5 References In ‘The Odyssey’ Only Real Mythology Fans Noticed
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026) brings Homer’s work to life at a scale never seen before. The sprawling fantasy epic takes viewers through Odysseus’s (Matt Damon) 20-year journey home after the Trojan War, during which he and his men face monsters and the fury of the Gods. It’s the kind of film that you can enjoy whether or not you’re familiar with the original work. However, Nolan definitely included a few extra treats for mythology fans.
Given the limited runtime, The Odyssey doesn’t cover every aspect of Homer’s Odyssey. It covers an even smaller portion of the wide body of legends that encompass Greek mythology. Still, Nolan makes do with several nods to other myths and lore in Greek mythology that will be just enough to give mythology enthusiasts a thrill. Use our guide for the five references only real mythology fans noticed in The Odyssey.
How Sinon Connects ‘The Odyssey’ to ‘Aeneid’
In The Odyssey, Sinon (Elliot Page) is a brave soldier who agrees to take Antinous’s (Robert Pattinson) place in the Trojan War. In Troy, he volunteers to stay behind on the beach to present the Trojan Horse as a gift to the Trojans, sacrificing his life and ensuring Odysseus’s plan to infiltrate Troy succeeds. However, mythology fans know that Sinon isn’t actually in Homer’s Odyssey and is, instead, a reference to another myth.
Sinon’s story comes from Virgil’s Aeneid, which expanded on the ideas in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. The main character in Aeneid, Aeneas, is mentioned in the Iliad. Meanwhile, in Aeneid, Sinon is a cunning, brave warrior who pretends to have been left behind by the Greeks and convinces the Trojans to accept the Trojan Horse. Unlike in The Odyssey, Sinon is well aware of the soldiers hiding in the horse, and his deception is the key to winning the war. Further legends would continue to paint Sinon as one of the greatest heroes and deceivers in Greek mythology.
Penelope and Helen’s Connection
The Odyssey sees Telemachus (Tom Holland) meet with the King of Sparta, Menelaus (Jon Bernthal), and his wife, Helen (Lupita Nyong’o), to learn information about his father. The pair receive Telemachus warmly, with Helen telling him to say ‘hello’ to his mother, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), for her.
The small exchange makes perfect sense to mythology fans, as it appears to be a nod to how the pair are actually related in mythology. In the myths, Helen and Penelope’s fathers, Icarus and Tyndareus, are brothers and the sons of Oebalus, making Helen and Penelope first cousins.
The Sacrifice of Clytemnestra’s Daughter
The Odyssey mentions Helen’s twin sister, Clytemnestra (Nyong’o), and her daughter, visiting the pair via brief flashbacks. Menelaus explains that Clytemnestra killed his brother, King Agamemnon (Benny Safdie), for sacrificing their daughter, Iphigenia, to please the Gods. Only real mythology fans, though, know the full story behind the sacrifice, which isn’t found in Homer’s works. The Odyssey insinuates that Agamemnon killed his daughter to get on the Gods’ good side and enjoy safe travels.
However, in mythology, he actually sacrifices his daughter to right his wrongs against Artemis. During the Trojan War, he hunts and kills one of Artemis’s sacred deer, leading the goddess to retaliate by instigating winds so harsh that Agamemnon’s fleet can’t make it to Troy. To appease her, she demands Agamemnon sacrifice his oldest daughter, Iphigenia. Though reluctant, Agamemnon eventually agrees, luring Clytemnestra and Iphigenia to Aulis under the pretense of an arranged marriage. In some versions, he successfully sacrifices her, though in other versions of the story Artemis saves her.
Circe’s Sister
In one of the most terrifying scenes of The Odyssey, the powerful sorceress Circe (Samantha Morton) turns Odysseus’s men into pigs. Although she changes them back to humans, they’re certainly not her only victims. She admits to Odysseus that the caged raven in her home is actually her sister and, when he questions why she won’t transform her back into a human, Circe sadly explains that they get along better that way. The mention of Circe’s sister likely made mythology fans’ ears perk up, knowing this is likely Pasiphaë.
In mythology, Pasiphaë has an even weirder connection to animals than her sister. After her husband, Minos, angered Poseidon, the God cursed Pasiphaë to fall in love with a bull. Pasiphaë mated with the bull and, as a result, gave birth to the Minotaur. Interestingly, no ancient texts describe Pasiphaë as transforming into a bird, leaving us to wonder why this fate befell her in The Odyssey.
The Significance of Travis Scott’s Cameo
One of the most unexpected faces in The Odyssey is Travis Scott. The rapper appears in the film as a Bard, reciting a poem about the Trojan Horse at the royal palace in Ithaca. As he recites the poem, he drums his staff to punctuate his short phrases.
While it may seem like a random performance to some, mythology fans know that there’s a clever reason behind the drum rhythm. He’s pounding his stick in the rhythm of dactylic hexameter, which is the same poetic meter found in Homer’s original poem. Dactylic hexameter is a common meter found in Ancient Greek epic poetry and is thus an important element of Greek mythology, certain to excite the mythology fans who detect it.
