EagleEye

Odyssey Day, Oct. 15 @ 5:30 p.m.

Event: Odyssey Day is a livestreamed event featuring interactive presentations
Date: Thursday, October 15 at 5:30 p.m.
Location: James Farmer Hall #204
Sponsor: Departmentn of Cultural and Philosophical Inquiry

Building on the momentum of Christopher Nolan’s new movie, The Odyssey, Classics departments nationwide are celebrating Odyssey Day on October 15, 2026. Nolan’s film is a cinematic achievement in strikingly distinctive ways, underscoring its significance not only for Greek and Roman literature and contemporary filmmaking, but also for those assessing the classical past from different cultural backgrounds. Odyssey Day provides an opportunity to discuss the film and the issues raised by the film’s adaptation of Homer’s original work. 

This livestreamed event will feature interactive presentations by: 
— Dr. Anthony Fauci of the Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Fauci will share his reflections on the value and significance he has imparted to Homer’s Odyssey, which he first encountered—in the original Greek—as a high school student, and continued to study as a member of the prestigious Homeric Academy. 

— Dr. Carolivia Herron, a specialist in ancient and modern European- and African-inspired epic who teaches classics and humanities at Howard University. Dr. Herron will speak on “Odysseus in Black, White and IMAX: a discussion of Nolan’s Odyssey as a gratifying trajectory for the Complications of the Complicated Man.” 

— Dr. Victoria Pedrick, Associate Professor Emerita of Classics at Georgetown University. Dr. Pedrick will speak on “A Trojan Horse of a Movie: Odysseus’ Homecoming in Ancient Song and Modern Film, “ focusing on how Nolan’s particular approach to this hero’s return from war diverges from that of the Homeric Greek epic.

This event is held in coordination with the Society for Classical Studies, a non-profit North American scholarly organization founded in 1869 and devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization. The event is organized by Judith Peller Hallett, Professor of Classics and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Emerita at the University of Maryland. The 90-minute program will be held in person at the Little Falls Library in Bethesda, MD, and livestreamed by the University of Mary Washington.