Summer 2026 was the summer of The Odyssey. Christopher Nolan’s adaptation was more than just a summer blockbuster; it was the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. Like many people, I loved the movie. But the second it finished, all I wanted was to make sure the rest of the audience would take their time to read the source material.
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are two of my favorite books ever. Despite being an avid reader, I would never have read them if I wasn’t forced.
As I wrote in another article, “Getting Into Classics: Overcoming My Fear of Classic Literature,” I often find myself avoiding classics even when I know I would probably enjoy them. I convince myself that I need to be in the perfect mood to pick up something long, dense, and full of language I might not immediately understand. And to be honest… I’m hardly ever in that mood.
So, when I signed up for a classic literature class freshman year, I hoped it would finally force me to pick up the books I had been avoiding.
Thank God it did.
Before this class, I knew the basics of The Iliad and The Odyssey: the Trojan War, the wooden horse, and a man trying to find his way home. But I had no idea that these epics would become two of my favorite stories of all time.
Now, don’t get me wrong, they are intimidating. I read Robert Fitzgerald’s translations, published in the 1960s and ’70s, and together they are more than 1,000 pages. The language was difficult, the reading was slow, and I kept having to look up names I didn’t know. But being forced to slow down was exactly what made reading Homer so special.
The Illiad
The Iliad is about far more than war. At its core, The Iliad is about grief, pride, loyalty, and the devastating consequences of anger. Achilles is one of the most famous heroes in literature, but he is not perfect or untouchable. He is stubborn, heartbroken, and deeply human. His rage affects everyone around him, and the consequences are impossible to ignore.
What made Achilles feel so real to me was that his anger is never portrayed as simple strength. His pride, grief, and desire for revenge hurt not only the people around him but himself. Reading The Iliad made me understand why these stories have lasted for so long: Homer was writing about emotions we still struggle with, such as anger, guilt, love, and the inability to let go.
What surprised me most was how little the story glorifies war. Yes, there are incredible battle scenes and heroic speeches, but Homer never lets readers forget that every soldier is someone’s son, husband, father, or friend. Every death is a loss.
For a story written thousands of years ago, The Iliad understands grief in a way that feels painfully modern. It captures the anger that comes with loss, the guilt that comes with survival, and the horror of watching the people you love suffer.
The Odyssey
The Odyssey is about coming home. While The Iliad explores war and grief, The Odyssey is about what happens after. Odysseus spends 10 years trying to return to Ithaca after the Trojan War, where his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, are waiting for him.
Of course, there are Cyclopes, sirens, witches, and gods along the way. But beneath the action, The Odyssey is a story about family, identity, and home.
What I loved most is that the story is not only about Odysseus. Penelope is waiting, raising their son, and protecting their home from men who believe Odysseus will never return. Telemachus is trying to figure out who he is without his father there to guide him. Odysseus is fighting to return home, but his family is also fighting to preserve a home for him to return to.
I loved Christopher Nolan’s recent adaptation of The Odyssey. Like every adaptation, there will always be critiques from scholars and people who have loved the source material for years. Still, I think the movie captured what makes the epic so powerful: the horror of war, the importance of family, and the guilt, regret, and love that follow Odysseus throughout his journey.
But the book has all of that and even more. When you read Homer, you get access to the characters’ inner thoughts and motivations. You understand Achilles’ anger, Odysseus’ desperation, and Penelope’s strength in an entirely different way. You start to understand why these are the stories of all stories. So many books, movies, and television shows are rooted in Homer’s themes of war, revenge, family, grief, and the desire to find your way home.
The Iliad and The Odyssey are filled with monsters, gods, and battles, but their power comes from something much simpler: their characters feel everything so deeply. They love their families, make mistakes, hold grudges, and search for peace after loss. For stories written thousands of years ago, they understand human emotion better than many modern books I have read.
If you are intimidated by classics like I was, I promise you do not need to be an expert in Greek mythology to enjoy these books. Take your time, choose a translation that works for you, and do not be afraid to look things up as you go.
They have survived for thousands of years for a reason. And if you give them a chance, they might become some of your favorite stories, too.