Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has been praised for its stunning visuals and star-packed cast, but that hasn’t stopped history lovers from pulling apart some of its biggest inaccuracies. Via Universal To be fair, it’s a film based on one of the oldest myths ever written, not a documentary. Still, ever since it landed in cinemas, classicists and ancient history obsessives have been having the time of their lives spotting the little details that don’t quite add up. Here are some of the biggest historical liberties people have noticed. People really lost it over Telemachus saying ‘My dad is coming home’ Via Universal One of the first complaints to take off online was Tom Holland‘s Telemachus saying, “My dad is coming home.” Yes, ancient Greeks didn’t speak English, so nobody in Mycenaean Greece would have literally said those words. But the outrage wasn’t entirely justified either. Alongside the more formal patēr (father), ancient Greek had affectionate family terms including pappa and táta, effectively the equivalent of “dad” or “daddy.” So while the dialogue is modernised, the idea of using an informal name for your father isn’t historically impossible. The palaces should have been far more over-the-top Real Mycenaean palaces would have been much busier. Although Odysseus’s palace includes furniture that resembles some of the famous reconstructions at Knossos, historians say the royal homes seen throughout the film are still far too restrained. Palaces belonging to rulers like Odysseus and Menelaus, along with important temples and royal buildings in places like Pylos, would have been packed with colour, decoration and expensive treasures. In fact, in The Odyssey itself, Telemachus is amazed by just how much gold and luxury fills Menelaus’s palace. Compared with the poem, Nolan’s interiors are surprisingly understated. ‘Zeus’s law’ isn’t really how Greek hospitality worked Another detail that raised eyebrows was the film’s references to “Zeus’s law.” Ancient Greece did have xenia, the sacred custom of hospitality protected by Zeus, but it wasn’t quite the universal law the film suggests. Hospitality came with expectations on both sides. Hosts were expected to feed and shelter visitors, while guests were also expected to behave respectfully. Gift-giving was a huge part of the tradition too, with visitors often leaving carrying lavish presents. Odysseus is sailing around in the wrong ships Universal To most people, Odysseus’s fleet looks convincing enough. Long wooden ships crossing the sea? Checks out. The problem is they’re actually much closer to Viking longships than anything ancient Greeks would have sailed in during the Bronze Age. The real vessels would have been penteconters: Slim warships roughly 90 feet long, powered by 50 rowers sitting in two banks down either side as they crossed the Mediterranean. They were built centuries before the Viking ships the film appears to resemble. Ancient Greek statues definitely weren’t bright white Universal One of the biggest visual inaccuracies comes from something Hollywood has been getting wrong for decades. The enormous statue of Athena appears as bright white marble, but that’s almost certainly not how it would have looked. Ancient Greek statues were originally painted in vivid colours, often decorated with gilding and colourful fabrics that made them far more eye-catching than the plain marble versions sitting in museums today. There were even traces of paint still visible on sculptures from the Parthenon before, controversially, they were scrubbed away after arriving at the British Museum. Agamemnon’s helmet looked a little too much like Batman Universal Perhaps no costume received more attention than Agamemnon‘s helmet, with plenty of people joking that it looked suspiciously similar to Batman’s cowl. The rest of the warriors mostly escaped criticism despite wearing leather armour and carrying steel swords, but historians point out that warriors in Mycenaean Greece around 1200 BCE would have looked very different. Their armour, weapons and helmets belonged to a completely different era than what’s shown on screen. For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: Universal Post navigation Next story
