I AM SO GLAD that people are talking about how the 2026 Odyssey movie is pushing Christian monotheistic standards on Ancient Greek polytheism that is objectively a completely different theological structure
(To preface I am not a Christian but I love learning about theology) no, “Zeus’s law” is not the same as something Christian god would decree. Zeus does not “love” humans the way that Christian god is described to love humans. “God”’s commandments are for the benefit of humans and so they love each other, Zeus’s “laws” are basically threats because we are not his children and he doesn’t even like his actual children.
you treat a Christian angel badly in disguise and they might smite you. you treat them well and they’ll reward you.
you treat a god in disguise well and they don’t kill you. you treat them badly and they kill you.
you don’t defy the gods, they are literally everywhere and everything. you don’t live under their rules because they have your best interests at heart, you live staying out of their way and making sacrifices and praying to them for your own safety because at the smallest slight, they will literally create plagues, wars, and whole seasons. Odysseus works with Athena but that is because he is the EXCEPTION not the RULE
in Christian scripture, being good and generous is rewarded. In classical mythology you literally don’t have any other choice but to make yourself useful because the gods didn’t care how many humans died in the titanomachy and they won’t care if they kill one more.
Zeus’s law isn’t a decree or a scripture, it’s a lesson you learn the hard way and you pass onto your children. But that’s also because Zeus’s law isn’t even REAL and Greek hospitality can’t be boiled down to one single aspect of their mythology and culture Mr Nolan I’m looking at you when I say this
EDIT: TL;DR is that anglicizing the concept of Xenia reduces it to essentially the most prominent western societal understanding of religion-based “deity in disguise” generosity, which comes from biblical values. My post is just defining the ways that those two instances of “gods in disguise” differ
(additionally) Christopher Nolan’s movie simplifies Xenia into being specifically godly, when it actually extends to a larger custom of political and generational alliances, which Emily Wilson’s translation discusses, but this movie doesn’t 🤗
