Get ready for Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster with Odyssey-themed coloring pages from The Classical Workshop!
Just in time for the summer and the year’s biggest movie, we’re sharing a new collection of coloring pages inspired by Homer’s ancient poem the Odyssey. These mythical coloring pages are the perfect way to introduce your younger family members to the story and characters of what is sure to be a huge cultural touchstone for years to come. It can be easy to leave our youngest learners out of moments like this, so it’s important to include even the smallest members of our family in this epic opportunity for classical learning. If you’re already fully prepared for the Odyssey, you can find more mythology-themed coloring pages in our Printables section. Finally, all of the art included here was created by the tremendously talented Ally Frame (https://allyframe.com/). The Classical Workshop believes in the importance of meaningful art for children and never uses AI in any part of its process.
Circe
There are three Odyssey-themed coloring pages for us to share. The first is Circe, a nymph (and witch!) who lived on the island of Aeaea. She used her knowledge of magic and herbs to make potions that could turn people into animals, then she kept them trapped in her house. Circe tricked Odysseus’ men and turned them into pigs, but Odysseus escaped with a little help from the messenger god Hermes. Hermes also gave Odysseus some advice to help him convince Circe to change them back. Would you like to read more about Circe’s story? You can get more details here: https://mythopedia.com/topics/circe/
Circe was an enigmatic figure in Greek mythology, but we can be certain that her control of magic made her very powerful. Here she is with one of Odysseus’ men, freshly turned into a pig!
Polyphemus the Cyclops
Now, behold Polyphemus the Cyclops! When Odysseus and his men arrived at the island of the Cyclopes (that’s the plural of Cyclops) hungry and tired, they found some unguarded cheese and milk and helped themselves. Little did they know that it belonged to Polyphemus, a monstrous giant with one eye that herded sheep in the mountains on the island. Polyphemus trapped them in his cave by closing the door-a huge stone-behind him. Odysseus and his men only managed to escape by blinding the monster and riding out of his cave clinging to the stomachs of the Cyclops’ sheep. Polyphemus felt around blindly, but only felt the sheep, and not the men escaping his cave.
Polyphemus in Mythology Match
This version of the Cyclops is very different. He’s a lover, not a monster!
This coloring page of Polyphemus is actually based on the art from The Classical Workshop’s Mythology Match game. That art, however, tells a very different story about Polyphemus. Before he met Odysseus, Polyphemus fell in love with a beautiful sea nymph named Galatea, who did not love him back. If you’d like to read more about Polyphemus, you can do that on his Mythopedia page here: https://mythopedia.com/topics/polyphemus/.
Polyphemus was, in some stories, almost a sweetheart. In the Odyssey, though, he’s a major antagonist (that means baddie) and a real threat to Odysseus’ journey home.
Odysseus
Which brings us to our next picture: Odysseus escaping the Cyclops’ cave! Odysseus was often called by Homer, “a man of many devices.” He thought up the Trojan Horse to help the Greeks end the Trojan War, and he would have to use his intellect to get our of many more problems. Here we see Odysseus clinging to the belly of a sheep, but he’s just trying this one on for size. Odysseus actually escaped under the belly of a huge black ram that was also Polyphemus’ favorite. Odysseus and company managed to escape the cave successfully, but Odysseus made the mistake of (eventually) telling the Cyclops his name. The Cyclops then asked his father, the sea god Poseidon, to curse Odysseus in return for blinding him. Poseidon obliged, and that’s where Odysseus’ real troubles began. Ready for more about Odysseus? Read up on him here: https://mythopedia.com/topics/odysseus/.
Odysseus is shown here in the midst of his daring escape from the Cyclops’ cave
Answer the Call to Coloring!
I hope you’ll take a few moments to share some calm coloring time with your kids today. To color a picture together only takes a few minutes, but simple moments of connection can mean a lot to kids when we’re all so distracted by the chaotic world around us. These moments are also a great time to introduce the stories and characters behind the pictures, and it doesn’t take any effort at all; you just need to tell a story and talk about it while you color. That way, when the little ones hear all the big people in the family talking about the Odyssey this summer, they can join in too.
Valete-be well!
