Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” a new adaptation of Homer’s epic tale of Odysseus’ perilous journey home after the Trojan War, is already being described as a case study in post-traumatic stress disorder.

But even more so, actor Matt Damon’s tortured and broken portrayal of Odysseus offers a look into what psychologists call moral injury.

According to The Moral Injury Project at Syracuse University, moral injury is “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 mark moral injury: spiritual or existential collapse; guilt and shame; and alienation from other people.

Homer’s works have long been heralded for highlighting the physical and psychological wounds of war. Yet director Christopher Nolan, far more than Homer, goes on to plumb Odysseus’ existential collapse, shame and guilt.

I’m a PTSD researcher and clinician who has worked at four Veterans Affairs hospitals, and I’ve long taught my 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, although the two often travel together.

PTSD is a fear-based disorder characterized by reexperiencing past trauma, avoidance of 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. But the two can overlap, particularly when someone violates their deeply held........

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