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Published — 7 August 2026 ⏭ British Museum

How The Odyssey was experienced in the ancient world

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The people of the ancient world didn't have 70mm film. But they did have clay, bronze, and gold, and their physical creations depicting the Odyssey demonstrate an astounding level of creativity and imagination. These objects go far beyond simply depicting scenes of the Odyssey, creating levels of interaction with their audience that's rarely seen today.

Join Curator of the Greek World, David Saunders, as he delves through the collection, guiding you through these diverse objects from the collection, and showing you how they told one of the most enduring stories of all time.

You may have noticed this is NOT a Curator's Corner. This is because we are still working on the 100th episode... subscribe so you don't miss it when it releases.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
01:28 Chalcidian jar showing the blinding of the Cyclops
05:40 Italian mixing bowl showing the blinding of Polyphemus
11:00 Roman bronze figure - Odysseus
14:00 Bronze dish - Skylla
17:05 Black-figured skyphos - Circe
20:16 Gold ring - Penelope

Please note at 21:45 there is a small spelling error in the word 'circa'.

The Roman solution to cheating

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The Romans loved games and gambling, but cheating was a problem.

This device made sure dice games stayed fair, forcing the dice to roll unpredictably.

Watch the full video via the link, or explore more on the British Museum channel.
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