SPOILERS ahead for The Odyssey. Go see it before reading ahead!
Zendaya continues her reign over the 2026 movie schedule with the release of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. While the actress sadly has a small role in a film that’s nearly three hours long, I think she actually makes the biggest impact. I didn’t necessarily have set expectations for her role as the goddess Athena, but wow, did she steal one scene. That being said, there’s something about her character I’m not solid on.
I Think There’s Two Ways To Interpret Athena In The Odyssey
In Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and war. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus sees Athena as a vision as she acts as a confidant and mentor to him. But there’s something interesting the Chris Nolan movie does with her character that really makes her presence in the rest of the movie matter more.
Close to the end of The Odyssey, Odysseus recalls his experience at Troy to his wife in more detail. He says he watched “rage” run rampant that night in a way that betrayed his own morals. As he tries to go home after the war, he finds himself emotionally fighting himself over something. Odysseus details how the use of the Trojan horse was a deceitful way to fight an opponent. And, when his soldiers invaded Troy, he’s disgusted by the way the entire city was slaughtered with little mercy, even for the likes of innocent civilians. That’s when we see the face of Zendaya as a woman Odysseus witnesses getting beheaded by his men. At the same time, a statue of Athena earns the same fate.
Since seeing The Odyssey, the sequence has had me thinking about what the moment means. Was Zendaya’s Athena showing herself to Odysseus as the woman he watched be slaughtered through Odysseus’s visions? Or was Athena disguised as a human who sent herself there in that moment to haunt him for his betrayal of the rules of war? It’s definitely a reveal I wasn’t expecting from the movie, and it's really the scene that sticks the most with me.
But, I Think It’s Left Open-Ended For A Reason?
As a longtime viewer of Christopher Nolan movies, I know that the filmmaker likes an ambiguous ending that can lead to multiple interpretations from viewers. I definitely think the whole thing with Athena falls into that camp. Is it Athena the entire movie, or does the goddess come to Odysseus as a symbol of the humanity he gave up during the Trojan War? Either way, the meaning did its job of being powerful and gut-punching. It’s also something that I want to ask more people about now after they watch it. Honestly, I’m not sure there’s one answer to the question. Maybe the fact that it feels enigmatic plays into this quote from earlier in the film:
- Odysseus: "Why can’t gods speak in ways we understand?"
- Athena: "Who doesn’t understand thunder? Or fire? A child’s smile? A good harvest?"
Early in the film, Odysseus is frustrated by the way the gods communicate. And the scene where Athena is beheaded kind of underlines both their points at the same time. While it’s not going to be talked about nearly as much as the spinning top at the end of Inception, I think it has a similar effect. I think the point is to get viewers talking about the scene because it’s kind of the big thesis moment of Nolan’s The Odyssey.
I felt that Odysseus’s epiphany about the ways in which he deviated from his own moral code was thrilling to watch in theaters. Zendaya’s Athena being part of the scene was very effective… even if I’m not totally sure if I can quite explain Athena's arc in the story completely.
