The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other Homeric epic. The Odyssey is fundamental to the modern Western canon; it is the second-oldest extant work of Western literature, while the Iliad is the oldest. Scholars believe the Odyssey was composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia. The poem mainly focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus (known as Ulysses in Roman myths), king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed Odysseus has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage. The epic poem has on three occasions been adapted for screen, the most recent being the 1997 American mythology–adventure television miniseries of the same name directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, starring Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Irene Papas, Isabella Rossellini, Bernadette Peters, Eric Roberts, Geraldine Chaplin, Christopher Lee, and Vanessa Williams. The miniseries aired in two parts beginning May 18, 1997, on NBC. At the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards the series won the award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Special. The other two screen adaptations are; "Ulysses" a 1954 film starring Kirk Douglas as Ulysses, with Silvana Mangano as Penelope and Circe, and Anthony Quinn playing Antinous, and "L'Odissea" a 1968 Italian-French-German-Yugoslavian television miniseries praised for its faithful rendering of the original epic.