The First Women of Old (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book 11 – Part 8)

From grief, the past unfolds into legend. The dead speak not only of sorrow, but of origins that shaped the living world.

In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus begins to question the spirits of famed women sent forth by Persephone. First among them is Tyro, who tells of her union with Poseidon in the guise of the river Enipeus and of the sons born from that meeting — Pelias and Neleus — founders of mighty lines. After her comes Antiope, who bore Amphion and Zethus to Zeus, builders of seven-gated Thebes. Through these voices, heroic history rises from the underworld, binding gods, mortals, and cities yet standing.

This passage shifts the descent into Hades from personal loss to mythic memory, where the roots of power and place are traced through the women who bore them.

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Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.