7 Ways Homer's 'Odyssey' Has Been Reimagined

In 1842, Alfred, Lord Tennyson crafted a romanticized sequel to the "The Odyssey" in his poem "Ulysses"—named for the Latin version of Odysseus. In Tennyson's version, the hero finally makes his return to Ithaca, only to find himself adrift and restless.

"Odysseus, or Ulysses, as Tennyson called him, finds himself in his declining years," says Scott Monty, author of The Timeless and Timely Newsletter. "He's been away from home for 20 years … He realizes he has the wanderlust and being a homebody might not fit him anymore."

Eighty years later, James Joyce would take "The Odyssey" in an entirely different direction. Reportedly dismissing Tennyson as "Alfred, Lawn Tennyson" for his genteel sensibilities, Joyce transformed Homer's epic into the story of an ordinary day in Dublin. Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses follows advertising salesman Leopold Bloom, whose seemingly mundane wanderings echo Odysseus' long journey home. Joyce's novel is often considered one of the most important—and most challenging—works of literature.

Homer's epic has inspired storytellers around the world, including French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard. His 1963 film Le Mépris (Contempt) follows a French playwright whose marriage begins to unravel while he works on the screenplay for a film adaptation of "The Odyssey."

"My favorite 'Odyssey' adaptation is Jean-Luc Godard's movie," says Keen. "It's beautifully shot, and has a lovely soundtrack by Georges Delerue." Based on a 1954 novel by Alberto Moravia, the film draws on the author's experiences working on the 1954 movie Ulysses.

Starring Michel Piccoli alongside Brigitte Bardot, Le Mépris received widespread critical acclaim and has since come to be regarded as one of Godard's masterpieces. In 1997, The New York Times included it on its list of "The 1,000 Best Movies Ever Made," with one critic calling it "the greatest work of art produced in postwar Europe."

Directors Joel and Ethan Coen have repeatedly returned to Homer for inspiration, most notably in their 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?

"The 'Odyssey' isn't a story about anyone changing or saving the world," says Sarah Shachat, craft editor at IndieWire. "It's a story about a man trying to get home." Set in Depression-era Mississippi, the film reimagines that story with Odysseus as escaped convict Ulysses Everett McGill (played by George Clooney). His quest is interrupted by a parade of eccentric characters, including singing Sirens and a one-eyed man played by John Goodman.

The Coens revisited Homeric themes in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), about a wandering folk singer trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of setbacks.

A common measure of pop culture immortality is earning a parody on "The Simpsons." In the Season 13 episode "Tales From the Public Domain," the segment "D'oh, Brother Where Art Thou?" casts Homer Simpson as Odysseus. The animated spoof recreates many of the epic's best-known episodes, from battling the Sirens to crossing the River Styx—all with the show's signature irreverent humor, including a musical nod to the band Styx.

The casting is fitting, says Keen, because Odysseus is a deeply flawed hero. "We like questionable heroes and Odysseus fits into that pattern," he says. "I've seen some commentary saying we shouldn't admire Odysseus because he's sexually unfaithful, fails to keep his men alive, lies when there's no reason to … And there's a lot of truth to that, but people still do."

It's a neat coincidence that series creator Matt Groening named Homer Simpson after his father, who in turn was named after the ancient Greek poet.

"['The Odyssey'] is a story that was told orally hundreds of years before it was ever written down, so it naturally lends itself to storytelling," says Monty. It also naturally lends itself to the podcasting format.

Odyssey: The Podcast by Jeff Wright is a serialized retelling of the book in contemporary language, where the story returns to its spoken-word roots. Wright also provides commentary episodes, breaking down themes and character development.

While Odysseus is the hero of Homer's epic, "The Odyssey" is also full of memorable women. "There are a great many women with various levels of agency, from Penelope and Helen to Circe and Arete and Athena," Shachat explains.

Margaret Atwood's 2005 novella The Penelopiad shifts the focus to Odysseus' wife, Penelope. Narrating from the afterlife, Penelope reflects on the events of "The Odyssey," her relationship with her husband and her parents. "Atwood is all about what's happening in Ithaca, told from Penelope's perspective and with a feminist angle," Keen says.

The Penelopiad was later adapted for the stage with productions around the world.

The episodic structure of "The Odyssey" also makes it a natural fit for graphic novels. "You've got a central hero and you've got all these different micro-adventures," says Monty.

Published by Image Comics beginning in 2014, writer Matt Fraction and illustrator Christian Ward's ODY-C reimagines Homer's epic as a psychedelic science-fiction saga. The gender-swapped retelling follows the warrior queen Odyssia as she struggles to return home to her wife and son, weaving in elements from other myths and folktales, including One Thousand and One Nights.