Book excerpt: The contributions to this volume cover a large diachronic, geographical, and cultural space. Some of the texts go back to antiquity, using the Odyssey as the most significant source for several reflections, both ancient and contemporary, and therefore the safest link between old and contemporary versions. In addition, in the modern and contemporary summaries and tales analysed here, predominance is given to epics (Homer and other famous stories known from the epic cycle) as a source, exemplified by texts belonging to various literary works from across the globe, focused on the influence that major political phenomena can have on universal creativity.