These famous movies are secretly retelling The Odyssey, and some are seriously unexpected

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey might be the latest huge adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, but it’s definitely not the first time the story has been brought to life.

Ssome of the most unexpected Odyssey retellings aren’t set in Ancient Greece at all. They’re hiding in everything from sci-fi classics to SpongeBob.

Here are some films (and one iconic TV parody) that you probably didn’t realise were inspired by Homer’s epic.

Ulysses turned Ancient Greece into one very long day in Dublin

James Joyce’s 1922 novel Ulysses is one of the most famous modern takes on The Odyssey, swapping mythical heroes for a very normal man walking around Dublin.

Instead of Odysseus battling monsters and gods, Leopold Bloom, a Jewish salesman, spends one day wandering around the city, stopping at places like a funeral and a brothel.

The adventure is much less dramatic than Homer’s original, but the connections are everywhere. Joyce even created modern versions of Penelope through Molly Bloom and Telemachus through Stephen Dedalus.

Contempt is The Odyssey as a Hollywood relationship drama

Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 film Contempt might not immediately scream Ancient Greece, but it’s actually packed with Odyssey references.

The film follows Hollywood director Fritz Lang as he tries to make an adaptation of The Odyssey. At the same time, the movie itself mirrors Homer’s story, with screenwriter Paul (Michel Piccoli) worrying that his wife Camille (Brigitte Bardot) will leave him for a flashy producer played by Jack Palance.

There’s even a real-life link to The Odyssey: the film was partly inspired by events around the 1954 movie Ulysses, starring Kirk Douglas.

2001: A Space Odyssey literally put the epic in space

The title is a pretty big clue here. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey takes Homer’s story and launches it into the future, following astronaut Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) on a dangerous mission through space.

Instead of facing the Cyclops, Bowman battles HAL 9000, a one-eyed machine that becomes one of the film’s biggest threats. Like Odysseus, Bowman returns home completely changed, transformed by his journey into something almost beyond human.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is basically The Odyssey in the American South

One of the most obvious modern versions of Odysseus has to be George Clooney’s character Ulysses Everett McGill in the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The film follows an escaped convict trying to make his way home, using his charm and cleverness to survive, just like Homer’s original hero. Instead of mythical monsters, Everett faces con men, politicians and the KKK during the Depression-era American South.

Even The Simpsons turned Homer’s epic into a seven-minute joke

Obviously, The Simpsons was never going to ignore one of the most famous stories ever written.

The show’s main Odyssey parody somehow squeezes Homer’s huge 14-hour epic poem into just seven minutes, racing through the biggest moments of Odysseus’ journey.

It appears as the opening segment of the season 13 episode Tales from the Public Domain, first aired in 2002.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is weirdly one of the closest adaptations

This one sounds made up, but The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie actually follows a lot of Homer’s original story.

SpongeBob and Patrick set off on a mission to calm Neptune’s anger and rescue Mr. Krabs, taking them through a series of adventures that line up with Odysseus’ journey.

The Goofy Goober scenes mirror the Lotus Eaters, Shell City works as a version of the Cyclops’ cave, the Thug Tug resembles the terrifying island of the Laestrygonians, and the Trench acts as a trip to the underworld.

SpongeBob fighting monsters at the bottom of the ocean is actually closer to Homer’s original poem than you might expect.

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Featured image credit: Universal/Nickelodeon