# What connects The Odyssey with "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761 "2008-02-08T03:22:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/1 "2008-02-08T03:22:26Z")
Honestly, I’m not going to read the Odyssey, so please tell me what parts of “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” are derived from The Odyssey. That way I can pretend I’m well read with people that won’t know any better. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/2 "2008-02-08T03:24:19Z")
Wiki. Scroll down halfway. > **[O Brother, Where Art Thou?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Brother,_Where_Art_Thou%3F)** > > O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 satirical comedy-drama film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning in supporting roles. > The film is set in rural Mississippi during the 1930s, and it follows three escaped convicts searching for hidden treasure while a sheriff relentlessly pursues them. Its story is a modern satire which, while inc... You’re welcome. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/3 "2008-02-08T03:35:49Z")
Honestly, I thought I was in Cafe Society. I don’t know how to report things when I did something wrong. Thanks Duck Duck Greyduck I’ll read that over. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/4 "2008-02-08T03:43:59Z")
Sending this off on the long voyage to CS… Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/5 "2008-02-08T03:49:33Z")
Go for the book, man! If you get yourself a really good modern translation, like Lattimore or Knox and Fagles, it’s a whole lot easier to get through. And there’s some really stunning moments of poetry and emotion in it (the bit about Fry’s dog in Futurama was lifted from Odysseus and his dog Argus, for instance). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/6 "2008-02-08T03:52:43Z")
I was disappointed. I could see the rough parallels, but they didn’t seem very significant to me. Read theOdyssey – it’s worth it. If not, get the Penguin audiobook. It’s Ian McKellen reading an unabridged John Fagles translation, and it’s great. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been through it. (The Penguin audio version of The Iliad is, for some reason, a severely abridged version. Derek Jacobi’s reading is excellent, but I don’t understand why they didn’t record the whole thing.) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/7 "2008-02-08T04:33:50Z")
You really should read the Oddysey. Not so you’ll be “well read” or anything like that, but because it’s a really great story. One of the best ever. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/8 "2008-02-08T06:02:52Z")
FWIW, ISTR that when the film was released, the Cohen Brothers admitted they’d never read _The Odyssey_. Which is no surprise, considering that the connections are quite loose and superficial, IIRC. Not that it’s not a great movie, it just doesn’t owe much to Homer. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/9 "2008-02-08T06:06:25Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I was disappointed. I could see the rough parallels, but they didn’t seem very significant to me. Read theOdyssey – it’s worth it. [/QUOTE] As I recall that’s just what they never did. I remember hearing them say that they never read the Odyssey and that all their knowledge of the story came from cultural references. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/10 "2008-02-08T06:08:34Z")
Curse you dishwasher! I would have beaten you **commasense** had not my kitchen began to be flooded ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/11 "2008-02-08T15:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=Fern Forest] Curse you dishwasher! I would have beaten you **commasense** had not my kitchen began to be flooded [/QUOTE] Bwaa-haaa-haaa-ha-ha! ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/12 "2008-02-08T15:47:27Z")
I think the only things taken directly from Homer were the cow standing on the cotton-house and the multiple references to Dapper Dan hair treatment. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/13 "2008-02-08T15:57:46Z")
The main references as I recall. A cyclops as an enemy. Sirens who tempt them, and cause them problems. One of his men getting turned into an animal(sort of). His Wife having a new suitor while he was gone. A blind “seer” ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/14 "2008-02-08T16:01:35Z")
People being transformed into animals. (In the book it was several sailors turned into pigs, IIRC, not one person turned into a frog.) And of course, the hero being a clever, smooth talking guy who has many adventures and is adept at getting out of tricky situations. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/15 "2008-02-08T16:03:11Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] People being transformed into animals. (In the book it was several sailors turned into pigs, IIRC, not one person turned into a frog.) [/QUOTE] A _toad_. We thought you wuz a toad. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/16 "2008-02-08T16:10:15Z")
[QUOTE=wolfman] The main references as I recall. A cyclops as an enemy. Sirens who tempt them, and cause them problems. One of his men getting turned into an animal(sort of). His Wife having a new suitor while he was gone. A blind “seer” [/QUOTE] Weren’t the lotus eaters represented by the river baptizers? ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/17 "2008-02-08T16:20:39Z")
Best movie ever. And the Coen Brothers were clearly joking about never having read The Odyssey. That’s what they do. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/18 "2008-02-08T16:34:30Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] FWIW, ISTR that when the film was released, the Cohen Brothers admitted they’d never read _The Odyssey_. Which is no surprise, considering that the connections are quite loose and superficial, IIRC. Not that it’s not a great movie, it just doesn’t owe much to Homer. [/QUOTE] Which, of course, didn’t stop it from being nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Adapted Screenplay category. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/19 "2008-02-08T16:37:48Z")
[QUOTE=wolfman] …A cyclops as an enemy… [/QUOTE] Leading to one of the funniest sight-gags ever in film: the one-eyed KKK hood. I darned near died. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761/20 "2008-02-08T16:48:17Z")
“She turned me into a newt” oops - wrong movie 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-connects-the-odyssey-with-oh-brother-where-art-thou/436761.md?page=2)