christopher nolan’s odyssey Raises a lot of weighty and profound questions. Were all the ancient Greeks humiliated like Matt Damon? every man did In fact have a beard? What kind of grooming routine were they in? And why is the film so light on sex?
We spoke to the classicist for answers Honor Cargill-Martin. Cargill-Martin has published a biography of the ancient Roman empress Messalina and writes on substack and elsewhere about the parallels between the ancient and modern worlds.
It turns out that ancient Greek men were just as interested in looking good as we are, and they were faced with almost as many depictions of unattainable male bodies as the average Instagram feed. Read on to learn about the cardio-heavy fitness culture of the classical world, how grooming of men was a deeply social act, and why Damon probably should have had such a thick head of hair.
Take us back to ancient Greece and that time odyssey Was written. What was the masculine ideal?
The ancient concept of masculinity is very much tied to control: control over other people, but also control over oneself. There is much less separation between your mental ability, your physical ability, and your moral character than there is today. Your ability to train and develop your body was an expression of inner strength. If you’re going to war, keeping your body in good shape is also an essential characteristic of being a man.
Also, physical beauty is seen as an expression of the connection between the human and the divine. We see many of these (stone sculptures) saying kouroi– Very handsome, young, athletic male figures whose musculature is indeed very attractive, absolutely unnatural. This is seen as respect for divinity, because you are bringing the human body as close to perfection (as it can go).
In the film, Matt Damon’s Odysseus is properly assembled like a standard Hollywood action hero. Would any ancient Greek have come even close to that physique?
The type of athletics they are doing is very functional. there is a lot runBut also discus, javelin, and these decathlon-style things. So perhaps there has been a lot of emphasis on overall strength; There is a lot of emphasis on running, but most of it is on the run. But they understand that there are different body types. There are the norm for young men, where obviously they are thin, and then older men in their prime (who are) portrayed with broad shoulders and much more developed muscles.
So even in the ancient world, people faced inaccessible bodies.
Poor young Greek boys looking at these statues—unrealistic body standards! Certainly by classical Greek times, if you were an aristocrat, you were expected to spend a large part of your day here. arenaWhich is a public exercise ground. Exercise is useful in your daily life and also in your social life. you see a little bit of it odyssey; There are lots of games.
Showing off how fit you are in public—sounds familiar…
I see this almost monastic thing on Instagram a lot: “I wake up at 5 a.m. before anyone else gets up, and go to work out, and I’m doing it for myself.” Whereas in ancient Greece, it was expected that what we might now call self-care – exercise, but also grooming – was an essentially social act.
What was involved in that grooming?
In odysseyWhenever someone visits someone else’s house and is welcomed as a guest, the first thing Homer mentions every time is (that) they are bathed, anointed with oil and clothed. This is done for them by their hosts, and it symbolizes their acceptance and integration into this temporary home. This seems strange to us: these intimate, physical, everyday things – things we would never do for ourselves, unless old or sick – are social functions.
The Greeks were very concerned about cleanliness and fragrance. Many cities emphasize good water supply. After people exercise, they’re essentially scrubbed down with these copper devices – almost exfoliated – and then these scented oils are applied. Even at the time that Homer is writing about, this body fragrance is extremely important. We also have razors running very far, so we know they’re grooming their beards, or in some cases shaving them.
