World-renowned director Christopher Nolan’s film based on Homer’s famous epic “Odyssey” has sharply increased interest in ancient Greek mythology in the UK. After the film’s release, a record increase in “Odyssey” book sales was recorded.
“Elchi” reports that this is stated in data from the market research company “NielsenIQ”.
It was noted that sales of printed editions of the “Odyssey” in the UK increased by 1400 percent in the four weeks leading up to July 25 compared to the same period last year.
The film’s impact was not limited to Homer’s work. A significant rise in sales was also recorded for other works related to ancient Greek mythology, such as the “Iliad”, Madeline Miller’s “Circe”, and Margaret Atwood’s “The Penelopiad”.
British-American classical philologist Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of the “Odyssey” also saw a major increase in sales.
According to “Waterstones”, one of the UK’s largest bookstore chains, sales of Wilson’s works have increased by more than 1000 percent compared to 2025. The chain stated that interest in other “Odyssey” translations is also rising every week.
A similar trend is observed in the audiobook market. The “Spotify” platform announced that searches related to various translations of the “Odyssey” have increased by 310 percent.
Writer and actor Stephen Fry’s “Odyssey” has risen to the top spot on Amazon’s list of best-selling books in the history category in the UK. Fry’s “Mythos” and “Troy” books are also in the top ranks on the same list.
Richard Kendall, a lecturer in classical antiquity at the University of Exeter, called the increase in sales “fantastic”.
According to him, stories of ancient Greek and Roman mythology continue to attract readers despite the passage of centuries.
Kendall believes that it is not correct to evaluate this interest merely as a short-term trend related to cinema. In his opinion, people have been returning to these stories for millennia and will continue to read them in the future.
Firoze Vasunia, head of the Department of Greek and Latin at University College London, also thinks that the great interest in Nolan’s film could influence the number of students studying classical antiquity in the coming years.
The “Odyssey”, based on the epic written by Homer in the 7th or 8th century BC, tells of the trials Odysseus faced while returning home after the Trojan War.
In the film, Odysseus is played by Matt Damon, his wife Penelope by Anne Hathaway, and his son Telemachus by Tom Holland.
“Odyssey” is Christopher Nolan’s first screen work since winning an Oscar for his 2023 film “Oppenheimer”. The film was the box office leader in the US for two consecutive weeks and has grossed $640 million worldwide.
Despite the film’s success, there has also been criticism regarding its screenplay.
Emily Wilson harshly criticized the screenplay of Nolan’s “Odyssey”, stating that the psychological, emotional, political, and ethical depth of the epic was not sufficiently reflected in the film.
British historian Mary Beard also approached the film with caution, emphasizing that the complex themes in Homer’s work were replaced by Hollywood’s heavier and simplified messages.