It was the “dad” heard round the world. Despite the hype around blockbuster director Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming adaptation of “The Odyssey,” conversation around the film has been obscured by a seemingly small yet important detail: language. A brief moment in the film’s trailer caught the internet off guard. In it, Telemachus, played by Tom Holland says, “My dad is coming home,” in reference to his war hero father Odysseus (Matt Damon). But the question on keen observers’ minds: Why would an ancient Greek say “dad”? And why is every character in this classic Greek text speaking in an American accent?
While it might be easy to assume Nolan’s dialogue and decision to use American accents are anachronistic, experts said they are actually more in line with the origins of “The Odyssey” than you might think. Performed in front of crowds for centuries before it was first written down in 6th century B.C., “The Odyssey” was constantly reinterpreted by whoever was performing it.
