Odysseus Archives - Tales of Times Forgotten

Everything I Liked and Hated about Uberto Pasolini’s ‘The Return’ (2024)

The Odyssey, an ancient Greek epic poem, is one of the most famous works of world literature. Countless adaptations of it have come out over the years in virtually all forms of media including books, stage plays, films, television series, video games, and musicals—but one thing most of these adaptations have in common is that they focus on one relatively small section of the epic. Although the whole epic consists of twenty-four “books” (which are roughly the length of chapters), most adaptations focus mostly or entirely on Books 9–12, a first-person account by Odysseus of his various adventures while trying to return to his home island of Ithaka. The stories found in these four books have become so iconic that, when one mentions the Odyssey, they are what most people immediately think of: the man-eating Kyklops, the Lotos-eaters, the sorceress Kirke who turns men into pigs, the summoning of the dead, Skylla and Kharybdis, and the Sirens who lure sailors to their deaths.

Many people who haven’t read the original epic don’t realize that Odysseus arrives back on Ithaka in Book 13 and the entire second half of the epic (Books 13–24) describes what happens after he gets back. It’s easy to see why the second half of the epic receives less attention than the first half; the pace is slower, the events described are less fantastic and more mundane, and modern audiences who have been conditioned to see the epic as being about Odysseus’s journey home may assume that the story is over once he arrives on Ithaka’s shore. The second half of the epic, however, is a tour de force of storytelling containing some of the greatest drama and pathos in the whole epic.

This is why I was initially very excited about the film The Return, directed by Uberto Pasolini and starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, which was released on December 6th, 2024. The film is an adaptation of the last twelve books of the Odyssey that begins with Odysseus’s arrival home, omitting his better-known earlier adventures. I promised that I would write a review of the film and now I am coming through on that promise (albeit three months late). Unfortunately, having now seen the film, I have mixed feelings about it. It contains some strong acting and truly great moments (including a twist on the bow scene worthy of the original Odyssey), but the film’s dialogue is weak, it fundamentally mischaracterizes Odysseus in a way that erases his complexity and makes him less interesting, its characterization of Penelope is wildly inconsistent, and certain changes to the plot result in convoluted storytelling.

Greek Heroes Who Lived to Old Age

We are all accustomed to hearing stories about Greek mythological heroes who died young. Indeed, at times, it seems as though a young death is an essential element of heroism in Greek mythology. According to Book Nine of the Iliad, the young Achilleus was offered a choice: he could either live short, glorious life and live on forever in stories and songs or live a long, peaceful life and never win any glory. Achilleus chose the former option. It may come as a surprise to some people, then, that there are actually quite a few Greek heroes who are said to have lived to old age. Here are a few of the most famous:

The True Origins of the Cyclops in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’

The Odyssey has long been one of my favorite books of all time, possibly even my number one favorite. It is a masterpiece of world literature and a true classic in every sense. One of my favorite episodes from the Odyssey is the part in Book Nine where Odysseus and his men have an encounter with the one-eyed giant Polyphemos. Have you ever wondered where this story about a one-eyed giant comes from, though? Well, read on, because, in this article, I will be exploring not only the origins of the story but also some of the clever wordplay and symbolism embedded in this scene from the classic epic.

What Is the Difference between a Siren and a Mermaid?

If you enjoy reading about mythology, you have most likely heard of mermaids and Sirens, but you may not be familiar with the difference between them. Most people today generally consider them the same thing. We usually tend to imagine both a mermaid and a Siren as a beautiful woman with the tail of a fish instead of legs. Sirens, however, originally come from Greek mythology and this is not at all how the ancient Greeks envisioned Sirens. On the contrary, the ancient Greeks did not envision Sirens (or, as they are called in Greek Seirenes) as having fish-like attributes at all.