Archaeologist Otto Benndorf headed several expeditions to Lycia in the 1880s. Elaborate illustrations of Homer’s epics were found on the stones of a burial site: the Heroon of Trysa is decorated with 200m of friezes and 600 figures. On a visit to Vienna in the 1990s, the Turkish Minister of Culture questioned whether the friezes were rightfully in Austrian hands. An investigation with Turkish specialists showed now after many years that the Heroon of Trysa is rightfully in Austria, because it respected all its agreements with the Osmanic Empire.
This extended version explores possible historical and psychological backgrounds of The Iliad and The Odyssey: Do monsters like the Chimera with 3 heads have their origin in infant perception? Did the Trojan War really happen? Is Odysseus a historical person? Or is he a figure in the tradition of the child-gods Indra and Mithra from the old Indian Rigveda? Is there a connection between our dependence on parents as infants and totalitarian theocratic ideas?
In German, Greek and Turkish with English subtitles.
Odyssey in Diapers: Journey to the Cradle of Europe (2007)
Duration: 84 minutes
Directed by Petrus van der Let
Produced by Petrus van der Let Filmproduktion, Benjamin Epp, 3sat, ORF, CINESTYRIA, KULTER NIEDEROSTERREICH, BRalpha, FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA, and PLANET
Where to Rent/Buy
- Vimeo from $3.99
- Amazon.com from $3.99
- Amazon.co.uk from £3.99
- Amazon.de from €3.99
Awards
- Nominated - MEDIMED 2007 Ahmed Attia's Award, The Dialogue of Cultures
Mini-Series
- "Gods with Pointed Caps",
- "Punch and Prophecy",
- "Journey to the Cradle of Europe",
- "Dragon Slayers", and
- "Underworlds" form a 5-part series on the origin of myths and religions in infant perception.