Christopher Nolan’s decision to use modern dialect as opposed to a more antiquated way of speaking in The Odyssey was considered controversial by reactionaries seeking to boycott the movie, but it was a truly inspired choice. Nolan specifically sought to make the movie more accessible to as large an audience as possible, and including easy-to-understand dialogue helped make the fantasy epic a hit with critics and audiences the world over. It also resulted in a number of truly memorable quotes, as Nolan’s script is loaded with hard-hitting one-liners that accentuate the gravity of the events that unfold.
With The Odyssey careening toward $1 billion via opening weekend box office records and a historic holdover in its second week, the movie is already considered a modern classic by some. A number of the movie’s most impactful lines have already been immortalized in the world of social media, and as it reaches more people that seems likely to continue. We pulled out 10 of the most memorable quotes to come out of Christopher Nolan’s latest masterpiece.
10
“Did you think if you ate quietly, the sun god wouldn’t notice?” – Odysseus
Odysseus’ defeated admonition of his starving men.
The final stop for Odysseus’ crew was the island of Thrinacia, where a flock of cattle belonging to the sun god Apollo (adapted from the traditional designation of Helios) graze in peace. Odysseus warned his men to leave them alone following his own warning from the blind prophet Tiresias in Hades, but his starving men eventually choose to eat from the flock and likely drown, as opposed to starve to death. Odysseus exasperatedly asks his second-in-command Eurylochus this question when he finds them eating one of the cows over a fire in a pit they dug to hide their crime, knowing that they had doomed themselves.
9
“The clearest view of a man is from below.” – Odysseus
Odysseus speaks about how to measure character.
Following a bit of advice from the betrayed king Agamemnon in Hades, Odysseus opts to return to his home of Ithaca dressed as a beggar. He chooses this disguise and maintains it into the belly of his own home knowing that he’ll be largely overlooked by the general public. As he notes here, he’ll get a clear view of the quality of each man (although specifically the villainous Antinous), as a man’s character will always be revealed in how they treat those who are beneath them, whether they be animals or those less fortunate.
8
“Somebody get these beggars out of here!” – Antinous
An uncertain Antinous feels control of the room slipping away.
Speaking of Antinous, he appears to have come away with the most heavily meme’d quote of the movie. As the suitors pile in for Telemachus’ “welcome home feast”, a number of beggars join them as well, as Odysseus’ home was always open to travelers as the Greek tradition of xenia dictates. Antinous spits the word “beggars” out with all the venom of a slur, and that combined with his subtle facial expressions bely his extreme insecurity not only that he is unworthy of Penelope and the throne of Ithaca, but that he is indeed a beggar himself after spending years eating and partying at the palace under the guise of being a suitor.
7
“Don’t look for gods in men, you’ll always be disappointed.” – Odysseus
Odysseus opines on humanity’s inherent flaws.
Odysseus’ warning to Telemachus, who often notes that he sees Athena’s wisdom in the eyes of others, speaks to Odysseus’ own wisdom and experience with humanity. In the world of mythical war heroes and kings, it’s easy to deify people, especially when factoring in the favor of the very real gods. Odysseus knows that even the greatest of men, himself very much included, are not only as flawed as any other human being, but in many cases even more so.
6
“My mother’s wishes are for you all to burn.” – Telemachus
Penelope’s son lays her hatred bare to Antinous.
Once imbued with more confidence than he had at the beginning of The Odyssey, Tom Holland’s Telemachus drops all pretense with Robert Pattinson’s sleazy Antinous. The villain presumes to tell Telemachus about what his mother wants of him, and Telemachus responds with a simple retort that makes her utter disdain for him as plain as possible. It’s a moment that represents the advancing maturity of Telemachus, as he doesn’t shy away from the suitor that tormented him.
5
“I think we’re past that.” – Odysseus
One of the movie’s few perfectly-timed bits of comedy.
After Odysseus masterminds a plan to escape Polyphemus’ cave by blinding him with a burning log, his men still face peril as they try to make their way past the injured Cyclopes. One of his men posits that they might try to reason with the monster, as they understood that it can speak once it roared in agony, calling out for his father Poseidon to avenge him. After a pause, Odysseus notes that it’s obviously quite late to take a more tactful approach to escaping the cave in a brief moment of levity.
4
“You’re a man who needs to control his fate. But you can’t control this.” – Calypso
Calypso’s parting advice to Odysseus speaks to the dangers of his pride.
Every step of the way on his journey, Odysseus dwindles his crew and brings himself farther from home due to his own pride. As opposed to submitting to the will of the gods, he outwardly defies them (even directly verbalizing his defiance at one point), believing his brilliance and strength is enough to overcome the obstacles he faces without their aid. He is proven wrong at every turn, and after seven years Calypso finally reveals how to get home: to submit himself entirely to the will of the gods. He must surrender control if he wants to make it back to Ithaca.
3
“To burn the walls of Troy was to burn the world-entire. Including his home.” – Odysseus
Odysseus reflects upon the gravity of his sins.
Odysseus’ third act monologue through the screen to his wife Penelope is one of the most heart-rending moments of the movie, and truly one of the greatest scenes in Nolan’s filmography once it begins to cut in clips from the sacking of Troy. Odysseus summarizes the true cost of his actions during this monologue, simultaneously explaining why it took him so long to get home. The ultimate betrayal of Zeus’ Law with the Trojan Horse set the world on a dark path from which it will never recover, and Odysseus feared that his actions would have resulted in unspeakable horrors at his own home, which is nearly had with the takeover of the suitors and attempted murder of his son.
2
“Bringing it all.” – Odysseus
Odysseus declares a final reckoning.
When asked by Eumaeus if Odysseus intended to bring vengeance to the suitors who nearly overthrew his home and his kingdom, Odysseus elevates the threat he intends to bring to his unwanted guests. He does not intend to just bring vengeance, but rather a reckoning for all the suitors. He isn’t simply throwing the suitors out of his home, he intends to slaughter them for their many offenses, technically breaking Zeus’ Law one last time with zero concern for the personal consequences. It’s the precursor to the jaw-droppingly awesome final act of The Odyssey, and one of the movie’s most memorable lines.
1
“It told you what you most want is what you most can’t have. And what you most can’t have is what you already had, and lost.” – Odysseus
The Sirens’ song forced Odysseus to reckon with the consequences of his actions.
Perhaps the best work Matt Damon does in the entirety of The Odyssey comes when he and the remnants of his crew pass by the Sirens, a group of mermaid-like creatures that lure men and ships to their doom with an intoxicating song that essentially drives them mad. Odysseus chooses to hear their song, lashing himself to the mast so that he physically can’t be lured away, screaming in pure agony under the mental torture the song subjects him to given his inability to pursue the Sirens. He describes what the song did to him once they clear the trap, and it’s truly devastating.
It’s Odysseus’ formal recognition of his failure to his wife, his son, and his kingdom. The torture he endured was being presented with the heart-wrenching knowledge that the only thing that would ever truly fulfill him was the life he had before the Trojan War. He forfeited 20 years with a wife and son he loves and a kingdom he holds dear as a result of his own pride and defiance, and he can never get those years back. Not only that, his actions resulted in the breaking of the world, the effects of which would be felt at his own home. The Sirens’ song torments Odysseus with everything that he lost, which can never be recovered.
- Release Date
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July 15, 2026
- Runtime
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173 minutes
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
