{"id":158618,"date":"2026-07-28T10:10:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T18:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/28\/a-jaunt-through-the-odyssey\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T10:10:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T18:10:41","slug":"a-jaunt-through-the-odyssey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/28\/a-jaunt-through-the-odyssey\/","title":{"rendered":"A Jaunt Through \u2018The Odyssey\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This summer, I\u2019m taking a class in comparative translations of\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Okay, okay:\u00a0To each his own.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve sure been amused about the controversy over whether Christopher Nolan\u2019s film version of\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0is woke.<\/p>\n

Let me make just two points.<\/p>\n

First, folks say that Nolan\u2019s decision to cast\u00a0Lupita Nyong\u2019o as Helen of Troy is an\u00a0outrage<\/a>.\u00a0She\u2019s black, for heaven\u2019s sake! How can the most beautiful woman in ancient Greece be black?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s think about this.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zeus transformed himself into a swan.\u00a0 He descended from Mount Olympus and raped Leda. As a result of that union, Leda laid two eggs.\u00a0Each egg contained twins.\u00a0Helen of Troy was one of the four children hatched from Leda\u2019s eggs.<\/p>\n

Tell me again her race.<\/p>\n

Hell, tell me her species.<\/p>\n

Second, folks criticize Nolan\u2019s decision to use contemporary language, including American accents and modern colloquialisms, in the film.<\/p>\n

Got it.<\/p>\n

The Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0was an epic poem written in ancient Greek in dactylic hexameter.<\/p>\n

(Writing a column at Above the Law about a nonlegal subject is an odd challenge.\u00a0If I do not explain the meaning of \u201cdactylic hexameter,\u201d some readers will complain that I\u2019m asking too much of them.\u00a0On the other hand, if I do explain the meaning of \u201cdactylic hexameter,\u201d a different group of readers will say that I\u2019m being condescending.\u00a0What\u2019s an author to do?<\/p>\n

Ah!\u00a0Dactylic hexameter<\/a>.\u00a0Click through or not, as you like.)<\/p>\n

Although a few poets have used dactyls through the years, ginning up 12,109 English-language lines of dactylic hexameter, as translating\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0would require, would be an overwhelming challenge.\u00a0As a result, translators have made a collection of choices over the centuries.<\/p>\n

George Chapman, who translated\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0into English around the year 1600, chose to write in rhymed iambic pentameter.\u00a0(Iambic pentameter<\/a>.\u00a0Closer call for me, but I can\u2019t be faulted for adding the link.)\u00a0 Alexander Pope and his assistants did the same in the early 1700s.<\/p>\n

Modern translators have made their own choices.\u00a0Some stick with hexameter, but abandon the dactyls.\u00a0Some write in\u00a0blank verse<\/a>.\u00a0Some make other choices.<\/p>\n

All, of course, change the language from Greek to English and from ancient to modern.<\/p>\n

But folks are complaining about Nolan\u2019s decision to have a character refer to \u201cfather\u201d as \u201cdad\u201d in an American accent?<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t we come up with something else to complain about?<\/p>\n

The war in Iran, maybe?\u00a0Deciding what to do there is really choosing between\u00a0Scylla and Charybdis.<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>inhouse@abovethelaw.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post A Jaunt Through \u2018The Odyssey\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This summer, I\u2019m taking a class in comparative translations of\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Okay, okay:\u00a0To each his own.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve sure been amused about the controversy over whether Christopher Nolan\u2019s film version of\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0is woke.<\/p>\n

Let me make just two points.<\/p>\n

First, folks say that Nolan\u2019s decision to cast\u00a0Lupita Nyong\u2019o as Helen of Troy is an\u00a0outrage<\/a>.\u00a0She\u2019s black, for heaven\u2019s sake! How can the most beautiful woman in ancient Greece be black?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s think about this.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zeus transformed himself into a swan.\u00a0 He descended from Mount Olympus and raped Leda. As a result of that union, Leda laid two eggs.\u00a0Each egg contained twins.\u00a0Helen of Troy was one of the four children hatched from Leda\u2019s eggs.<\/p>\n

Tell me again her race.<\/p>\n

Hell, tell me her species.<\/p>\n

Second, folks criticize Nolan\u2019s decision to use contemporary language, including American accents and modern colloquialisms, in the film.<\/p>\n

Got it.<\/p>\n

The Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0was an epic poem written in ancient Greek in dactylic hexameter.<\/p>\n

(Writing a column at Above the Law about a nonlegal subject is an odd challenge.\u00a0If I do not explain the meaning of \u201cdactylic hexameter,\u201d some readers will complain that I\u2019m asking too much of them.\u00a0On the other hand, if I do explain the meaning of \u201cdactylic hexameter,\u201d a different group of readers will say that I\u2019m being condescending.\u00a0What\u2019s an author to do?<\/p>\n

Ah!\u00a0Dactylic hexameter<\/a>.\u00a0Click through or not, as you like.)<\/p>\n

Although a few poets have used dactyls through the years, ginning up 12,109 English-language lines of dactylic hexameter, as translating\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0would require, would be an overwhelming challenge.\u00a0As a result, translators have made a collection of choices over the centuries.<\/p>\n

George Chapman, who translated\u00a0The Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0into English around the year 1600, chose to write in rhymed iambic pentameter.\u00a0(Iambic pentameter<\/a>.\u00a0Closer call for me, but I can\u2019t be faulted for adding the link.)\u00a0 Alexander Pope and his assistants did the same in the early 1700s.<\/p>\n

Modern translators have made their own choices.\u00a0Some stick with hexameter, but abandon the dactyls.\u00a0Some write in\u00a0blank verse<\/a>.\u00a0Some make other choices.<\/p>\n

All, of course, change the language from Greek to English and from ancient to modern.<\/p>\n

But folks are complaining about Nolan\u2019s decision to have a character refer to \u201cfather\u201d as \u201cdad\u201d in an American accent?<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t we come up with something else to complain about?<\/p>\n

The war in Iran, maybe?\u00a0Deciding what to do there is really choosing between\u00a0Scylla and Charybdis.<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This summer, I\u2019m taking a class in comparative translations of\u00a0The Odyssey. Okay, okay:\u00a0To each his own. But I\u2019ve sure been amused about the controversy over whether Christopher Nolan\u2019s film version of\u00a0The Odyssey\u00a0is woke. Let me make just two points. First, folks say that Nolan\u2019s decision to cast\u00a0Lupita Nyong\u2019o as Helen of Troy is an\u00a0outrage.\u00a0She\u2019s black, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":158493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/books-IicJAi.jpg?fit=500%2C334&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}