because they weren't. othering the prehistoric past is an outdated belief. there's a reason why people still resonate with the written word from antiquity or understand burials
I want an Odyssey adaptation (and an Odyssey translation) that makes you feel in your bones how profoundly different the archaic Greeks were from us. Basically space aliens. Nolan is just fundamentally not interested in that kind of estrangement.
in archaeology, we talk about ancient and prehistoric religions as being understood parts of nature. the gods in the odyssey simply are - they're part of the world and environment. the idea of questioning the existence of gods and needing 'proof' is very post enlightenment
Thereโs a real argument to be made that just as this film has a very modern American view of war
It also has a very Christian view of the Gods. Itโs a film that focuses on faith rather than direct proof. Theres even an argument to be made the Gods donโt exist at all in this film