The Odyssey

The Odyssey is a 1997 American television miniseries adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic. Directed by Russian filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky, it was made for NBC and first shown in the United States across two nights, May 18 and 19, 1997. Its screenplay credits Konchalovsky and Chris Solimine. Armand Assante plays Odysseus, the king of Ithaca and veteran of the Trojan War; Greta Scacchi plays his wife Penelope. The production turns the poem’s long homeward journey into a two-part television event, using location work in Malta and large-scale effects to stage its monsters, gods, storms, and battles for television audiences worldwide.

After capturing Troy through the wooden horse, Odysseus’ fleet begins its return voyage. The miniseries follows his encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus, whom Odysseus blinds after identifying himself as “Nobody.” Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon, and the god’s anger drives the hero far from Ithaca. Odysseus also faces the cannibalistic Laestrygonians, the enchantress Circe, the deadly Sirens, and the six-headed Scylla. Athena, played by Isabella Rossellini, intervenes repeatedly on his behalf, while Poseidon acts as his divine antagonist. These episodes give the production its episodic structure and its central conflict between endurance, pride, and divine punishment for Odysseus himself.

While Odysseus is absent for twenty years, Penelope resists suitors who occupy his household and demand that she choose a new husband. She delays them by promising to decide after weaving a funeral shroud for Laertes, Odysseus’ father, then secretly unweaving each night what she has completed by day. Their son Telemachus, played by Alan Stenson, grows up under the suitors’ threat. In Ithaca, Eric Roberts portrays Eurymachus, a leading suitor. The story’s domestic plot is active: Penelope protects Odysseus’ property and Telemachus’ inheritance while the palace becomes a contested space. Her stratagem parallels Odysseus’ reliance on intelligence and deception.

Finally, Odysseus reaches Ithaca disguised as a beggar. With Athena’s help, he tests the loyalty of Eumaeus and others before revealing himself to Telemachus. Penelope announces an archery contest: the successful man must string Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow through a line of axe heads. None of the suitors can manage it. Odysseus strings the bow, completes the shot, and begins the killing of the suitors, assisted by Telemachus. Penelope finally recognizes him through the secret of their marriage bed, built around a living olive tree. The miniseries concludes with the restoration of Odysseus’ household after the poem’s return.