The Odyssey is set in a fantasy world – but the ancient Greeks mapped it onto what they knew

By Greta Hawes, Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow in Ancient History, Macquarie University
R. Scott Smith, Professor of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies, University of New Hampshire

The ancient Greeks would have enjoyed current controversies about the “historical accuracy” of Christopher Nolan’s new adaptation of The Odyssey.

The Greeks loved arguing about the “truth” of Homer’s stories. They weren’t precious about their myths. Greek storytellers could – and did – criticise them. They competed to make people see…

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