‘The Odyssey’ isn’t real, but American diversity is

Elon Musk's recent declaration to use his AI chatbot Grok to create a "historically accurate" version of Homer's "The Odyssey" has sparked debate, but it rests on a fundamental misunderstanding: "The Odyssey" is not a historical document. The ensuing outcry over perceived "woke casting" in adaptations overlooks the mythical nature of the ancient Greek epic, which features gods, goddesses, and fantastical creatures.

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The Odyssey isn’t real, but American diversity is

The argument that people of color are less historically plausible in ancient epics than sentient whirlpools is itself a dismissal of historical evidence. Ancient civilizations, including those of Greece, Asia, and Africa, were in contact throughout the ancient world. The focus on "historical accuracy" in a work of mythology often serves as a smokescreen for a desire to exclude diverse representation.

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he would use Grok to create a more “historically accurate” version of the ancient epic poem

This pattern of sanitizing narratives by removing people of color echoes the problematic erasure of Black history in America. The author contends that by deleting the history of enslavement, for instance, a simplified and often false narrative of American prosperity and hope for all is constructed. This selective omission serves to maintain a comfortable, albeit inaccurate, version of the past.

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The uproar over the film’s supposedly woke casting has been loud and sustained, but the people most upset have ignored a pretty significant detail: “The Odyssey” is not real.

The underlying logic in both cases, scrubbing people of color from ancient epics and from American history, is the same. It is a drive to present a version of reality that requires their absence, thereby upholding a particular, often exclusionary, worldview. The goal is not accuracy, but the reinforcement of a desired, sanitized narrative.

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Even the fact that Greek, Asian, and African peoples were in contact throughout the ancient world is less believable, it seems, than a sentient whirlpool.