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Christopher Nolan's blockbuster, The Odyssey, adapts the epic poem attributed to the highly revered ancient Greek poet, Homer. As one of the oldest surviving literary works, this 8th-century BC epic poem is one of the foundational pieces of ancient Greek literature. Following Homer's The Iliad, which details the end of the Trojan War, The Odyssey follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, on his journey home after the war.
Lasting over a millennium, The Odyssey is literature's most enduring narrative, with Christopher Nolan's blockbuster and the recently announced animated film, EPIC: The Musical, based on Jorge Rivera-Herrans' highly praised musical adaptation of The Odyssey. Regarded as one of the most significant works of Western culture, Homer's Odyssey has been translated, adapted, and re-imagined for centuries. While it depends on the translation, The Odyssey can be a challenging read due to its epic poetry format and non-linear storytelling. As one of the most prevailing genres of ancient legends, Greek Mythology has tantalized story-lovers for millennia and has inspired modern retellings for fiction lovers, fledgling folklore readers, cinemagoers, and contemporary philhellenes — lovers of Greek culture and art.
A Feminist Retelling By the Author of The Handmaid's Tale
While Margaret Atwood is most known for her seminal 1985 feminist dystopian novel, The Handmaid's Tale, and its 2019 sequel, The Testaments, the Canadian author has published several acclaimed books, including her 2005 novella, The Penelopiad. As part of a series where contemporary authors rewrite ancient myths for the Canongate Myth Series, The Penelopiad focuses on Odysseus' wife, Penelope, as she reminisces about her life, particularly the events that took place in Homer's Odyssey.
With some calling it one of Atwood's finest works, the novella centers on the fairness of so-called "justice", double standards found between different genders and classes, and most prominently, the effects of storytelling perspectives. Atwood explores this through a Greek chorus of twelve maids who interrupt Penelope's narrative to express their viewpoints regarding events, often with new narrative styles. Set to be played by Anne Hathaway, Penelope spends the majority of The Odyssey fending off suitors who are more interested in controlling her kingdom.
Recapping the Queen of Ithaca's life, Margaret Atwood rewrites The Odyssey's female archetypes of dutiful submissives or deceitful seductresses who only exist in relation to Odysseus as passive vessels of his fame, reward, and desire. With Penelope wondering why Odysseus' stories have survived for millennia, she openly contradicts the events of Homer's Odyssey and today's perception of myths as a metafictional narrator.
Madeline Miller's Circe Adapts Multiple Greek Myths
The name on everyone's lips when it comes to modern retellings of Greek myths is Madeline Miller. Published in 2018, Circe is the author's second novel, published seven years following her critically-acclaimed debut, The Song of Achilles. Set in the Greek Heroic Age, Circe adapts several myths and legends — most notably Homer's Odyssey — from the perspective of the titular witch. Exploring her origins as the neglected daughter of the titan Helios and Naiad Perse, the novel narrates Circe's encounters with more prominent mythological figures like the god Hermes, the Minotaur, and Argonaut leader Jason, as well as her romantic trysts with Odysseus and his son Telemachus.
Too often vilified, Miller expands on Circe's mythos, exploring the complexities of a woman who has done awful things but is still undeniably human. Contextualized with the MeToo movement at the time, Miller casts a feminist light on a lesser-known figure of Greek mythology and "illuminates details" of The Odyssey readers often miss. Adding context to the character's brief appearance in Homer's epic poem, Circe delves into her complex history and turns a minor villain into a powerful and nuanced protagonist in her own journey of self-discovery. Though HBO acquired the rights to Miller's Circe in 2019, production has stalled on this much-needed adaptation of this incredible mythic fantasy novel that encourages female empowerment with the novel's powerful, independent witch.
The Songs of Penelope Focuses on the Wife of Odysseus
From the bestselling author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Claire North's The Songs of Penelope trilogy is a feminist retelling of Homer's Odyssey that focuses on Penelope, who has been ruling Ithaca for 17 years and raising her son Telemachus while Odysseus is away at war. As Penelope navigates the demands of suitors vying for her hand and the kingdom, the novel details the dangers of ruling a kingdom without its king.
With Ithaca narrated by Hera, House of Odysseus by Aphrodite, and Athena narrating The Last Song of Penelope, the focus is shifted from the male heroes and gods of Greek legends like the Odyssey to the often overlooked women who managed kingdoms, made political alliances, and even more rarely - survived. Overturning the legends' power dynamics, Penelope is portrayed as a calculating, brilliant ruler of Ithaca rather than just the passive, dutiful wife waiting for her husband's return. Praised for its rich, poetic prose and unique narrators, The Songs of Penelope trilogy satisfyingly fills in the blanks of Homer's Odyssey with intricate political intrigue.
Stephen Fry Makes Greek Mythology More Accessible
Written by the legendary British actor, comedian, broadcaster, and writer Stephen Fry, Mythos is the first in a series retelling several ancient Greek myths. Published in 2017, Fry acknowledges the divide between the academic study of Greek classics, but notes that no background knowledge is necessary to appreciate the "addictive, entertaining, approachable, and astonishingly human" stories of Greek mythology. Balanced between accuracy and relatability, Fry's Mythos primarily recounts myths derived from Hesiod's Theogony, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and The Golden Ass by Apuleius, with sequel novels in Stephen Fry's Great Mythology series exploring mortals, monsters, and quests in Heroes, the Trojan War in Troy, and Homer's Odysseus in his 2024 novel Odyssey.
Retold for modern audiences, Fry transforms the adventures of the Olympians into funny and emotional stories that are infused with the writer's distinctive wit, voice, and style. Fry guides readers through ancient myths without them losing any of their original wonder. Both connoisseurs and newcomers of Greek myths are welcomed by Fry's reverential storytelling. The stories celebrate the thrills, grandeur, and absurdity of Greek mythology with humor and a rich cultural context that breathes new life into ancient myths. Stephen Fry's novels, particularly his most recent publication, Odyssey, are a must-read before watching Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey adaptation this summer.
Natalie Haynes Retells the Trojan War From Female Perspectives
Classicist and author of fiction and nonfiction Greek mythology novels, Natalie Haynes gained recognition for her third novel, A Thousand Ships, illuminating the stories of often overlooked women in the classics. Shortlisted for the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction, Haynes' novel includes several underappreciated women of myth, with some of its stories being told for the first time as modern retellings. Retelling the mythology of the Trojan War, Haynes' novel dedicates chapters to the forgotten women in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. A female epic imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships shifts focus from Homer's heroic warriors to the women whose lives were altered, destroyed, or ended by the decade-long conflict.
With the narrative framed by Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry, and her exasperation at a poet's request for a traditional male-centric epic, she forcefully encourages a Homer-like character to document the experiences of the women involved and the injustices they faced. Featuring multiple perspectives of Trojan women, Greek Queens, Amazons, and goddesses, the novel highlights women's agency, trauma, and resilience during the Trojan War. A Thousand Ships centers on the voices of women too often marginalized in epic retellings to explore the consequences of men's war, vengeance, and narrative control.
The Song of Achilles Brought Back Retelling Greek Myths
The bestselling and critically-acclaimed debut of Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles, has set the current standards for modern retellings of Greek mythology. Winning the Women's Prize for Fiction, The Song of Achilles has sold over 2 million copies and received a significant rise in popularity after becoming a recurring reading recommendation on BookTok. The novel follows the Trojan War from the perspective of the Greek hero, Patroclus, and his deep, meaningful relationship with Achilles.
Commended as "more poetic than almost any translation of Homer", The Song of Achilles turns the legendary war epic into an emotional and intimate story of fate, glory, and desire. The central romance is a quiet, humanizing force against the brutal backdrop of the Trojan War as they struggle against prophecy and the divine intervention of the gods. With Achilles' desire for glory conflicting with his love for Patroclus, the novel highlights that personal, intimate memories define a person more than accolades or collective history, suggesting that the power of love can redefine an eternal legacy.
In rewriting Western civilization's first and greatest war story, The Song of Achilles has become a celebrated LGBTQIA+ novel that re-imagines Homer's Iliad as a love story based on a centuries-long historical belief that inspired the phrase — "Achillean romance." Considered a modern classic, an adaptation of The Song of Achilles is long overdue, but could easily eclipse the likes of Christopher Nolan's blockbuster.
Clytemnestra is the Often Forgotten Sister of Helen of Troy
Clytemnestra is the 2023 debut novel of Costanza Casati that re-imagines the story of the notorious titular queen who appears in Homer's Iliad. While the original Clytemnestra has been vilified for her betrayal and murder of her husband Agamemnon, Casati's novel is a feminist retelling from the Spartan queen's perspective. Focusing on her early life in Sparta, her relationship with her sister (Helen of Troy), her immense trauma, and the slow-burning revenge plot against Agamemnon, Clytemnestra is portrayed as intelligent, strong-willed, and independent — transforming her from a villain into a proactive, resilient protagonist who will be portrayed by Lupita Nyong'o in Christopher Nolan's upcoming blockbuster.
While Agamemnon is at war, Clytemnestra rules in his absence and becomes a powerful queen in Mycenae who — instead of accepting her fate — actively plots a calculated, justified retaliation against her husband for the abuse and atrocities he committed. Tapping into the intersection of brutal violence, motherhood, and female agency, the novel humanizes a character who is heavily villainized in Greek mythology by focusing on Clytemnestra's unimaginable resilience in a world ruled by volatile men and indifferent gods. Clytemnestra is an "outstanding portrait in humanity, motherhood, sisterhood" that explores themes of grief, feminine rage, revenge, and the importance and necessity of taking power in a patriarchal world of systemic cruelty.
Jennifer Saint's Ariadne is About the Sister of the Minotaur
With This Immortal Heart, an upcoming novel releasing in June that captures the epic tale of Aphrodite, bestselling author Jennifer Saint is known for retelling the stories of female figures from Greek mythology and bringing these "fascinating women from Greek myth to life." Her debut novel, Ariadne, is a feminist retelling focusing on the daughter of King Minos of Crete as she navigates the treacherous politics of her father's court and the ever-present hoof beats of her brother, the Minotaur, who demands blood sacrifice.
In choosing to defy the gods, betray her family, and risk everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus when he arrives to slay the beast — a Greek myth that was loosely adapted into Immortals, the 2011 epic fantasy action film starring Henry Cavill. Often compared to Madeline Miller's Circe, Jennifer Saint's novel focuses on themes of female agency, the fickleness of the gods, and men's dangerous pursuits of glory. Highlighting how women suffer the consequences of men's actions and divine whims, Ariadne forges a new epic that offers a voice to the women overlooked in classic hero myths.
Pat Barker's Trojan War Series Retells Homer's The Iliad
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, The Silence of Girls by Pat Barker is a 2018 novel retelling Homer's Iliad from the perspective of Briseis, a queen turned slave-concubine to Achilles during the Trojan War. While having only a minor role in The Iliad, Briseis is at the heart of the dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon that initiates the plot of Homer's epic and is portrayed by Rose Byrne in Troy, the 2004 cinematic adaptation of The Iliad.
Exploring with great intensity the brutality and the filth of the Trojan War, the novel focuses on the horrific reality of women in the Greek camp. Often noted for its intense and raw portrayal of women's experience of war as slaves and trophies, the novel lacks any glamorization of the war epic and, in doing so, Barker chips away at the heroic myths and highlights the human cost of war. With the title referring to the lack of agency and voice for the women affected by the war, the novel examines the treatment of women as property and sexual objects by powerful men. Following this critically-acclaimed bestseller, Pat Barker continues retelling the story of Briseis and many others in the Women of Troy trilogy.
Percy Jackson is the Ultimate Greek Mythology Series
While The Odyssey is set to be one of the most anticipated films of 2026, Percy Jackson is a modern classic. Creating a generation of Greek mythology geeks, the majority of modern philhellenes' first foray into the legends was through Rick Riordan's young adult fantasy action-adventure series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians. The first novel, The Lightning Thief, centers on Percy Jackson as he discovers he is the demigod son of Poseidon and his subsequent quests after he is accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt.
Originating as a bedtime story Riordan told for his neurodivergent son, the Percy Jackson author was inspired to invent the titular protagonist with ADHD and dyslexia becoming "indicators" of being a demigod. Framing the conditions as demigod traits, Riordan portrays impulsivity and hyperactivity as superpowers that are actually a demigod's innate preparation for battle. Centering on themes of identity, friendship, loyalty, and belonging, the series explores heroism and maturity in a modern and mythical context.
Spawning the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles media franchise and its further exploration of Greco-Roman mythology, the series holds significant importance in modern literature for its accessible reinterpretation of Greek mythology, its neurodivergent representation, and its role in promoting literacy among young readers for over 20 years. With a TV adaptation considered the best of the decade, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson is a timeless read for all ages that remains at the heart of modern Greek mythology retellings.
