The Scylla and Charybdis scene is represented by the guys being stuck in the barn by the flames. They can’t run out or they’ll be caught by the sheriffs, and they can’t stay or they’ll be burned alive. That’s why Everett says “Damn! We’re in a tight spot!” several times, to bring it home that they’re between a rock and a hard place.
More like "“They loved him up and turned him into a horny toad!”
Followed later by “We thought you was a toad.”
Love that movie.
Everett’s vanity is a big but subtle parallel to Odysseus. Everett’s vanity about his appearance almost leads to his downfall; we find out the pomade he obsessively uses is how the dogs are able to track him. Similarly, vanity makes Odysseus call out to the Cyclops right as he’s leaving the island something along “hey, if anyone asks who blinded you, tell 'em it was me, Odysseus,” not realizing that the Cyclops is the son of Poseidon who still has it out for him from the Iliad. Pissing off Poseidon twice is unwise when you’re about to make a big ocean voyage.
Looking at the Wikipedia link it looks like it already said almost exactly what I just did, but I’ll go ahead and post anyway just to say that this one seems to me to be so subtle that the Coens had to be kidding when they said they never actually read the Odyssey.
I know we’re talking Homer refrences but I just loved the Wizard of Oz stuff at the Klan rally.
The parallels between Everett and Odysseus are somewhat limited, though. Odysseus was a great warrior in addition to being one clever, crafty SOB. He’s the guy that came with Trojan Horse, isn’t he? He does a bunch of other clever shit, too, along the way. His schemes generally work. Then, when he finally gets home, he slays all the suitors.
Everett, on the other hand, has plenty of schemes, but basically none of them seem to work. When he comes to fisticuffs with his wife’s (lone) suitor he gets his ass handed to him AND gets thrown out of the Woolworth’s. His triumph in the end is not a result of any great cleverness or doughtiness on his part.
Coen brothers. Just sayin’ .
He was always prepared!
The Soggy Bottom Boys’ having a hit song, whose fame precedes their arrival home (and maybe elsewhere, I don’t recall), parallels Odysseus’ fame and the warm welcome he receives on occasion (at the stronghold of Aoleus, the Keeper of the Winds, and the palace of the princess Nausicaa).
Odysseus’ troubles on the high seas (repeatedly being blown off course or stranded without friendly winds, all due to his offending Poseidon by jettisoning their treasure – thus seducing the Earth Shaker’s nymphs or mermaids or whatever – and by blinding Polyphemus, who entreats the god for revenge) parallels Ulysses & co.'s difficulties with trains and their being taken against their will on a wild ride by Baby Face Nelson. [It would’ve been nice if there had been a brief scene in which a train station master offers some friendly assistance (and perhaps a train schedule or pass) to Ulysses, as Aoleus had handed a big bag of winds to Ulysses, but oh well.]
Hmm. Baby Face does give them a big bag of money…
It’s GEORGE NELSON, not Baby Face, got it? 
Recently I’ve been getting spam messages purporting to be someone wanting to buy ad space on our website. The name in the message doesn’t match the name in the From: field, and the domain the e-mail is sent from doesn’t match the sender’s domain. Anyway, the name? George Nelson, I always get a laugh out of that.
Checking with a copy, it’s actually “Aeolus”. Frikkin’ three-thousand-year-old Greek names… 
Frog/toad
Cohen/Coen
What’s the difference?
Outstanding!
Despite the Wiki article, there is a scene where Chris Thomas Johnson is posed just like Robert Johnson. For Christ’s sake, how many guys can sell their soul to the Devil to play the Blues?
That may be a bad choice of words.
Ulysses, BTW, is the Roman name for Odysseus. Out of all the adaptations of The Odyssey, the Coen brothers version is the best, and I tend to hate their movies. Hate them.