De Uitkijk x NKV: The Odyssey (2026)

This screening of The Odyssey is presented in collaboration with the Nederlands Klassiek Verbond and will be introduced by Christiaan Caspers.

How do you translate an epic poem of 15,000 lines, one of the oldest works in the Western canon, into contemporary cinema? What do you show, what do you leave out, and what do you need to add? Or, to stick with the imagery of antiquity: how do you string this bow?

With his film The Odyssey (2026), Christopher Nolan gives a resounding answer to these questions, but he is far from the first. In this lecture, we delve into film history and, using short clips, explore what filmmakers have done with Homer’s epic over the past decades, before Nolan took it on.

Dr. Christiaan Caspers (1978) received his PhD in 2011 with a dissertation on Greek Tragedy. He now teaches Classical Languages at Murmelliusgymnasium in Alkmaar. Among other works, he has published translations of the novel Lucius, or: The Ass, attributed to Lucian, Xenophon’s The Dinner Party, and Théophile Gautier’s novella Arria Marcella. He also contributed to Muze, vertel, a survey of the literature of Greek and Roman antiquity.

The Nederlands Klassiek Verbond is an association for anyone interested in the Greco-Roman world of antiquity, Classical Languages, archaeology, and history. Every year, they organise numerous lectures, excursions, and reading groups. For more information, visit https://nederlandsklassiekverbond.nl/afdelingen-agenda/amsterdam/.