Adelphi Anthropology Professor Weighs in—From Greece—on This Summer’s Blockbuster, The Odyssey

Recent history graduate Joseph D'Andrea '25, MA '26, interviewed Anagnostis P. Agelarakis, PhD, an internationally recognized bioarchaeologist of Greek antiquities, about the accuracy-and relevance-of the summer blockbuster The Odyssey.

• What does victory cost?
• How does one return home after experiencing violence?
• How does one resist temptation?
• How should power be exercised?

According to Anagnostis P. Agelarakis, PhD, professor of anthropology in the Adelphi University Department of History, "These are not ancient questions. They are human questions."

When director Christopher Nolan set his lens on Homer's The Odyssey, he both created a spectacle around a story about the human condition and reignited a conversation about epic storytelling.

"What Nolan accomplishes is extraordinary," says Dr. Agelarakis, who teaches in Adelphi's College of Arts and Sciences. "He returned Homer's voice to the center of the public conversation. Millions of people who may have never opened The Odyssey are suddenly engaging with questions that have endured for nearly 3,000 years. In my opinion, that is the greatest success of the film."

A More Human Perspective on The Odyssey

As a bioarchaeologist and physical anthropologist who has led field research across the Mediterranean for more than three decades, Dr. Agelarakis has a distinct point of view when it comes to the film. Where others might focus on the mythic heroism, he's zoned in on the reality of the ancient time period.

"For decades I have studied the skeletal remains of ancient men and women, soldiers and civilians, priests and children. I have examined the evidence left by warfare, disease, healing, ritual and everyday life in the ancient Mediterranean.

"When I watch Odysseus returning from Troy, I do not simply see a legendary hero. I see a man burdened by war. I see someone struggling with loss, responsibility, memory, leadership and the consequences of victory."

In his research examining human skeletal remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages, Dr. Agelarakis analyzes evidence of traumatic injury, field surgery and physical stress. He notes that Nolan's depiction captures the raw impact of war on both body and psyche.

"The film grounds Odysseus as a thinking human being dealing with the trauma, guilt and real consequences of war."

Lessons of War in The Odyssey

He also notes about the film, "I was reminded that the ancient Greeks understood victory in a remarkably sophisticated way. The fall of Troy represents military success. Yet it also unleashes suffering. Odysseus spends years wandering before finally reaching home. The victorious warrior discovers that winning a war does not necessarily restore peace."

"That insight is profoundly modern," he explains.

"One of the film's most important messages is its implicit warning about war itself. Odysseus comes to recognize that violence rarely ends where it begins. The destruction of Troy does not conclude the story. It begins another one. Every generation should remember that lesson."

An Epic Story, Told Through Cinema

Beyond the history, Dr. Agelarakis highlights the unique power of film as a visual and immersive medium. Nolan's narrative choices-such as explicitly showing the claustrophobia inside the Trojan Horse or jumping across time periods-help bring to life the epic storytelling for modern viewers.

"Cinematography provides a kinesiology-a sense of motion and physical reality-that isn't always fully captured when simply reading the text," says Dr. Agelarakis. "It provides a visual hook that invites viewers to ask deeper historical questions: How did these people actually live? How did they move, fight and survive?"

The Film's Role in Classroom Discussions

At Adelphi, Dr. Agelarakis plans on using the film's momentum as an educational tool. In his course Theogony, Myth and Ritual, which he will teach this upcoming fall in an Honors College seminar, the movie will act as a springboard for students to critically think by debating primary source texts and cross-examining interpretations.

Rather than viewing cinematic adaptation as a replacement for reading, Dr. Agelarakis sees film as an entry point that prompts students to seek out original sources. The broader impact is clear; sales of Homer's Odyssey surged by 76 percent in the United States, year over year.

Ultimately, the discourse surrounding Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey proves that classical studies remain valuable in understanding modern life. By confronting timeless questions of power, responsibility, ethics and human mortality, students can use the film to learn how to evaluate media critically.

"When you have multiple voices from students discussing this, we gain deeper understanding," says Dr. Agelarakis. "It encourages students to open the book, read the primary source and use their own minds as independent thinkers."

"Many students today encounter Greek civilization only through fragments. They know isolated myths or famous quotations, but rarely experience the epic narratives that shaped Western civilization. Nolan's film may encourage many of them to discover Homer for themselves."

"This is an incredible advertisement for classical education, and also for the real protagonist of this film-Homer."