The Odyssey

Tell me, Muse, of the man of many tricks, who wandered far and wide after he
sacked Troy's sacred city, and saw the towns of many men and knew their mind.
(The Odyssey, i.1)

I wish I could dismiss the detractors as catatonic Homer (Simpson) fans, but they weren't. They were intelligent, educated people -- some from history newsgroups -- with sound objections. One didn't like the paleness of Armand's hair (or, presumably, Penelope's); another deplored the absence of the Sirens. Still another critic scoffed at the way the gods were introduced as "Zeus, King of the Gods." He also disliked like the "90's mushiness" of the men.

I, on the other hand, was charmed by the very lack of 90's sensibilities: no justifying Odysseus' double standard when it came to philandering; no heroic rescue from the original rock and a hard place (Scylla and Charybdis), and no sanitizing the bloody shoot out with the suitors. Instead, there were ritualistic warrior dances, an unprofessional pipe player, the casual reverence to Athena's shrine, and a plausible antique olivepress. I don't know if the winding cloth Penelope was weaving was authentic -- it looked too small to me, but the images on it and on the sail look much like pottery finds.

I also appreciated the way the gods were addressed ritualistically. Far from such an address being an ill-disguised way to make the audience aware of who was who, Homer, when he wrote about the deities (and many of the characters) used familiar epithets -- it helped with meter. And here is where my only real complaint about the series arises. Athena is repeatedly described in ancient literature as "grey-eyed," yet Isabella Rosellini's eyes were very blue.

While history itself is full of marvellous stories, too often we become mired in dry texts. I jump at opportunities to learn about history in more interesting ways. This absorbing mini-series allowed me to drift into a reverie about the past while hearing the story of Odysseus. Why it could almost have been the blind bard Homer up there on the screen.

I can hardly wait until it comes out in video.

[N.B. This was not written as a review of the TV mini-series.]

Discuss in my forum

• odyssey
• movies
• homer
• homer simpson