Christopher Nolan's fantasy-infused epic The Odyssey has arrived, and it adapts many of Greek mythology's most iconic creatures. The film is based on Homer's poem of the same name, which follows Greek war hero Odysseus (Matt Damon) on a perilous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Along the way, Odysseus' path is plagued with dangers, including many of the monsters from Greek myth.
Greek mythology's creatures have been adapted across numerous Hollywood properties, from Disney's Percy Jackson and the Olympians to films like Clash of the Titans and Immortals. However, Christopher Nolan's signature vision and style bring out a different side of these creatures, as The Odyssey eschews blatant fantasy in favor of a more grounded approach (read The Direct's review of Nolan's film here).
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for The Odyssey (2026).
All the Mythical Creatures in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey
Cyclops
After Odysseus and his crew embark on their long voyage back to Ithaca, one of the first hurdles they come across is the Cyclops' lair. The Cyclops, Polyphemus, lives on an island where the one-eyed giant tends to a flock of sheep. Odysseus and his crew arrive on the island hoping to find food and end up stumbling upon the Cyclops' cave, where they are promptly trapped by the owner.
In Nolan's The Odyssey, Polyphemus (played on set by Bill Irwin) is similar to his depictions in the myths, and is a towering giant with a single eye. He promptly eats two of Odysseus' men each night before resting, but Odysseus realizes they can't kill the Cyclops until he moves the boulder out of the cave door.
While in the original poem Odysseus manages to trick his way out of Polyphemus' clutches, in the movie adaptation the Cyclops doesn't speak, uttering only a few prayers to his father, Poseidon, after Odysseus and his men blind him. Nevertheless, the Cyclops is one of the most impactful monsters featured in Nolan's adaptation, and the film does the Greek myths justice.
Laestrygonians
Shortly after their run-in with the Cyclops, Odysseus and his crew come up upon another group of giant threats, this time in the cannibalistic Laestrygonians. The Laestrygonians in Greek myth were also said to be of Poseidon's lineage and caused huge problems for Odysseus.
In the movie, the men first stumble upon a Laestrygonian child already the size of a full-grown man, and its screaming attracts the rest of the tribe, all armored and the size of almost two adults. The Laestrygonians succeed in trapping and killing many of Odysseus' men, and even when the group makes it back to their ships, the giants destroy many of them, effectively whittling down Odysseus' crew and leaving him with but a few ships.
Circe
After the Laestrygonians, Odysseus' men encounter Circe (Samantha Morton), as they seek food at her home. Circe, who is secretly a witch, welcomes the men, feeds them enchanted stew, and then uses her magic to turn them into pigs, claiming this is their true selves.
While exploring the lands around her home, Odysseus finds the remnants of many other men Circe has turned into lions, tigers, and deer. Odysseus saves his men by threatening Circe's raven, her transfigured sister, and convincing her to restore the soldiers to their human forms.
Shades
After receiving advice from Circe that he must travel to the underworld (aka Hades) in order to find his way home, Odysseus travels to a land where the water meets a river of fire, and they perform a ritual to summon the shade of Tiresias (James Remar), the blind clairvoyant prophet of Apollo. In Greek myth, Shades are the spirits of the dead that live in the underworld. Rising from the Earth, Tiresias shares with Odysseus a prophecy: Odysseus, and only Odysseus, will make it home if he tries to defy the gods.
In addition to Tiresias, the underworld also presents Odysseus with many other Shades, including thousands of his dead men and wartime colleagues. One is Elliot Page's Sinon, who reprimands Odysseus for leaving him to die. Another is Benny Safdie's Agamemnon, who reveals to Odysseus that his death occurred upon returning home and warns Damon's character not to be complacent when he arrives back in Ithaca.
Charybdis
Two iconic monsters from Homer's Odyssey and in Greek myth are the sea creature Charybdis and Scylla. Charybdis is the giant sea monster that creates a gigantic, never-ending whirlpool, sucking ships into its current and destroying them. In some variations, Charybdis is a more overt sea monster, but in Nolan's The Odyssey, it is simply a giant whirlpool.
To avoid being sucked into the current of Charybdis, Eurylochus (Himesh Patel) pulls a daring move that diverts their ship toward the cliffs instead, which brings them into an equally dangerous situation.
Scylla
Lurking in the cliffs near Charybdis is the monster Scylla, a many-hedded creature that plucks sailors from their ships and devours them in its cave. There have been many depictions of Scylla, ranging from a snake or dragon-like creature to a vicious, multi-headed dog-like monster.
In The Odyssey, Scylla isn't given much screen time, but the monster is shown to be a brownish, long-limbed, many-headed creature with sightless heads and vicious mouths that snatches six of Odysseus's men from the boat and retreats with them back to its cave.
Sirens
The last of a succession of monstrous tests Odysseus and his crew encounter is the sirens. The sirens are known for appearing as beautiful, female, human-like creatures, or mermaids, who lure sailors to them with an alluring siren song. Those who hear the song are unable to resist its temptation.
Odysseus passes this test by having his men plug their ears with wax, while he is tied to the mast so he can hear the song but cannot jump overboard. In The Odyssey, the sirens are only shown from a distance and appear to be women waiting on the rocks. While listening to their song, Odysseus is shown screaming and crying, and later tells his men that the song represents everything he wishes he had and everything he already has that is lost.
Calypso
One of Odysseus' final tests on his journey comes after a violent storm rips apart his vessel and kills his men. He washes ashore on Ogygia, where he finds Calypso (Charlize Theron), a nymph, who feeds him lotus flowers that make him forget his past and his pain.
Calypso heals Odysseus and falls in love with him. They live together for seven years, all the while she feeds him lotus flowers to keep him from remembering his wife and son and thus wanting to leave.
Eventually, Odysseus regains his memory and finds the will to leave, building a makeshift raft from the remains of his ship and taking a leap of faith that the gods will return him to Ithaca.
The Odyssey opened in theaters on July 17. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, and many other stars from the worlds of Marvel and DC.
