NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's the big movie this week. The Odyssey. It arrives to us in Nashvillle, a city that has some pretty big references to ancient Greece itself.
I decided to go up to people just trying to have a nice day at the Parthenon and ask a question; "What's the story of the Odyssey?"
"Well, I don't remember most of it!" laughed visitor to the Parthenon Matthew Triplett.
Right. It was 9th grade for a lot of us, but everyone at the Parthenon knew a little of the story, like who was on the journey.
"Odysseus!" one boy said, remembering the story alongside his mom.
"He encountered lots of monsters along the way," said visitor Elaina Seybold.
"When he returns home, he's in disguise and his dog recognizes him," Triplett continued.
"I'm thinking of Jason and the Argonauts, but that's a different story, right?" Seybold asked.
Yes. But. I like that movie too.
With so many who visit the Parthenon, some don't know why we have this reference to ancient Greece.
"The nickname Athens of the South came about in the mid 1820s," said Katie Petrole, assistant director of the Parthenon. "Nashville was the place to come for an education. It reminded people of how Athens, Greece was a hub of education and learning. By the time of the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, the city decided to build a Parthenon representing their famous nickname. It was a temporary structure meant to last six months, that instead lasted over 20 years, beloved by the people of Nashville."
A Parthenon was then built-to-last, exterior finished in 1925, interior in 1931.
Then in 1990 came something else.
"Our girl Athena!" Petrole said.
It was that year when crowds first saw Alan LeQuire's statue of Athena Parthenos.
"In the Odyssey, we see her as a special helper to our main hero of the story, Odysseus," said Petrole.
Right now, the inside of the Parthenon is still going through HVAC renovations. Still, the number of people who come here speaks to a continuing interest in Greek architecture and mythology.
"This is a story that is thousands of years old, originally told in performances," Petrole said. "It was stories told by friends, families, travelers."
Perhaps there's no better way to honor the Odyssey poem than by having everyone tell a story; the one about the cyclops.
"There's this cyclops on this island that Odysseus and his crew run into," Petrole began.
"They were in a cave!" a boy at the Parthenon added. "The cave belonged to a cyclops."
"He is a shepherd, and he keeps his sheep in this cave overnight with this huge boulder blocking the door," Petrole continued. "They are finally able to sphere the cyclops' one eye. He removes this big boulder from the doorway."
Odysseus's men snuck out among the sheep, ducked down so the cyclops couldn't feel them.
"He thought it was just the sheep, so he let them out," the boy said.
"They're able to escape!" said Triplett.
Petrole said there's one more way The Odyssey connects to the Parthenon.
"In the movie, there's a lot of talk of Zeus' law," she said. "This is the concept of guest friendship, the concept of welcoming strangers."
That's what happens in Nashville. Come by for a visit. Tell a three thousand-year-old story.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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