Zhong Shu: The concept of atonement doesn't exist in Greek culture. It doesn't exist in the Greek language. It doesn't exist in Homer's Odyssey. It exists in your Odyssey. A natural question that I had when watching the film was, did you Christianize the Odyssey?
Let's see
Atonement is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part.
But greecs do have that:
In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Heracles killed his children and Megara. After his madness had been cured with hellebore by Antikyreus, the founder of Antikyra,[40] he realized what he had done and fled to the Oracle of Delphi. Unbeknownst to him, the Oracle was guided by Hera. He was directed to serve King Eurystheus for ten years and perform any task Eurystheus required of him. Eurystheus decided to give Heracles ten labours, but after completing them, Heracles was cheated by Eurystheus when he added two more, resulting in the Twelve Labors of Heracles. If he succeeded, he would be purified of his sin and, as myth says, he would become a god, and be granted immortality.
(...)
After recovering his sanity, Heracles deeply regretted his actions; he was purified by King Thespius, then traveled to Delphi to inquire how he could atone for his actions.
SO, don't get me wrong
Nolan DID christianize the Odysee
I doupt that he could do anything else
But the greecs very much DID have a concept of atonement and Homer was aware of it
Did he put it in teh Odysse?
I'd say so, yes
The spirit of the prophet Tiresias told Odysseus he would return home, but must eventually undertake another journey.
(...)
In the epic, Odysseus is instructed by Tiresias to take an oar from his ship and to walk inland until he finds a "land that knows nothing of the sea", where the oar would be mistaken for a winnowing shovel. At this point, he is to offer a sacrifice to Poseidon, and then at last his journeys would be over.
Odysseus arogance (he needed Polyphemus to know who was so smart to best him) insulted Poseidon and he needs to atone for that
And his entire crew, ten years of his life and hardship was not enough.
He still has to go to a land that knows nothing of the sea and make a sacrifice
TL;DR Homer was aware of teh concept of attonemnt and DID put it in the Odysse
.
. -> Much of teh Odysse is about punishent and what happens if you do not show obedience and loyalty to your betters
slaves to their masters
wifes to their husbands
the people to their king
and kings to their gods
And on teh other hand, how well everything works if
slaves obey their masters
Wifes obey their husbands
people obey their king and his laws
and kings obey their gods
Only then can peace return
Something Shakespear very much pickt up on and let's his ULYSSES/Odysseus say in so many words
O, when degree is shaked, Which is the ladder to all high designs, Then enterprise is sick! How could communities, Degrees in schools and brotherhoods in cities, Peaceful commerce from dividable shores, The primogenitive and due of birth, Prerogative of age, crowns, sceptres, laurels, But by degree, stand in authentic place? Take but degree away, untune that string, And, hark, what discord follows! each thing meets In mere oppugnancy: the bounded waters
Troilus and Cressida
