Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film The Odyssey retells the story of the ancient Greek hero Odysseus and his quest to return home after the Trojan War. The Marian Library’s collections hold rare illustrations of scenes from The Odyssey, drawn by Ezio Anichini, a prolific Italian artist of the early 20th century. Anichini was born in 1886 in Florence, Italy. The son of a noted artist, Anichini studied figurative drawing and sculpture, developing a highly detailed art nouveau style.
Although the Marian Library acquired the collection of Anichini’s works because of his beautiful illustrations of the Virgin Mary, his art on other subjects also deserves attention. His illustrations for Le avventure di Ulisse dall’Odissea di Omero (The Adventures of Ulysses from Homer’s Odyssey) feature astonishing detail.
Please enjoy these digitized images of Anichini’s illustrations of The Odyssey. The John Shaffer Collection on the Works of Ezio Anichini, 1886-1948, which contains more than 250 items, can be viewed during the Marian Library’s open hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Appointments are preferred. Researchers may also view the collection’s finding aid and Shaffer’s original collection inventory at the University of Dayton’s Archives Catalog or view additional digitized images in the University’s institutional repository.
Il terzo giorno il divino Ulisse prese lancia e spada e sali sopra un'altura, per vedere se scorgesse opere o udisse voci di uomini.
On the third day, the godlike Odysseus took his spear and sword and climbed a high point, to see if he might catch sight of the works or hear the voices of men.
Cosi parlo Ulisse; e l'ombra di Achille, gioiosa nella gloria del figliuol suo, dilungo a gran passi per la prateria fiorita di asfodeli.
So spoke Odysseus; and the shade of Achilles, rejoicing in his son's glory, strode away across the meadow blooming with asphodels.
La dea calzo i bei sandali d'oro, che sogliono portarla sul mare e sulla terra, rapida come il vento impugno l'asta, si lancio dalle vette d'Olimpo.
The goddess [Minerva] donned her beautiful golden sandals, which were wont to bear her over sea and land; swift as the wind, she grasped her spear and launched herself from the peaks of Olympus.
Quando fu distrutta l'alta Troia e i Greci se ne tornarono sulle navi, un Dio li disperse
When lofty Troy was destroyed and the Greeks returned to their ships, a god [Poseidon] scattered them.
Perche sei venuta, o sorella?
Why have you come, O sister?
Minerva devio la palla di Nausica e la fece cadere tra i vortici del fiume.
Minerva deflected Nausicaa's ball and made it fall into the river's eddies.
Intanto le serve, che la notte solevano uscire…
Meanwhile, the maids, who used to go out at night…
O potentissimo Iddio scuotitor della terra, che parola hai detta?
O all-powerful God, Shaker of the Earth, what word have You spoken?
Giunsero presso la citta, alla ben costrutta fontana, che tra alti pioppi…
They [Odysseus and Eumaeus] arrived at the city, at the well-built fountain, which amidst tall poplars…
Intanto il dio Mercurio con la sua verga d'oro adunava le anime dei Proci.
Meanwhile, the god Mercury gathered the souls of the Suitors with his golden wand.
— Stephanie Shreffler is an associate professor and religious collections librarian/archivist.