123 - Odyssey 2: Man of Wiles

A goddess offers Odysseus immortality. He says no.

Eight years on Calypso's island. Paradise, more or less. And he spends his days sitting on the beach, weeping for a rocky little kingdom he may never see again.

Welcome to Part 2 (of 6!) of our series on Homer's great epic.

Part 2 covers Books 5 to 8. We finally meet the man himself, and he arrives naked, half drowned, and buried under a pile of leaves. Why would anyone choose death over eternal life? And why does the greatest hero of the age get home on charm rather than force?

Follow Odysseus as he builds his own raft, survives Poseidon's wrath, and talks his way into the most powerful household on the island of the Phaeacians. Meet the women who hold the real power: Calypso, the princess Nausicaa, and Queen Arete, honored like no woman of Homer's own day. Plus King Alcinous, and the blind bard Demodocus, whose song brings Odysseus to tears.

Christopher Nolan cut three of these four books from his film. They may be the ones that tell you most about who Odysseus really is.

Timestamps:

00:57 Women, Power and Odysseus

03:19 Hermes Visits Calypso

05:25 Odysseus Trapped and Weeping

06:14 Zeus Orders Release

11:03 Calypso's Final Offer

14:07 Why Mortality Matters

17:45 Raft Building and Agency

20:32 Poseidon's Storm and Shipwreck

23:29 Phaeacia's Backstory

24:10 Nausicaa's Dream

28:10 Nausicaa Meets Odysseus

30:54 Winning Nausicaa's Trust

39:47 Athena Guides Odysseus

40:53 Bronze Age Heroic Lens

43:48 Arete and Royal Honor

46:32 Palace Splendor and Supplication

49:19 Clothes Test and Charm

52:53 Cleos and the Bard

56:12 Feast and Demodocus Song

01:02:04 Games and Odysseus Flexes

01:06:46 Aphrodite and Ares Trap

01:13:03 Gifts and Nausicaa's Farewell

01:14:56 Trojan Horse Song and Tears

01:22:43 Closing Thoughts

Callouts:

• Special thanks to Dr. Richard Johnson for his longtime support of the show. You are Caesar and Odysseus's Top Guy!
• Special thanks also to the team at ZCash, who are building a digital network to transfer money with complete privacy. I've used their wallet Zodl, and it's worth checking out.
• In tribute to the life and aspirations of Savitha Shanmugasundaram, a University of Texas at Austin honors student who died tragically in the March 1 mass shooting, her parents have established the Savitha Shan Endowed Scholarship at UT Austin. The fund is intended to extend Savitha’s legacy by supporting the educational journeys of future UT Austin students. Please consider donating if you can.