About the Author:
Lisa Papageras is an American writer, digital marketing consultant, wife, mother and small business owner from Hudson, OH. She spent her childhood in Pittsburgh, PA and Chautauqua, NY. She has spent 30+ years bouncing between Greece and and Hudson. She loves her family, the Beatles, and is grateful every day for her opportunity to spend time in "cradle of Western Civilization."
A few summers ago, while staying in a small Greek village, I snapped a photograph that still makes me smile.
A curious little kitten named "Pericles" had wandered onto our veranda and decided to investigate my well-worn copy of The Essential Homer. Beside him sat a traditional Greek vessel, the kind that instantly transports my imagination to another time.
It was simply one curious kitten, one timeless book, and one quiet afternoon in Greece. Looking back now, it feels like the perfect image to accompany this moment.
In just a few hours, audiences around the world will once again set sail with Odysseus. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey premieres at midnight, and I honestly have no idea what to expect. And I love that.
I've already made this journey many times. I've read Homer. I've watched earlier film adaptations. I've imagined the Cyclops, the Sirens, Circe, Scylla, Charybdis, and Penelope's unwavering patience more times than I can count. None of that lessens my excitement. If anything, it deepens it.
Great stories aren't meant to be experienced only once. They invite us back throughout our lives, each visit revealing something we didn't notice before. And every generation deserves its own Odyssey.
Earlier this week, Christopher Nolan sat down with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Stewart, himself an obvious admirer of Homer's epic, asked why Nolan chose The Odyssey as his follow-up to the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer. Nolan explained that the extraordinary success of Oppenheimer gave him the opportunity to pursue a project that might otherwise have been difficult to finance. And that it was a dream project years in the making. He literally recreated IMAX cameras that would allow him to capture dialogue, rather than just action scenes. Additionally, the actors had to stop every 3 minutes so that the IMAX cameras could be reloaded. Literally, they stopped in the middle of drama and waited to continue. If you haven't seen the interview, it's well worth your time. TheWrap also published a thoughtful recap of the conversation for anyone who would like to read more.
His interview resonated with me. The Odyssey has never been a small story. It is a story of impossible distances, impossible choices, mythical creatures, faithful love, cleverness, temptation, perseverance, and finally...home.
It deserves ambition. Christopher Nolan has earned a reputation for creating films that ask audiences to think while still delivering breathtaking spectacle. Whether his interpretation ultimately becomes my favorite is almost beside the point.
I'm excited to see his interpretation. After nearly three thousand years, artists are still finding new ways to tell Homer's story. Every translator chooses different words. Every painter imagines Odysseus differently. Every generation pictures ancient Greece through its own lens. Now it is Christopher Nolan's turn.
As someone who loves Greek culture, this story has become more than something I read in school. It has traveled with me. I've carried this paperback through Greece because it's one of the most approachable editions I've found. It reminds me that Homer isn't reserved for professors or classics scholars. His stories belong to everyone.
Whether you first encounter The Odyssey in a book, a classroom, a museum, a theater, or on the big screen, you're joining a conversation that has continued for nearly thirty centuries. That's remarkable.
In just a few hours, I'll finally discover Christopher Nolan's version of that conversation. Maybe I'll agree with every creative choice. Maybe I won't. But that's part of the voyage.
Odysseus didn't know exactly what awaited him each time he left one shore for another. Neither do we when the theater lights dim. That's the beauty of beginning a journey.
Here's to fair winds, ancient stories, and filmmakers bold enough to chart a new course across familiar seas.
I'll see you in Ithaca.
What are you hoping to experience when you see Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey? I'd love to hear what Homer's epic has meant to you, and whether this new interpretation inspires you to begin the journey for the first time.
