10 biggest differences between The Odyssey movie and the book

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is finally here, and despite the controversies leading up to its release, it's a hit with critics and general audiences alike. Many have praised the filmmaking prowess and the performances of its star-studded cast. However, as with any big-screen adaptation, it makes some noticeable changes to the source material.

Based on Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his decade-long journey home after the Trojan War. The poem details the many obstacles he faces along the way, as well as those faced by his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. While the overall plot remains relatively unchanged, the new adaptation has some obvious omissions, additions, and alterations to its famous characters.

Christopher Nolan's Adaptation Omits a Few Plot Points and Characters

With so many stops on his way home to Ithaca, it seems almost inevitable that Nolan would leave a few of them out of The Odyssey. The film skips over the island of the lotus-eaters, Odysseus's crew infamously opening the bag of winds from Aeolus, and Odysseus's time with the Phaeacians. That said, it finds other ways to incorporate elements of these parts of the story.

The new movie omits a few characters from its already large cast, such as Odysseus's parents and some of his fallen comrades in Hades. Additionally, purists might be dismayed to hear that Odysseus does not trick the cyclops, Polyphemus, by telling him that his name is Nobody. In an interview on The Daily Show, Nolan said he tried to include this famous bit, but it was "not possible to work in it."

The Greek Gods Take a Backseat

The Greek Gods on Mount Olympus are more directly involved in Homer's Odyssey, with Athena often showing up in disguise, Hermes aiding Odysseus a few times and Poseidon actively plotting against him. Nolan takes a more subtle approach, with only Athena given bodily form and appearing to Odysseus in visions. The other gods are presented mainly as forces of nature.

Although this might dampen the appeal of the Greek pantheon to some, it does keep the focus on The Odyssey's human characters, of which there are many to keep track of. It's also interesting to see how Odysseus and the others discern the gods' will by their environment, attributing thunder to Zeus's disapproval and rough waters to Poseidon's wrath.

The Odyssey Combines the Calypso Plot With the Lotus-Eaters

While the lotus-eaters are absent, The Odyssey finds another interesting way to work in the memory-loss-inducing flowers. After Odysseus is shipwrecked and saved by the nymph Calypso, she feeds him lotus while he heals from his injuries to help ease the pain. The king of Ithaca then forgets who he is and mindlessly spends seven years with her.

This contrasts with Homer's poem, in which Odysseus is fully aware that Calypso is holding him on her island. The change also gives the adaptation a different framing device, with Odysseus recounting his journey so far to Calypso as his memory returns. In the poem, Odysseus tells his story to the Phaeacians, whose island he washes up on after he leaves Calypso.

Nolan Adds Sinon and Fleshes Out Antinous's Backstory

One of The Odyssey's most prominent side characters actually doesn't appear in either the source material or its preceding story, The Iliad: Sinon. In other epic poems about the Trojan War, Sinon is Odysseus's cousin who convinces the Trojans to bring the horse into the city. In Nolan's adaptation, he's a shepherd's son who goes to war in place of Antinous, one of Penelope's most persistent suitors.

Unlike in the epic poems, Sinon dies without knowing the full plan, and he returns when Odysseus visits Hades to chide him for not sharing the whole truth. He also reveals that Antinous manipulated him into taking his place in the war, deepening Odysseus's hatred for the already unlikable suitor. When he finally gets back to Ithaca, Odysseus saves Antinous's death for last instead of killing him first, like in Homer's poem.

Odysseus Saves Telemachus on His Way Back From Sparta

In Homer's Odyssey, Telemachus manages to evade the suitors by himself on his way back from Sparta and meets his father seemingly by chance at Eumaeus's house. Nolan moves their meeting up by having Odysseus go save Telemachus from the suitors, who are lying in wait at a temple. Odysseus also conceals his true identity from his son for a bit longer than in the poem.

Telemachus figures out that the beggar calling himself Sinon is actually his father when Odysseus's hunting dog, Argos, finally succumbs to death upon seeing him. This change gives the father and son a little more time together before they go back to defeat the suitors.

The Trojan War Turns Helen Into a Scapegoat

The Trojan War infamously began when King Menelaus's wife, Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, left her husband for the Trojan Prince, Paris. Nolan's The Odyssey makes it abundantly clear that this is just an excuse, as Menelaus's brother, Agamemnon, was already looking for a reason to go to war with the city.

To emphasize this point, Nolan makes Helen and her sister, Clytemnestra, identical twins. This undermines the idea that Helen was simply too beautiful for the Greeks not to retrieve her from Troy. Furthermore, Helen is shown to have been physically disfigured after returning to Sparta, possibly as punishment for leaving her husband, since he makes a dismissive dig at her new look.

The Odyssey's Female Characters Are Given Slightly More Depth

Even though most of them don't get much screentime, Nolan gives The Odyssey's female characters more complex motivations than they have in Homer's poem. Circe, for instance, who seems to turn Odysseus's crew into pigs just because she can in the source material, fears for her safety as a lone woman in the film. Instead of just happily returning to Sparta, this version of Helen is remorseful about the war fought in her name.

This iteration of Penelope is still mournful and deeply loyal to her husband, as she is in the source material. However, she's also incredibly frustrated by her own lack of power, despite being the queen of Ithaca. She even clashes with Telemachus, who doesn't listen to her and wants to take the throne, even though Penelope says he's not ready.

Matt Damon's Odysseus Feels Tremendous Guilt About the Trojan Horse

Another thing that sets Nolan's The Odyssey apart is that it turns Odysseus's war-winning strategy, the Trojan Horse, into his greatest shame. While some works portray him as unwilling to go to Troy, he doesn't appear to have much remorse for the things he did during the war in Homer's poems. Nolan's iteration of the character feels awful about the Trojan Horse, which he believes violated Zeus's law of hospitality.

Because of Odysseus's actions, more and more "sea people" are said to be invading other lands, and respect for Zeus's law is deteriorating, along with society as they know it. Athena punishes him by taking the form of a Trojan priestess, whom he saw killed. Additionally, Odysseus is chased out of Hades by the soldiers who died under his command, and he fears going home because he doesn't think he deserves to.

Penelope's Final Test for Odysseus Takes a Different Form

After Odysseus returns to Ithaca and defeats the suitors, Homer's Penelope gives him one final test to prove that he's her long-lost husband. She asks him to move their bed, but Odysseus correctly explains that this is impossible because he carved the bed out of a tree stump that is still rooted in the ground. To move it, he'd had to dig up the tree by the roots.

Nolan's Penelope makes no such request, and she already seems to know that the beggar is Odysseus after he successfully strings his bow and shoots an arrow through twelve axes. However, before he left for Troy, Penelope gave her husband an Athena pin to wear. Odysseus then proves his identity to her by showing her the pin.

Nolan Changes The Odyssey's Ending

Homer's Odyssey ends with Odysseus making peace with the gods and the families of the suitors he killed, assuring that they won't seek revenge on him. He then resumes his role as King of Ithaca, with Penelope as his queen and Telemachus next in line. Conversely, in Nolan's adaptation, Odysseus must pay the price for murdering the suitors and breaking Zeus's law.

Instead of trying to make peace with the slain suitors' families, Odysseus goes into exile with Penelope. Since he kept his son from killing the suitors, Telemachus stays behind and assumes the throne. It's a significant departure from the source material, but given how much this version of The Odyssey focuses on the consequences of Odysseus's actions, it is perhaps a more fitting end for Nolan's hero.