the status quo has been reestablished after Odysseus' return, Penelope's handmaidens are slaughtered for not remaining chaste. Given Odysseus' philandering, this hardly seems fair! Unsurprisingly, there are lots of feminist analyses of the Odysseus stories, as well as quite a few rewrites incorporating female perspectives. You'll also want to look at the way the women are presented in the many artistic representations which position them as passive objects for the use of the Hero and the few which reclaim Penelope or Circe as heroes in their own right.
Pretty much any feminist film or TV series will work, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Jessica Jones if you're looking at a basic hero's journey) to Black Earth Rising for powerful women in volatile political situations (the last two are currently on Netflix) Choose your episode to suit your argument. For instance, in Buffy 6:17: Normal Again the super-hero self-reflexively is put in a position where she asks whether it is more likely that she is a delusional girl in a mental hospital or a superhero who needs to rescue her friends from a monster, which interrogates the nature of fiction and would work well in terms of in terms of a hero's journey.
Secondary Resources
Despite Penelope's guile in tricking the suitors by undoing her weaving at night, The Odyssey is no different (Although you should read Emily Wilson's version, the first translation by a female writer). Women usually appear as the spoils of war (the raid on Ismarus), evil seductresses (Circe) or blatant monsters (Scylla and Charybdis). Even when the status quo has been reestablished after Odysseus' return, Penelope's handmaidens are slaughtered for not remaining chaste. Given Odysseus' philandering, this hardly seems fair! Unsurprisingly, there are lots of feminist analyses of the Odysseus stories, as well as quite a few rewrites incorporating female perspectives. You'll also want to look at the way the women are presented in the many artistic representations which position them as passive objects for the use of the Hero and the few which reclaim Penelope or Circe as heroes in their own right.
- Dorothy Parker, Penelope (poem) -
- Margaret Atwood, the Penelopiad -
- Madeline Miller, Circe - retelling from circe's viewpoint
- Aimé Césaire’s prose-poem, Return to my native land
- Portrait Of The Artist - Poem by Dorothy Parker
- Pat Barker, The silence of the girls: Retellign of the women in Troy (The Iliad)
- Adele Geras, Ithaka YA retelling of Odyssey from the viewpoint of a girl in penelope's. Highlights heroic expectations of make infidelity and female fidelity mythic/epic tradition.
- Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity (F WEI) - very complex historical young adult thriller with historical and literary references and a shocking twist
Pretty much any feminist film or TV series will work, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Jessica Jones if you're looking at a basic hero's journey) to Black Earth Rising for powerful women in volatile political situations (the last two are currently on Netflix) Choose your episode to suit your argument. For instance, in Buffy 6:17: Normal Again the super-hero self-reflexively is put in a position where she asks whether it is more likely that she is a delusional girl in a mental hospital or a superhero who needs to rescue her friends from a monster, which interrogates the nature of fiction and would work well in terms of in terms of a hero's journey.
- Xena, Warrior Princess - Sins of the Past (Series 1, Episode 1) deals with the contrasting approaches of brain and brawn when Xena and Gabrielle encounter a cyclops. Note that Xena is initially as sexist as any dark, brooding superhero - she despises her blonde girly sidekick! - and has to learn to value 'feminine' strengths such as compassion and verbal persuasion. This 'moral' might seem passe now, but it was groundbreaking in its time.
Secondary Resources
- The Distaff Side: (a vailable at Macquarie Uni and through Fairfield library - you loval library might be able to do an interlibrary loan from Fairfield)
- The Wiley Wife: on role of penelope by Madeline Miller, author of Circe
- Odysseus, judge and executioner: on the slaughter of the handmaidens
- Sacred Threads: on Circe
- Mary Beard's womanpower Manifsto: presents Penelope being put in her place by her son as the precoursor to things like Trump putting Clinton 'in her place'.
Modern Interpretations
)Kids versions:
Teen fiction
https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/sc-4567-44c-romare-bearden-odysseus-used-off-paper/3610087
- Chronicles of Curious Creature: Cyclops depicts Polyphemous as a kind, bullied monster ruthlessly exploited by pirates
Teen fiction
- Irene Savvides. Against the Tide
https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/sc-4567-44c-romare-bearden-odysseus-used-off-paper/3610087
- Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain
- Daniel Wallace, Big Fish
- Dan Simmon, Illium (science fiction set at the foot of Olympus Mons on Mars)
- Derek Walcott, Omeros (postmodern epic poem)
- Simpsons (parody)
Political Interpretations
- Aec Interesni Kazki used the story of Cyclops to critique the mafia-based corruption of Sicilian politics in his painting on a gigantic silo in the Sicilian capital's port. (Let me know if you';re using this and I'll add some links on the political context).
Films
As one of the 'original' texts depicting the Hero's Journey (especially the Hero's Return), the Odyssey can be linked to most modern films...
Film adaptations
Films inspired by or referencing the Odyssey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lotus_Eater_(film) http://www.cloudberryrecords.com/blog/?p=1224
Kids' shows
Film adaptations
- L'Odissea (1911) German Silent Film. The whole film is available at the link and is well worth the watching for a sample of early cinema.
- L'Odissea (1960s Italian series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Odissea
- Ulysses (Italy, 1954) classic rather cheesy Italian production starring Kirk Douglass and Anthony Quinn (some of the hottest stars of the day!). Interestingly, Penelope and Circe are played by the same actor (silvana Mangano).
Films inspired by or referencing the Odyssey
- In Xena, Warrior Princess - Ulysses (Season 2, Episode 19), Xena and Gabrielle are instrumental in convincing Poseidon to let Ulysses return home.
- Return of Ringo (Italy, 1965) is a spaghetti Western in which the hero returns home from war to discover his home overrun by a Mexican gang. He diguises himself ass a peasant to find out if his wife has been faithful. An interesting genre to include if you're focusing on the homecoming section of the Odyssey.
- Ulysses - 1955 adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey stars Kirk Douglas as seafaring hero Ulysses
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Ulysses escapes prison in the deep south and has to get home to his wife (who believes he's dead) before she marries a suitor.
- 2001: A space Odyssey - the links are more conceptual than narrative.
- Ulysses 31 - The Mysteries of Time - French sci-fi cartoon
- Ulysses Gaze (Greek, 1995) is a film about art and war set in contemporary Balkan Europe. It received extremely mixed reviews but is full of symbolism and brilliant cinematography and lots of film techniques for English essays. It is a very different representation of the hero's journey. there are lots of clips on YouTube, but let me know if you want to use the entire film.
- Keyhole (2011) is a vary odd variation on the gangster theme. Ulysses Pick and his gangbusters son return to a house filled with ghostly memories. Again, the plot is complex and the production filled with techniques you can use in your essays. It would be especially useful if you are looking in detail at Odysseus' journey to the underworld.It's available at Vimeo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lotus_Eater_(film) http://www.cloudberryrecords.com/blog/?p=1224
Kids' shows
- Class of the Titans is a Canadian animated TV series about descendants of the heroes, which includes reinterpretations of Polyphemus, Calypso and Odysseus.
- Ulysses 31 (a popular French-Japanese animation from the early 1980s that still has a fan-base today) translates tropes from Ulysses to space adventures. Lots of episodes are available on YouTube. It begins with the destruction of the cyclops as a space battle.
Songs
'
Suzanne Vega - Calypso takes an alternative viewpoint on Circe allowing her hero to leave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo4vcVo4t14 rap by kids
Artworks
The story of of Odysseus has been inspiring artists for millenia, so I've made a separate page of artworks organised by chronological order of Odysseus' journey. The Odyssey seems to be have been most popular as a source on artistic inspiration in the ancient Greek and Roman Empires and the later C19th, when artists turned to the classics for inspiration, but was still around from the renaissance to the modern day. A selection of works can also be found at ThoughtCo. I've also listed some key contemporary visions that relate to key theoretical frames such as feminism or postcolonialism.
where is Ariadne? has a page of artworks representing Circe
Illustrated versions of he book from sir William Russel Flint, Alice and Martin Provensen (also here), Alexy Kapinsky, William Pogany, N C Wyeth,
where is Ariadne? has a page of artworks representing Circe
Illustrated versions of he book from sir William Russel Flint, Alice and Martin Provensen (also here), Alexy Kapinsky, William Pogany, N C Wyeth,
- Romare Bearden (1911–1988) - A Black Odyssey African American interpretation of the Odyssey gives an overview of this series' significance. Sympathy for Cyclops outlines the difference in his perspective. Look on Google images for all ten collages in the series.
Graphic Novels
Marvels's version : The Odyssey
Naruto???
Naruto???
Random Stuff
"Unlike Achilles, the Iliad protagonist known for his physical strength and prowess in combat, Odysseus earns his victories through trickery and cunning. Odysseus’ cleverness is reinforced throughout the text by the use of epithets accompanying his name. These epithets and their translations include:
- Polymetis: of many counsels
- Polymek
-
- hanos: many-deviced
- Polytropos: of many ways
- Polyphron: many-minded" Anjelika Frey at ThoughtCo
https://brewminate.com/the-mind-of-odysseus-in-the-homeric-odyssey/
https://www.quartoknows.com/blog/quartogifts/odysseus-in-hades-land-of-the-dead
https://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/handle/1974/1118/Banco_Lindsey_M_200804_PhD.pdf;jsessionid=3C88ADEA12881B215702CF54AE79448F?sequence=1
Scylla and Charybdis
Scylla: Myth Metaphor Paradox might be useful if you are focusing on symbolic elements of these monsters. There is a copy at UWS library.
Lisa Sun presents an analysis of this section in Joyce's Ulysses,