No, “The Odyssey” Didn’t Come Before the Jews

A marquee advertising Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” recently declared: “Before there were the Jews, there was… The Odyssey.” The slogan has sparked backlash, and for good reason. It isn’t historically accurate.

While “The Odyssey” was composed centuries later, its story is traditionally set around 1200 BCE, in the aftermath of the Trojan War. By that time, the Israelites were already living in the Land of Israel during the biblical period of the Judges. According to the Tanach (the Jewish Bible), this era is described primarily in the Book of Judges (Sefer Shoftim), which portrays a decentralized society of tribes settled throughout the land, led at times by regional leaders such as Deborah, Gideon, and Samson.

The biblical narrative of this period is filled with defining moments and remarkable leaders. The Israelites had already crossed the Jordan River and witnessed the walls of Jericho fall. During the period of the Judges, Deborah emerged as both a prophetess and judge, leading the nation spiritually and militarily. Another heroine, Yael, famously killed the Canaanite general Sisera, helping secure an Israelite victory. The contrast with “The Odyssey” is striking. While women in the Greek epic often appear as goddesses or enchantresses who shape Odysseus’s journey, the Jewish story of this era celebrates women like Deborah and Yael, not as mythical beings, but as real leaders whose courage, wisdom, and decisive actions changed the course of their people’s history.

This period follows the Israelites’ entry into Canaan, described in the Book of Joshua (Sefer Yehoshua), and precedes the establishment of the monarchy in the Books of Samuel. The Israelites were not a newly emerging people at this point, but already organized into tribes, serving God, and rooted in the land. Even outside the biblical account, many historians and archaeologists agree that an Israelite identity had already taken shape in Canaan by the end of the Late Bronze Age.

In other words, when Odysseus was said to be making his journey home to Ithaca, the Jewish people—known then as the Israelites—were already living in their land, developing their society, and forming the traditions that would later be recorded in the Tanach.

Whether the marquee intended to make a historical claim or simply reach for dramatic effect, the statement is false. And when that falsehood minimizes the antiquity of the Jewish people, it’s understandable that many found it offensive.

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