While the story is an adaptation of the book by Bernard Malamud, the plot has been changed for movie to be more "uplifting". Several characters and symbols are heavily influenced by the writings of Homer and Greek mythology: - the line, "Have you ever read Homer?" Roy Hobbs = Odysseus. He is trying to "find his way" (home). Max Mercy = Vulcan, God of Fire and Forging. He can "make or break you", and is always seen in red or brown clothing. Pop Fisher = Zeus, King of the Gods. His uniform is #1, and both the oak tree and lightning bolt à la the Wonderboy bat, are his symbols. The Judge = Hades, God of the Underworld. He is always in the dark, a.k.a. death, and the dead are "judged" in the underworld. Memo Paris = Kalypso, a sea nymph who had an affair with Odysseus and held or distracted him from returning home. Kalypso means "I will conceal" in Greek. Gus Sands = the Cyclops. Gus has the one strange eye. Iris Gaines = Penelope, wife of Odysseus. Roy's true love, from whom he was separated for sixteen years, while she raised their son. - Hubris = when Roy states his goal is for people to say, "there goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in this game", this is what the Greeks considered to be hubris, and for that, a person would often suffer turmoil.