Three that spring to mind immediately are Tennyson’s Ulysses, Joyce’s novel of the same name, and Cavafy’s Ithaka. What other works of literature use the characters, settings, or events of the Odyssey as a jumping-off point?
I haven’t read it, but Margaret Atwood just came out with The Penelopiad, which is the The Odyssey from Penelope’s point of view.
Cold Mountain
George Clooney’s Brother,Where Art Thou? and
Cold Mountain come to mind
How would Penelope have known what was happening to Odysseus during his travels? Or is it her account of what was happening to her during all the years that he was away? It could be interesting. I must get hold of a copy.
what he said.I thought she just did a lot of weaving
I’d also make a case - probably shared by no-one else - for G. M. Fraser’s Flashman novels being an idiosyncratic retelling of The Odyssey, based on the many points of plot convergence. Although Flashy’s a celebrated soldier {albeit a coward and a scoundrel}, like Odysseus he primarily survives through his wits and cunning. He just wants to go home to England, but is constantly waylayed and thwarted by monsters - played either by various 19th century figures such as Bismarck, John Brown or Lord Cardigan, or by slavers and Borneo head-hunters. In the process, he’s constantly being ensnared {not unwillingly, it has to be said} by the wiles of temptresses who get him into more trouble: his entire life is devoted to trying to go home to lead a life of idle debauchery, but his military career, various indiscretions and plain bad luck constantly conspire against him. Meanwhile, his Penelope, in the form of the beauteous but dimwitted Elspeth, is anything but faithful while awaiting his return, rogering her way through half of Mayfair.
Let’s not forget Tennyson’s The Lotos-Eaters, either.
SF writer Brian Stableford, early in his career, produced the Dies Irae trilogy, the first two volumes of which (The Days of Glory and In the Kingdom of the Beasts) are very obviously the Iliad and the Odyssey transposed into a science-fictional setting.
She also alienated her son by letting all those suitors have the run of the place and drink up daddy’s wine cellar.
Cannibal! The Musical, if we’re including films.
That’s what she told him … especially when he dropped the news that he was about to take off again.
James McManus’s Chin Music, an overlooked minor masterpiece, was based on Joyce’s Ulysses, so technically . . .
An Ancient Gesture by Edna St. Vincent Millay
It’s rather short, compared to say, The Lotos-Eaters.
I thought that Alvin Maker’s weaving aunt-whatever-thing in The Tales of Alvin Maker series by Orson Scott Card had a Penelope element to her, but it’s been so long since I’ve read it that I’m probably misremembering horribly. It was probably more of a Moirai element than anything else.
I’m interested in whether or not you want to limit this question. Will any character based on a character appearing in the Odyssey be enough? I mean, if someone has a scene in a story where a Calypso-character tempts the main character with something usually unattainable in return for his love, does that count? Will a journey to the underworld count? A son who resents his mother’s suitors and searches for his father? With enough twisting, Hamlet could fit the requirements. As it stands now, this is an enormous question.
It is a rather enormous question. I’ve always been taken with the Joseph Campbell-style idea of a universal human myth, and after reading Cavafy’s poem and having it resonate very strongly with me, I thought I’d poke around and see if Dopers could come up with more directly-related-but-still-widely-relevant creative works.
To narrow it down, the more directly tied into the plot/characters, the better: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (which I can’t believe I forgot!) and Joyce’s Ulysses, for example, as opposed to, say, “Well, if you think about it The Lord of the Rings has sort of an Odyssey-like plot!” (which it totally does). Especially if the creator clearly was inspired by Homer, instead of just having similarities. It’s a hard line to draw, but I’m interested in all responses – this isn’t a “I need examples of!”, it’s a “hey, that’s cool!” discussion question. 
The current comic book series ‘Age of Bronze’ by Eric Shanower isn’t so much inspired by as a straightforward adaptation of the Iliad with possibly a touch of the Odyssey. It’s a great thing.
Theres Ilium by Dan Simmons. May get around to reading it one day.
The same thing can be said of the recent Brad Pitt film Troy (the Illiad, not really the Odyssey at all).
–Cliffy
No, The Lord of the Rings is really The Heart of Darkness.
But as for the OP, your could argue that almost any wandering traveler tale is similar to the Odyssey : the voyages of Sinbad, or at a stretch Gulliver’s Travels.
I just remembered another one. DuckTales did a version of The Odyssey, and I’d be willing to bet it was based off of an old Carl Barks comic book. Does anyone know for sure?