Are We Reading the Odyssey Wrong?

(Photo Illustration by Bill Kuchman/The Bulwark | Photos: Shutterstock)American OdysseyWhat an Ancient Story Reveals About Our Divided Soulsby Patrick J. DeneenCreed & Culture, 198 pp, $26.00Why Odysseus?Survivor, Scoundrel, (Anti)heroby Joel P. ChristensenPalgrave Macmillan, 256 pp, $29.99 (paperback), $19.99 (ebook)NO MAJOR MOVIE CAN MAKE IT to theaters today without a train of tie-in and tag-along merchandise, both official and unofficial, trailing behind it. In 2023, the simultaneous release of blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer spawned a thriving market in “Barbenheimer” t-shirts; in addition to two Wicked movies, fans could buy licensed Elphaba-themed Le Creuset cookware or Glinda-pink bottles of Absolut Vodka. And this summer, the imminent release of Christopher Nolan’s latest film