In this presentation Prof Purves will touch on a number of adaptations and influences of the Odyssey in film, from Méliès’ Ulysses and the Giant Polyphemus (1905), to Mario Camerini’s Ulysses (1954, starring Kirk Douglas), Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt (1963), Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: a Space Odyssey (1968), Mike Leigh’s Naked (1993), and two movies by the Coen Brothers: O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). The focus will not be so much to explicate the success or failure of these films in relation to the Odyssey, but rather to show, through the use of short clips, how various aspects of Homeric plot and characterization are brought to light by their treatment on screen.

Prof Alex Purves joined the UCLA faculty in 2002 after completing a Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania and BA and MA degrees at the University of Nottingham (UK). Her main area of interest is Greek literature from the archaic and classical periods. Her book on space and landscape in the early Greek epic and prose tradition, Space and Time in Ancient Greek Narrative (Cambridge University Press) was published in 2010. Her next booklength study, Six Positions in Homer, approaches the Homeric poems through a series of focused readings of particular somatic positions and actions. Dr Purves is also interested in the ancient senses: she recently co-edited Synaesthesia and the Ancient Senses with Shane Butler (Acumen/Routledge), and is currently editing Touch and the Ancient Senses for the same series. Dr Purves currently serves on the editorial board of the journal Classical Antiquity and co-chairs the Society for Classical Studies’ Nominating Committee.