Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, a new adaptation of Homer's epic tale of Odysseus' perilous journey home following the Trojan War, has already been described as a case study in post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet Matt Damon's tortured, broken portrayal of Odysseus offers something perhaps even deeper: a vivid depiction of what psychologists call moral injury.

The Moral Injury Project at Syracuse University defines moral injury as "the damage done to one's conscience or moral compass when a person perpetrates, witnesses or fails to prevent acts that transgress one's own moral beliefs, values, or ethical codes of conduct." Three clusters of experiences characterize moral injury: spiritual or existential collapse; guilt and shame; and alienation from other people.

Homer's works have long been celebrated for illuminating the physical and psychological wounds of war. Director Christopher Nolan, however, goes further than Homer in plumbing Odysseus' existential collapse, shame, and guilt.

An Invisible Wound

Amy S. Badura-Brack, a PTSD researcher and clinician who has worked at four Veterans Affairs hospitals, notes that she has long taught students that Homer's epics contain some of the oldest written examples of PTSD symptoms, even though the formal diagnosis of PTSD did not exist until 1980.

Moral injury is not simply another name for PTSD, though the two frequently co-occur. PTSD is a fear-based disorder characterized by reexperiencing past trauma, avoiding anything that triggers memories of that trauma, negative changes in mood and thought, and being constantly on guard.

Not everyone with PTSD experiences moral injury, and not all types of moral injury induce PTSD. The two can overlap, however, particularly when someone violates their deeply held moral beliefs in a way connected to a profound sense of guilt or shame.

In his books Achilles in Vietnam and Odysseus in America, psychiatrist Jonathan Shay explored moral injury in the context of the Vietnam War. Shay focused on American military institutions and leaders who undermined the trust and ideals of their soldiers through unclear goals and unjust orders. His work emphasizes the psychological consequences for soldiers betrayed in high-stakes situations.

A more expansive view of moral injury, advanced by psychologist Brett Litz, demonstrates that moral injury can also result from an individual's own actions — what is known as perpetration-based moral injury.

Released in 1989, the critically acclaimed film Born on the Fourth of July, based on Ron Kovic's 1976 autobiography, centers on this type of moral injury. Kovic, played by Tom Cruise, is haunted by acts he committed while fighting in Vietnam. In a friendly fire incident, he accidentally kills a fellow Marine during a chaotic firefight. Later, he witnesses and participates in an attack in which his unit kills Vietnamese civilians, including women and children.

Moral Injury in The Odyssey

Kovic's actions and ensuing trauma reflect the same kind of moral injury seen in Damon's Odysseus.

After ten long years of fighting the Trojan War, Odysseus devises a plan to end the conflict: He and his troops infiltrate Troy by hiding inside a massive wooden horse. They build it as an apparent peace offering, climb inside, and wait until their enemies pull "the gift" inside the city walls. Then they attack.

The military maneuver is brilliant and effective. But it also requires Odysseus to break Zeus' law of xenia: the sacred obligation of hospitality between host and guest. He crosses another moral boundary by using deception. During the ensuing massacre, he violates the principle — even between enemies — of treating others as one would wish to be treated.

Odysseus' self-imposed exile, evocative of the social alienation prevalent among moral injury sufferers, keeps him away from home for ten long years after the war ends. Yet even time and space fail to heal him. Odysseus remains haunted by guilt and shame: "We left them a gift, an offer of peace, that they took into their home," Damon's Odysseus says. "We violated all that's sacred between people."

The Warriors I Have Known

Nolan's characterization of Odysseus resonates with the veterans Badura-Brack has treated. In addition to moral injury, Damon's Odysseus almost certainly has PTSD. He suffers recurrent nightmares; he attempts to suppress his shame by consuming memory-erasing lotus flowers; and he feels overwhelming guilt and rage. Yet he appears most distraught at the thought that a part of himself has died and is irrevocably broken. While disguised as a beggar, he asks his wife, Penelope, "What if the Odysseus you knew lost his way?"

It is a version of what many veterans have told their clinician: "If you really knew me, you wouldn't love me." Many go on to admit feeling unworthy of love. It is more than just a feeling — it is a moral conclusion reached after replaying and relitigating their actions at war.

Many clients describe their most significant trauma as something they did or failed to do, such as shooting a civilian or hiding instead of fighting during an attack. Trauma stemming from personal acts of commission or omission does not typically come to mind when thinking of PTSD. Yet one can be a war hero — as Odysseus was — and still become haunted by one's own actions, which linger long after the war ends.

Toward Healing

Effective strategies for mitigating the fear reactions that PTSD can elicit do exist. But moral injury is a fundamentally different challenge, and it can be especially difficult to help someone who believes they are unlovable.

The concept of moral injury has drawn increasing attention in veteran mental health care in the years following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where service members faced complex combat environments that frequently placed them in morally ambiguous situations. Unlike PTSD, which has established diagnostic criteria and evidence-based treatments, moral injury remains an area of active clinical research, with the Department of Veterans Affairs supporting growing efforts to develop and evaluate dedicated therapies.

A number of therapies centered on resolving moral injury have emerged in recent years. One, developed by psychologist Shira Maguen, is called the "impact of killing" and focuses on the moral and emotional aftermath of killing someone during war. It is regarded as an especially promising tool for improving veterans' quality of life. Maguen has found that among veterans who had already completed traditional trauma therapy, her intervention can further bolster their willingness to participate in community events and confide in loved ones.

Some assume The Odyssey has survived through the centuries because it is a classic story of war, resilience, and homecoming. But plenty of war stories were lost to history during the illiterate centuries after the collapse of the Bronze Age. The Odyssey endures because it centers on a tortured hero whom the audience admires but cannot fully absolve. His cunning is entwined with his crime.

Odysseus is not easily redeemed, excused, or pitied. As fresh waves of troops continue to be exposed to the horrors of war, his trauma continues to resonate.

By Amy S. Badura-Brack, Professor of Psychological Science, Creighton University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. The original article was published on July 31, 2025.