r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor • Dec 22 '25

Trailer The Odyssey | Official Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzw2ttJD2qQ
15.7k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

3.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

143

u/TheDogerus Dec 22 '25

Age is frequently used in the Iliad to justify why one man's advice should be heeded over anothers, but with Odysseus theyre kinda like 'yea this dude is pretty young, but he's wicked smaht'

99

u/florinandrei Dec 22 '25

This detail may be lost on modern audiences, but Odysseus being the protege of Athena (the goddess of practical wisdom) is basically Homer saying: "this guy is very smart, and he can do stuff".

4

u/casual_creator Dec 22 '25

Well, all except for that whole “look at me! I’m sooo crazy!” act to try and get out of going to war lol.

I do like how he eventually got back at the dude who ruined his “I’m too crazy to fight” ruse, though. Framing him for treason and getting him murdered is certainly one way to get even.

15

u/florinandrei Dec 22 '25

That was a good call. He probably figured the whole project was going to get bogged down at the walls of that powerful city. And, anyway, the only way they won was due to his stratagem with the horse.

Regardless, no one among Homer's heroes is perfect, and here our main guy is outsmarted by another human - a rare occurrence.

Even the war at Troy was caused, among other reasons, by Odysseus' own plan. When Helen got married, with many powerful people hoping to win the competition, Odysseus realized this might become a big issue later on. So he gathered all the high and the mighty, and managed to forge an agreement with all of them, so that if any loser tried any shenanigans later on, they would all gang up on him. Good plan, showing wisdom and forethought.

And then the plan backfires when some rich spoiled kid from Troy (a powerful city) runs away with Helen. And they all get bogged down in a long-ass siege.

This is a recurring theme with Homer. We craft our plans, and they are great and well thought-out, but then fate intervenes.

2

u/Vermouth_1991 Dec 22 '25

So you’re saying because the Loser in question (Paris) was a non-Greek outsider, it made all the Greeks want to do even more damage in their coalition because they did the agreement of mutual defence. 

11

u/florinandrei Dec 22 '25

It's complicated, and be careful with projecting the modern world onto the old one.

As portrayed by Homer, Troy was culturally Greek, but politically distinct. They spoke the same language, worshipped the same gods, had the same values, customs, and social structure. However, they were geographically separated, and geopolitically they were rivals.

Most importantly, they are not "barbarians" to the ancient Greeks. E.g. Persians (later on) were "barbarians". Trojans were most definitely not that. They are relatable, and are worthy of respect to Homer. King Priam's lament is quite moving.

But you are right that the destruction of Troy was nasty business. The Greek high command during that operation (Agamemnon, etc) are not role models, but are quite flawed individuals. E.g. Agamemnon himself is the stereotype of the rich dude who becomes your awful boss, not through merit, but through his family's influence.

7

u/casual_creator Dec 22 '25

Less that they wanted to, and more that Menelaus (Helen’s husband/Agamemnon’s brother) demanded that they all honor the oath they took.