COMPLIT 74N: The Figure of Ulysses: From Homer to Christopher Nolan

Course Description

Across world literatures and cultures, no figure compares to Odysseus/Ulysses. But who, truly, is the king of Ithaca? From the Iliad and the Odyssey to the present day, countless writers, poets, and filmmakers have reinterpreted, adapted and reimagined the deeds of this Greek hero. Some have portrayed him as an ideal father, husband, and king; others have condemned him as a symbol of treachery, cunning, and rhetorical emptiness. The title of the epic chronicling his journey home has become synonymous with adventure, while philosophical traditions have viewed his journey home as an allegory for the soul's quest for its spiritual home. At the same time, the name of Odysseus/Ulysses evokes restlessness, wanderlust, and humanity's insatiable thirst for knowledge. His death, too, remains shrouded in mystery: did he die at home with Penelope and Telemachus? Was he slain by one of his other sons on the shores of Ithaca? Was he shipwrecked somewhere in the Atlantic? Or did he meet his end on an iceberg in Antarctica? This course explorEs some of the most significant episodes of Odysseus/Ulysses's journey literatury traditions and languages. The seminal works of Homer, Dante Alighieri, and Nikos Kazantzakis will be studied alongside those of Virgil, James Joyce, Anita Desai, and Derek Walcott, among others, as well paintings and songs. The course will also examine film adaptations of Homer's epic, along with Ulyssean themes in the filmography of Cristopher Nolan - whose The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, is set for realease in July 2026.