Seen people say the pun works and should have been included but the pun doesn't work for multiple reasons, ill try and explain
First of, the Cyclops' name is Polyphemus (Πολύφημος) which means 'of much fame' 'renowned'
Odysseus saying "Nobody is my name, Nobody is what they call me...'' ("Οὖτις ἐμοί γ᾽ ὄνομα: Οὖτιν δέ με κικλήσκουσι...") sets the stage for a standoff between ''Nobody vs Renowned''
after he pokes his eye the cyclops exclaims ''Oh friends, Nobody is killing me either with trickery or force!" ("‘ὦ φίλοι, Οὖτίς με κτείνει δόλῳ οὐδὲ βίηφιν.")
To which they respond "If indeed, then, no one is doing you violence, since you are alone..." ("εἰ μὲν δὴ μή τίς σε βιάζεται οἶον ἐόντα....")
Here the part they say ''μή τίς'' means ''no one'' and sounds as one word instead of two phonetically ''μή τίς -> μητίς'' which translates to cunningness
so the pun is that no one and cunningness sound the same in Ancient Greek and Odysseus' hallmark trait of which he is renowned for throughout the poem destroys ''the renowned''
Nobody won vs the Renowned
So its not just ''nobody is attacking me'' and they say ''okay''. That doesnt do justice to the whole thing, it is bankrupt of meaning and it would seem stupid
There's double puns and meanings in those few lines and it doesnt translate well. Hell, it doesnt even translate that well to modern Greek
Its also one of the main themes that Odysseus is cunning so the passage points to that too. or that Odysseus is renowned for his cunningness but he is nobody who won vs renowned by using his renowned cunningness.
So you see?
i think i just wasted 20mins nobody is gonna read through all this but if you did now you know why this passage of the poem is renowned😅
P.S the Homeric poems are unbelievably hard to translate to plays. their stories are hard to contain and the meanings are subtle and do not always translate well. It is a monumental undertaking and you can easily get lost as a director if you try to copiously give the poems justice. Nolan made an adaptation that was fun to watch and corresponded to modern audiences in limited time. The win here is that this movie will point people to the books and subtle meanings within them.
so chill with the negativity, Homer does not need defending, he withstood time
Christopher Nolan picked a boxset of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 3 for his Criterion Closet Picks.
The collection includes a restored copy of Usmar Ismail’s ‘LEWAT DJAM MALAM’ (‘AFTER THE CURFEW’).
yang seru itu cyclop di the odyssey sebagai monster wronged by odysseus sampai matanya dibikin buta dan akhirnya poseidon marah. tapi di percy jackson buku sea of monster (which was highly adapted from the odyssey) Tyson the cyclop hadir sebagai percy's brother