New Delhi: Did Homer copy from Valmiki’s epic poem Ramayana? That’s what Indians on X are arguing. For many, it’s their first brush with Greek mythology and epics.
“What an utter shame that this entire thing is copied from ramayana,” wrote @thambivandelay in a quote retweet of a user appreciating the climactic scene of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
The post wasn’t the first of its kind. After content creator Ashish Chanchlani attended the premiere of Nolan’s film, someone asked him whether it had a “Ramayana reference” in the climax.
“YESS IT HAS! I am 100% sure its inspired by Ramayan… Had goosebumps when that scene came,” Chanchlani responded.
The scene in question is when Penelope, hounded by suitors, announces that she will marry the man who can string Odysseus’ hunting bow and shoot an arrow cleanly through the holes of 12 aligned axe-heads. Every suitor fails the task, and Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, easily strings the weapon and wins the contest.
In the Ramayana, this works out in two different scenes. Sita’s swayamvar features the challenge of stringing Shiva’s bow. And when Sugreeva challenges Rama to shoot an arrow through a saala tree as a test of his strength, Rama shoots an arrow through seven trees.
Now, some are worried that when Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana releases, the West will take it to be a copy of The Odyssey.
#Ramayana 7000 years ago: Whoever picks and strings Shiv Dhanush, Sita will marry him 🏹 #TheOdyssey 3000 years ago : Whoever strings this archer, Penelope marry him 😭 pic.twitter.com/b7yRRgRkNG
— $@M (@SAMTHEBESTEST_) July 17, 2026
A modern link
Hindu epics have more than one similarity with Greek myth. Hercules’ twelve labours have a parallel in Krishna’s battles with myriad demons. The episode in which a young Achilles disguises himself as a woman is similar to the year Arjuna spends as Brihannala. But on the battleground of X, these parallels boil down to a question of ‘who came first’.
The core text of the Ramayana is said to have been composed orally between the fifth and eighth centuries BCE. On the other hand, The Odyssey is estimated to have been composed around the eighth to early seventh centuries BCE.
There is another link between the two ancient epics now. In the UK, a teaser of Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana is being shown before The Odyssey.
Also read: The Odyssey is Christopher Nolan’s most controversial film yet. Here’s why