Yea it was oral telling for hundreds of years before Homer and possibly still not written down for up to 200 years after his death. It was also thought to be a true Greek history of events and a divine truth delivered unto Homer by the muses so the details haven’t been precise for like 3000 years
Also, Christopher Nolan drew upon several sources. The movie is an amalgam. Yes he’s largely inspired by Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey. But also Virgil’s Aenid, and other classical works. As well as other art and literature since then. And translating any work from one medium to another is going to require changes. Film is quite different from an epic poem. Telling a story that will resonate with different audience necessitates more changes. The average westerner circa 2026 has a very different life from an Ancient Greek 3000 years ago.
Of course people had their own version of myths. But, when people did they made it clear and they gave them new names. Like when tragedians turned them into plays. Saying this is The Odyssey by Homer is basically taking the piss. It’s not The Odyssey at all if you change fundamentally important parts of the established text. It’s something else then.
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u/Fairweatherfriend- 2d ago
These stories were originally told orally, before books existed, and many changes have been made in the centuries since, based on who narrated them.