At the centre of both Homer’s epic poem and Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey is the eponymous Late Bronze Age king who outwits monsters, survives storms sent by the gods, and spends 10 years striving to get home from the Trojan War.
Portrayed in Nolan’s adaptation by Matt Damon, Odysseus is a highly skilled but ruthless leader whose talents on the battlefield are matched only by his love for his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), both of whom have long pined for his return.
Of course, there is no evidence to suggest that any historical Greek king fought off terrifying cyclopes or encountered a witch who could turn men into pigs. But was Odysseus based on a real person?
We look at how Odysseus is depicted in Homer’s poem, as well as the key differences in the new blockbuster adaptation of the story.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for the new Christopher Nolan movie
Was Odysseus a real person?
There is no archaeological evidence that an individual named Odysseus ever ruled Ithaca.
However, some scholars argue that Odysseus embodies memories of one or more genuine Mycenaean rulers. Oral traditions often retain the names of important leaders long after historical details have faded. Over several centuries, stories about different individuals may merge into a single legendary hero. So Odysseus could be an amalgam: a composite figure incorporating aspects of many kings.
Others remain sceptical. The Odysseus of Homer’s epic poem and Nolan’s interpretation is a decidedly literary hero, enmeshed in divine magic and fantasy. Unlike some Bronze Age rulers, he does not appear in surviving Linear B tablets (though this absence is unsurprising given that only a minuscule number of Mycenaean documents have survived).
So Odysseus is almost certainly not a historical individual whose life can be reconstructed. But as a character, he may preserve real aspects of Mycenaean kingship, seafaring, warfare and diplomacy. The historical core may be real even if the surrounding narrative has become legend.
More broadly, even if archaeology can’t prove Odysseus’s existence, it does support the truth of parts of the world Homer describes. Excavations on Ithaca have uncovered substantial Mycenaean settlements occupied during the Late Bronze Age. Though none can be identified with any certainty as Odysseus’s palace, they demonstrate that the island formed part of the Mycenaean political landscape.
The political organisation of Odysseus’s kingdom also resembles what is known of Mycenaean Greece. Local kings ruled relatively small territories centred on fortified palaces, while acknowledging the leadership of more powerful rulers – figures resembling the Odyssey’s Agamemnon. This pattern broadly matches evidence recovered from sites including Mycenae, Pylos and Tiryns.
Odysseus’s role in Homer’s poem
Odysseus is the son of Laertes and Anticleia, and the husband of Penelope, with whom he has one son, Telemachus. He rules the small island kingdom of Ithaca and commands a contingent of 12 ships during the Trojan War.
Though guided by the goddess Athena (portrayed by Zendaya in the Nolan movie), Homer also presents him as a capable warrior of great intelligence. In the Iliad, he fights alongside the greatest Greek heroes and frequently acts as an adviser in councils. He is respected by Greek kings Agamemnon, Menelaus and Nestor. His defining quality is mētis – practical intelligence, cunning and the ability to solve problems through strategy rather than just brute force.
This attribute shapes every stage of the Odyssey. The hero blinds the cyclops Polyphemus not through superior strength but using his wiles. He ensures he can resist the seductive songs of the sirens by ordering his crew to bind him to the ship’s mast. When he finally reaches Ithaca, he disguises himself as a beggar and patiently gathers the information needed to reclaim his palace and his family. These episodes show Odysseus to be a hero whose greatest weapon is his mind.
His flaws are equally important. His pride leads him to reveal his real name to Polyphemus after escaping, allowing the cyclops to call upon Poseidon for revenge. His curiosity repeatedly places himself and his companions – all of whom perish before the journey ends – in danger.
How is Odysseus depicted in Christopher Nolan’s movie?
Nolan’s adaptation depicts Odysseus’s story across a span of approximately 20 years. We not only follow the king on his gruelling, decade-long journey home to Ithaca, but also see flashbacks to life on the island before the Trojan War has even begun. And although the Odysseus who finally returns to reclaim his kingdom is certainly older and more rugged, he has not lost any of his fighting ability – he’s still able to brutally dispatch Penelope’s suitors in the movie’s climax.
Certain aspects of Homer’s poem are either condensed or wholly omitted. Odysseus’s encounter with the witch Circe (Samantha Morton), who has transformed his soldiers into pigs, is largely reduced to a single – but highly memorable – scene around a dinner table, whereas in Homer’s epic the pair become lovers. Likewise, when Odysseus is shipwrecked on Ogygia with Calypso (Charlize Theron), he is fed a diet of lotus petals that causes him to lose his memories. This borrows from a different episode in Homer’s Odyssey, in which the flower’s fruit is consumed not by Odysseus but by members of his crew, causing them to lose all desire to return home.
In terms of characterisation, Damon brings a depth to Odysseus that can only really be gauged on screen. As the years pass following the Trojan War, he becomes racked with guilt over his past actions, lamenting both his soldiers’ violence and the occasions on which he and those around him violated ‘Zeus’s law’ by failing in their duties of hospitality. In another invention unique to Nolan’s script, Damon’s Odysseus is made to feel further regret when he is confronted by the shade, or spirit, of his cousin, Sinon (Elliot Page), whom he abandons while hiding inside the famous Trojan Horse.
Another key difference comes at the end of the movie. After reuniting with Penelope and Telemachus, Odysseus abdicates the throne to his son and leaves Ithaca in self-imposed exile, still struggling to come to terms with his past and eager to honour the men who fought alongside him. This marks a significant departure from Homer’s poem, in which Odysseus simply regains power and agrees a truce with the families of the suitors he has slain.
What does Odysseus reveal about Late Bronze Age Greece?
Odysseus provides one of the clearest windows into elite Mycenaean society.
First, his character shows the centrality of kingship in this period and place. His authority rests not upon bureaucracy or written law but upon personal leadership and inherited status. His household functions as both family home and political centre. The crisis that dominates the Odyssey is, therefore, constitutional as much as personal. Without the king, rival aristocrats consume his wealth and compete to replace him by marrying Penelope. The stability of the kingdom depends upon the restoration of legitimate rule.
Second, Odysseus illustrates the importance of long-distance seafaring. The Mycenaeans maintained trading networks that stretched across the eastern Mediterranean. Archaeological evidence demonstrates contact with Cyprus, Egypt, the Levant, Sicily and southern Italy. Though Homer enlivens these voyages through encounters with monsters and enchantresses, the underlying point is realistic: elite rulers travelled widely by sea, and expected foreign contact to bring both opportunity and danger.
Third, the story reflects a warrior aristocracy. Prestige comes through military success, reputation and the loyalty of companions – not unlike the honour-bound mead-hall culture of the Germanic tribes of the early medieval period.
Don’t miss our upcoming podcast series exploring the history of Homer’s Odyssey, featuring award-winning classicist and author Daisy Dunn. HistoryExtra members can listen to all four episodes from Sunday 19 July.
