Colleges use 'Odyssey' as opportunity to promote Classics programs
Blockbuster movie could inspire next generation of Classics students
The Chronicle of Higher Education turned to a professor at the University of Cincinnati to learn how Christopher Nolan's blockbuster movie “The Odyssey“ might inspire a new generation of Classics students.
Jack Davis, the Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology in UC's College of Arts and Sciences, saw the film in Greece, where he and UC Senior Research Associate Sharon Stocker are studying the Palace of Nestor depicted in the movie and the artifacts from their 2015 and 2017 discoveries of Bronze Age tombs.
Davis offered mixed reviews.
“It’s a very good Marvel movie,” Davis joked to the Chronicle. “Some of the scenes are absolutely spectacular. Some of it I found a little silly.”
Davis said Agamemnon was “a kind of Darth Vader,“ depicted in flashbacks as larger than life, clad in sleek, black armor and a black-plumed helm that hides his face. The Greek king leads his soldiers through Troy's gates opened by Odysseus after the Trojan horse ruse but does not take up arms himself in the movie, much like the villain in the opening scene of “Star Wars.“
A rock crystal pyramidal locket depicts a Minoan priest wielding a fenestrated ax similar to those described in the epic poem "The Odyssey." Photo/Department of Classics/University of Cincinnati
Meanwhile, Stocker spoke to the journal Nature about how artifacts discovered at Pylos have a connection to the epic poem. A Bronze Age locket found at Pylos features an engraving of a priest wielding an ax. The axes are called fenestrated for the prominent holes in their heavy metal heads.
In the movie, Odysseus expertly shoots an arrow through a row of 12 ax heads as a party trick and later to show his worthiness to Penelope in front of the duplicitous suitors.
“The more we excavate, the more we confirm,” Stocker told Nature.
In both the movie and Homer's epic poem, Odysseus' son Telemachus visits the Palace of Nestor to learn more about his father's disappearance after the Trojan War.
UC's Blegen discovered the palace while conducting excavations at Pylos in 1939. His work revealed its throne room, wall paintings and a trove of tablets in the Mycenaean Greek language Linear B that were key to its translation.
Decades later, Davis and Stocker continued UC Classics' legacy of scholarship at Pylos, conducting excavations near the Palace of Nestor. Among their many discoveries, they uncovered the tomb of the “Griffin Warrior,” one of the most significant archaeological revelations in Greece, offering new insight into early Greek civilization.
Their 2025 book “The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Mycenaean Greece“ was a finalist for the prestigious International Hellenic Prize. The President of Greece also awarded Stocker and Davis with the title of Commander of the Order of the Phoenix for their many scholarly contributions to Greek culture and history.
Stocker said she thinks the movie could introduce more people to the field of Classics.
”We both certainly hope that the release of the film will stir up much needed attention to works like 'The Odyssey' that form cornerstones of Western Civilization,” she said. ”Programs like ours can help students and others to understand the cultural and social contexts in which they were created.”
Her favorite character in ”The Odyssey” is Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
Featured image at top: A bas relief in UC's Blegen LIbrary. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC
UC Senior Research Associate Sharon Stocker said she thinks the movie "The Odyssey" could raise awareness about Classics programs. Photo/Department of Classics/University of Cincinnati
Related Stories
Children learn about UC science, engineering majors during visit
February 19, 2025
Students from the Clifton Area Neighborhood School visit UC to get an introduction to subjects such as science, Classics and engineering.
UC has connection to city of legend behind 'Odyssey'
July 17, 2026
WVXU highlights a big connection between Cincinnati and director Christopher Nolan's new movie "The Odyssey." UC Classics Professor Carl Blegen led excavations at Troy in the 1930s. UC has a vast collection of photos and other records from the ambitious archaeological project.
UC students uncover ancient city
August 10, 2022
The Cincinnati Enquirer highlights research by UC associate professor Steven Ellis and his students who are discovering new insights about ancient civilizations in Italy.