This weekend “The Odyssey,” directed by acclaimed director Christopher Nolan and starring a plethora of Hollywood stars, brought in about $124.5 million and was No. 1 at the box office.

But what is the appeal of this 2,700-year-old ancient Greek poem?

Jeffrey Carnes, associate professor of classics and classical civilizations, explains why “The Odyssey” still remains relevant.

“‘The Odyssey’ is popular because it is—like all truly great stories—both universal and familiar, but also strange and exotic. We all identify with the hero’s journey—the attempt to get back home, using extraordinary strength and intelligence, and to acquire fame and wealth in the process; to become a person who will be remembered for generations to come,” says Carnes.

“But the world of ‘The Odyssey’ is very different from our own: it is a world in which there are multiple gods who have human form, and who speak to us face-to-face; a world in which warfare is normal, and valued rather than regretted. It is a world of nobility and courage, but also one of unfairness and brutality: a place where women must be faithful to their husbands, but their husbands are allowed to have outside lovers; a place where murderous revenge is considered just punishment for crimes against property and honor; and a world in which slavery is accepted unquestioningly by enslaved and enslaver alike,” says Carnes.

“‘The Odyssey’ is popular and universal, but hard to put on film. The gods and monsters are hard to represent in ways that aren’t ridiculous, and a modern audience will rightly find aspects of the tale’s moral universe repulsive. But we all want to see the tale told, and told again and again—Nolan will change things, but any telling of the story is necessarily a retelling, a new version of something that has been around almost forever. I can hardly wait to see what he’s done with this wonderful, endlessly fascinating story,” says Carnes.