Homer’s Odyssey: A Deep Dive (before Christopher Nolan’s Film!)

Need a refresher on Homer’s Odyssey before you watch the upcoming movie by Christopher Nolan? Emily and Cam have got you covered! In this episode, they break down the poem’s plot and its major themes as they explore topics like Odysseus’ reliability as a narrator (spoiler alert: he has none whatsoever!) and Penelope’s own craftiness.

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• Listen to our episode about the “The Return”, Uberto Passolini’s splendid 2024 adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey.

Cover image: “Archaic or late geometric period krater depicting Odysseus and a friend stabbing the giant Polyphemus in his only eye, clay, 670 BCE, Archaeological Museum of Argos.” Photo by Mary Harrsh, Wikimedia Commons.

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00:11 - Introduction

01:40 - What is the Odyssey?

• 01:46 - The Odyssey, the Iliad, and other epic poems
• 02:23 - The Homer problem. Do we know who wrote the Odyssey, and when?
• 06:54 - An overview of the Odyssey’s plot
• 10:14 - The poem and its 24 “books”

11:00 - The Telemachy: Narrative

• 11:23 - Athena visits Ithaka
• 12:08 - Athena’s plans for Odysseus’ son Telemachus
• 13:55 - Telemachus sets sail on an adventure to visit Nestor, Menelaus, and Helen

17:50 - The Telemachy: Themes

• 18:01 - The vulnerability of Telemachus’ position
• 19:39 - Hospitality: gracious hosts and happy guests

21:43 - Sailing to Ithaka: Narrative

• 22:06 - Odysseus escapes the Island of Calypso
• 23:18 - Shipwrecked again! Odysseus and the Phaeacians
• 29:28 - Odysseus tells the story of his adventures (the Cyclops, Circe, the underworld, the sirens, Scylla and Charybdis—and some other good bits)
• 41:29 - The Phaeacians send Odysseus home

42:11 - Sailing to Ithaka: Themes

• 42:18 - More on hospitality: bad hosts and dodgy guests
• 45:19 - Odysseus, the man of suffering
• 46:30 - Odysseus, the unreliable narrator
• 62:50 - A postscript on the poem’s mythical geography

55:37 - Ithaka at last!: Narrative

• 55:51 - Odysseus visits Eumaeus
• 56:41 - Telemachus returns to Ithaka—and Odysseus hatches a plan
• 58:42 - Odysseus among the suitors in disguise
• 59:57 - Penelope, Odysseus, and Eurycleia
• 62:23 - Penelope’s contest, Odysseus’ bow, and a massacre
• 64:48 - Reunions: Odysseus and Penelope, Odysseus and Laertes
• 65:53 - The final battle (and a deus ex machina)

66:39 - Ithaka at last!: Themes

• 66:43 - How much revenge is TOO much?
• 72:33 - Penelope, that crafty girl

79:41 - Final bits and bobs

• 79:50 - The popularity of the Odyssey over time
• 80:37 - Our hopes for Nolan’s film

81:45 - Wrap-up