India, July 7 -- If you enjoy epic historical dramas, you've probably seen Troy, Wolfgang Petersen's version of the legendary Greek Trojan War. The film tells the story of the ten-year conflict that leads to the ingenious use of the Trojan Horse, a plan created by Odysseus (played by Sean Bean), the King of Ithaca. While the fall of Troy signalled the end of the war, it also sparked one of the greatest stories ever told.
That story is The Odyssey.
Written by Greek poet Homer, The Odyssey is one of the foundational works of Western literature. After the end of the war, it follows Odysseus' long and perilous journey home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. What he believes will be a triumphant return turns into a decade-long 'odyssey' filled with mythical creatures, vengeful gods, devastating loss, and an unrelenting longing to reunite with his family and reclaim his kingdom.
Before Christopher Nolan brings The Odyssey's timeless epic to the big screen, here's everything you need to know about the legendary journey and its characters. Try to keep up.
After helping the Greeks win the Trojan War with the trick of the Trojan Horse, Odysseus (Matt Damon), the King of Ithaca, sets sail for home expecting the trip to only take a few weeks. Instead, his journey turns into a twenty-year struggle after his crew raids the land of the Cicones and loses men due to greed. They later encounter the Lotus-Eaters, whose magical fruit makes people forget they want to go home. The journey has only begun and Odysseus has lost men due to their greed.
Soon after, Odysseus and his men get trapped in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus, who starts eating them one by one. Using his wit instead of strength, Odysseus blinds the giant and escapes, but his pride leads him to reveal his name while leaving. Polyphemus calls on his father, the sea god Poseidon (actor not revealed), who vows that Odysseus will never have an easy journey home. This is the start of what became the greatest journey back home.
Odyssey
The hardships only grow worse. The wind god gives Odysseus a magical bag that holds all the dangerous winds of the world, leaving just the favourable breeze to carry the fleet safely to Ithaca. Just as home comes into view, Odysseus' curious crew opens the bag, thinking it contains treasure. This action unleashes the winds and blows the ships far away again. Another setback for the king and his fleet because of their undying greed.
Later, the fleet meets the giant cannibal Laestrygonians, who destroy nearly every ship. Odysseus is left with only one vessel and a few survivors. Their next stop is the island of the enchantress Circe (Samantha Morton). She transforms the crew into pigs. However, with divine help, Odysseus resists her magic, earns her respect, and spends a year on her island. During this time, she advises him on the dangers still ahead.
Following Circe's instructions, Odysseus travels to the Underworld to find the prophet Tiresias. Tiresias warns him that he can return home only if he does not anger the gods again and resists more temptation. During his journey, he encounters the spirits of fallen heroes, old friends, and his own mother, facing the cost of war and the years he has missed. Meanwhile, his crew sails past the deadly Sirens, whose tempting songs draw sailors to their doom.
Odysseus is very anxious to listen to their divine voices and instructs his men to block their ears with wax while tying himself up to the mast with ropes so that he will not make any frantic attempts to break free.
Once he moves on from the Sirens, the moment that follows require him and his fleet to choose from two evils; either the six-headed Scylla, which will surely eat away some of his men, or the giant whirlpool Charybdis, which might even suck away the whole ship. He chooses the monster and loses a few men over losing his entire fleet. This is a classic example of choosing the lesser of the two evils.
Tired and hungry, the crew finally lands on an island inhabited by holy cattle that belong to the Sun god. Though warned not to hurt the cattle before, hunger prevails over them and they kill the cattle while Odysseus is sleeping. The gods are angered by this act and punish them with the destruction of their ship in a furious storm, drowning all the crew but Odysseus. On his own, he makes his way through the ocean and lands on the island of Calypso (Charlize Theron), an immortal nymph who falls in love with him and holds him captive for seven years in order to offer him eternal youth and immortality on condition that he stays with her forever. Tempted though he is, Odysseus does not want to give up on his wife, son, and his native land. Finally, the gods force Calypso to let him go, and having undergone yet another dangerous journey, he lands at last on the shore of the Phaeacian kingdom, where the king accepts him into his house as a guest and for the first time, he narrates the tale of his adventures.
In the meantime that Odysseus has been journeying the seas, twenty years have elapsed since he left. In Ithaca, Odysseus' wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) has endured these many years defending herself against the invasion of more than a hundred suitors in her palace, wasting away all the wealth in the kingdom and urging her to marry again since they consider Odysseus dead. She makes them wait for years on end by saying that she will choose her new husband once she completes the shroud for Odysseus. However, she unweaves her work every night to delay making any decisions.
Upon his return, Odysseus is disguised as an old beggar by Athena (Zendaya) in order for him to secretly find out who is loyal and who has betrayed him. It is revealed that not many have been loyal to him. His old dog recognizes him and dies peacefully.
This is the time Penelope decided to hold a competition that will decide who she will marry. She asks his suitors to engage in a contest wherein whosoever strings Odysseus' mighty bow and shoots an arrow through twelve axe heads shall marry her. None of the suitors can do it but Odysseus, disguised as the beggar does it easily and reveals himself to be the missing king.
With the help of Odysseus, Telemachus (Tom Holland), and their loyal subjects trap all the suitors in the palace and kill them after a fierce fight in order to get back their kingdom from those usurpers. At last Penelope tests Odysseus about their marriage bed which only he will know since it is carved out of a living olive tree and cannot be moved at all. When he reacts exactly as she expects, she knows beyond doubt that he has truly come home, and after twenty years of war, wandering, loss, and endurance, the family is finally reunited and peace is restored to Ithaca.
The Odyssey is the epic story of a man whose unwavering determination to reunite with his family and return home reveals the many facets of human nature, traits shared even by the gods themselves. Driven by love and longing, and constantly tested by greed, temptation, pride, and desire, Odysseus endures years of hardship, loss, and uncertainty on his journey back to Ithaca, emerging wiser with every challenge he overcomes.