The ancient world blends nicely into myth. At the time of their creation, listeners of The Iliad and The Odyssey heard tales of an older time, when men conversed with gods and could hurl boulders with their bare hands. For centuries afterwards, it was commonly believed that the whole saga was mythical until the discovery of Troy in 1870. That discovery didn’t immediately verify everything in Homer’s epic poem, but it did show the fluidity between history and myth in the ancient world.
The ancient world becomes mythologized again when it enters cinema, changed not only to fit the demands of telling a story in a few hours but also what makes for the most exhilarating visuals—gladiator battles in a film may bear only a passing resemblance to what history tells us about these events. You can also leave history behind completely, using the ancient world as a springboard for fantasy that retains the signifiers of antiquity while depicting its own world.
These kinds of films exist within the “swords and sandals” genre, and it’s a term that invites debate. Would all biblical movies fall into this genre? Not necessarily, as some Bible stories contain little or no combat. Furthermore, once you start leaving Greco-Roman antiquity behind, you have a different kind of medieval-influenced mythology, such as the stories of Robin Hood and King Arthur. But within these blurry boundaries, the upcoming release of The Odyssey offers us a guidepost for the kind of action-adventure these swords-and-sandals films offer in our starter pack below.