The film is a postmodern spoof that tells the story of Zeus' modern day illegitimate children, Filmore (Tony Griffin) and his half-sister Marie-Noel (Alison Elliott), who are forced to move from their Channel Island ranch because their neighbors have grown suspicious of the fact they haven't aged for decades. Meanwhile the U.S. government wants to turn their land into a national park. When the twelve Greek Gods return to Los Angeles for relaxation Zeus expects them to correctly identify the play fated and modeled around their current lives—Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest—and perform the work flawlessly, in its entirety, for the Gods' entertainment. By such means, as the play's plot unfolds, the children are guaranteed new, credible lives. "Act or die," he commands. But if they fail to perform the play to its conclusion, or if they rebel, they will be killed by jealous Hera. The mere existence of these illegitimate children are an outrage to her, representing Zeus' countless infidelities.
King Creon of Corinth wants to secure his throne. In order to do this, he wants to marry the successful warrior Jason to his daughter Glauce. Jason accepts, but he is already married to Medea. Since Medea is known as a wise woman, Creon feels need to banish Medea and her two boys from the city. She begs him to let him stay, but he gives her only one day in order to secure the needs of the two boys.
Odysseus (Armand Assante), the king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Ithaca, is called to service in the Trojan War after the birth of his son Telemachus, much to the dismay of his wife Queen Penelope (Greta Scacchi). Odysseus is worried that he may not return, and tells Penelope that she should remarry by the time Telemachus is a man if he does not return. The war lasts ten years, during which Greece's best soldier, Achilles (Richard Trewett), is killed and the Greeks avenge him by using a giant horse to sneak inside and destroy the city of Troy. Laocoön (Heathcote Williams) tries to warn the Trojans of a vision of this, but is suddenly devoured by a sea monster. On the way back, Odysseus' ego gets the best of him and he tells the gods that he did it himself, which angers Poseidon (voiced by Miles Anderson) so much that he promises to make Odysseus' journey home to Penelope nearly impossible, mentioning that it was he who sent the sea monster to devour Laocoön.
The film opens on ancient Greek ruins where a chanting Greek chorus introduces and narrates the story of Lenny Weinrib (Woody Allen). Lenny is a sportswriter in Manhattan, married to ambitious curator Amanda (Helena Bonham Carter). The couple decide to adopt a baby, a boy they name Max. Lenny is awed by their son who, it becomes increasingly clear, is a gifted child.
The film begins with a reenactment of the gruesome events of cannibalism as described by the prosecuting attorney during Alferd Packer's trial in 1883. Packer insists that things happened differently than what has been recounted, and begins to tell his story to journalist Polly Pry through flashback.
King Acrisius of Argos (Donald Houston) imprisons his daughter Danaë (Vida Taylor), jealous of her beauty. When the god Zeus (Laurence Olivier) impregnates her, Acrisius sends his daughter and his newborn grandson Perseus to sea in a wooden coffin. In retribution, Zeus kills Acrisius and orders Poseidon (Jack Gwillim) to release the last of the Titans, a gigantic sea monster called the Kraken, to destroy Argos. Meanwhile, Danaë and Perseus safely float to the island of Seriphos, where Perseus grows to adulthood.
Eleven-year-old Kevin has a vivid imagination and is fascinated by history, particularly Ancient Greece; his parents ignore his activities, having become more obsessed with buying the latest household gadgets to keep up with their neighbours. One night, as Kevin is sleeping, an armoured knight on a horse bursts out of his wardrobe. Kevin is scared and hides as the knight rides off into a forest setting where once his bedroom wall was; when Kevin looks back out, the room is back to normal and he finds one of his photos on the wall similar to the forest he saw. The next night he prepares a satchel with supplies and a Polaroid camera, but is surprised when six dwarves spill out of the wardrobe. Kevin quickly learns the group has stolen a large, worn map, and are looking for an exit from Kevin's room before they are discovered. They find that Kevin's bedroom wall can be pushed, revealing a long hallway. Kevin is hesitant to join until the visage of a menacing head – the Supreme Being – appears behind them, demanding the return of the map. Kevin and the dwarves fall into an empty void at the end of the hallway.
The first half sums up the story of Jason and the Argonauts as they travel to Medea's barbarian land in search of the golden fleece. In fitting with the soundtrack (which features North African tribal music), Pasolini depicts Medea's people as a tribal people who perform rituals and sacrifices to secure their harvests. Their costumes and dances are based on those of Eastern European Mummers such as the Romanian Calusari ceremonies and their counterparts in the Balkans.
The Trojan Women was one of a trilogy of plays dealing with the suffering created by the Trojan Wars. Hecuba (Katharine Hepburn), Queen of the Trojans and mother of Hector, one of Troy's most fearsome warriors, looks upon the remains of her kingdom; Andromache (Vanessa Redgrave), widow of the slain Hector and mother of his son Astyanax, must raise her son in the war's aftermath; Cassandra (Geneviève Bujold), Hecuba's daughter who has been driven insane by the ravages of war, waits to see if King Agamemnon will drive her into concubinage; Helen of Troy (Irene Papas), waits to see if she will live. But the most awful truth is unknown to them until Talthybius (Brian Blessed), the messenger of the Greek king, comes to the ruined city and tells them that King Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus have decreed that Hector's son Astyanax must die — the last of the male royalty of Troy must be executed to ensure the extinction of the line.
Euridice dans l'Hadès, numéro de code ΒΑ 2037, attend qu'Orphée la libère et la conduise dans le monde supérieur. Elle attend les ordres qui lui permettront de sortir de sa prison/domicile. Sa destination n'est pas mentionnée. Une voix provenant d'un ordinateur lui ordonne de partir.
Le Roi Midas, installé dans sa salle au trésor avec son chat, compte ses pièces d'or et souhaite en avoir encore plus. Il reçoit alors la visite d'un elfe nommé Goldie, qui lui offre sa faculté de changer tout ce qu'il touche en or. Enchanté par son don, le roi parcourt tout son château et transforme tout en or, mais sa joie se perd lorsqu'il tente de se restaurer. Les aliments se changeant en or et devenant incomestibles. Approché par la mort, il souhaite alors rendre le pouvoir ainsi que ses possessions contre un simple hamburger aux oignons.
Une célèbre actrice grecque, Maya (Mélina Mercouri), après avoir passé de nombreuses années à l'étranger, rentre en Grèce pour y jouer Médée. Alors qu'elle prépare son rôle, elle devient fascinée par le cas d'une Américaine Brenda Collins (Ellen Burstyn) qui a assassiné ses trois enfants quelques années plus tôt à Glyfada pour se venger de son mari infidèle. Maya rend visite à Brenda à la prison de Korydallos. Un lien de plus en plus fort se tisse entre les deux femmes.
Réfugiée à Corinthe avec Jason, pour lequel elle a trahi les siens et à qui elle a donné deux fils, Médée est désormais bannie de la terre grecque. Son époux a accepté l’offre du roi Créon et a épousé sa fille. Dans une rage folle, Médée ne mange plus, ne parle ni à ses enfants ni à ses serviteurs. Craignant sa colère, Créon la condamne à l’exil mais consent à lui laisser un jour de répit pour trouver une terre d’asile. Médée décide de mettre à profit ce délai pour se venger. Elle décide d’assassiner Jason, sa nouvelle femme et le roi Créon, pour ensuite égorger ses enfants.
En 1969, Pasolini voyage à travers la Tanzanie et l’Ouganda à la recherche des décors et des personnages de son prochain film : une adaptation de L'Orestie" d’Eschyle dans l’Afrique contemporaine. Il commente à voix haute, interroge les visages, les paysages, les situations et lit de larges et significatifs passages d’Eschyle.
Il confronte ses idées, ses notes de voyage avec un groupe d’étudiants africains installés à l’université de Rome. Le film ne verra jamais le jour, mais ces notes filmées (et montées) par le cinéaste offrent une médiation sur l’indépendance, les promesses de la démocratie et le passage de l’âge archaïque à la civilisation moderne.