Official poster art from the 2026 Christopher Nolan Odyssey film – there were a few posters for the film but this one combines Matt Damon’s Odysseus as a single figure against the background of Troy and the Trojan Horse (fair use)
TOP 10 ODYSSEYS
Sing, Muse, of my Top 10 Odysseys.
Wait, what?
Top 10 Odysseys? Plural?
Do I mean my Top 10 Books of the Odyssey, of which there are 24, essentially the equivalent of modern chapters, hence more than enough for a top ten? Or do I mean my Top 10 Adaptations of the Odyssey, particularly given the prominence of Christopher Nolan’s cinematic adaptation at the time of writing this in 2026?
No to both, as I do have separate top ten lists for them – my Top 10 Books of the Odyssey and my Top 10 Adaptations of the Odyssey.
Perhaps I mean literary odysseys – odyssey as a literary genre, fictional or picaresque journeys analogous to the Odyssey, such as those of Aeneas, Sinbad or Gulliver?
Again no, I do not, although that is an interesting idea so let’s put a pin in that.
Perhaps editions or translations of the Odyssey, whether prose or verse?
Yet again, no. While there are obviously enough editions or translations for a top ten, I am not familiar enough with the different editions or translations, relying as I did on the good old Penguin Classics edition.
Yes, I mean the top ten odysseys to be found within the text of the Odyssey.
But Stark after Dark, I hear you ask, isn’t there just the one Odyssey within the text of the Odyssey?
Yes, there is one fundamental continuity of the Odyssey within its text, although I suspect the Odyssey was a lot more fluid when it was sung as bardic performance – while the core remained the same, I suspect peripheral or even large parts of it changed from performance to performance.
However, there are or have been demarcations or parts identified within the fundamental continuity of the Odyssey – perhaps most notably the standard demarcation of the Telemachy from the balance of the Odyssey, with the latter also often divided into two parts (or arguably more). So don’t be surprised if that standard demarcation plays a prominent role in my top ten, although I also look at “thematic” demarcations or parts in or that cut across books of the Odyssey.
So yes, this is another of my mostly tongue-in-cheek top ten lists where I look at demarcations or parts within what is the fundamental continuity of the Odyssey – you could think of it as my Odyssey iceberg. Hence, I won’t be my usual countdown but counting them out or going from the top of the iceberg to lower down.
