STORY 0:00 – 1:15:00 Odysseus – “the polytropus man” – sets sail for home. Adventures at Ismarus and in the Land of the Lotus Eaters follow. A detailed flashback takes us to Ithaka, to explore Penelope’s three duties in her husband’s absence

EPISODE 2 CYCLOPS

Aug 23rd, 2019 1h 25m

STORY 0:00 – 1:03:45 This episode includes all of the adventures – the horror, the comedy, and the strategy – inside the cyclops Polyphemus’ cave. The episode concludes with Odysseus being cursed, followed by a short primer on how to curse on

EPISODE 3 AEOLUS and THE LASTRYGONIANS

Aug 2nd, 2019 1h 13m

STORY 0:00 – 45:00 The Great Wanderings continue, and disaster follows disaster. First Odysseus squanders opportunity for easy homecoming via King Aeolus’ magical bag of wind. And then Odysseus loses most of his ships and crew, in the Lastry

EPISODE 4 CIRCE

Aug 1st, 2019 1h 29m

STORY 0:00 – 56:00 Odysseus’ crew arrive on Circe’s island, where they are transformed into pigs (most likely for behaving like pigs). After rescuing his crew, Odysseus decides to postpone his homecoming a full year, unwilling to resist the p

EPISODE 5 ODYSSEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD

Jul 31st, 2019 1h 12m

STORY 0:00 – 53:00 Odysseus visits the underworld and has some interesting conversations with the dead. His mom warns him about the deteriorating situation in Ithaka; Agamemnon warns him about the fidelity of wives (an Odyssey “recurring them

EPISODE 6 SIRENS, SCYLLA, CHARYBDIS and SOME COWS

Jul 30th, 2019 2h 6m

STORY 0:00 – 58:55 Odysseus listens to the Sirens. I pause to provide a historical review of how Sirens evolved over time, following Homer’s Odyssey. Odysseus then chooses between Charybdis and Scylla, and I pause to relate a seriously twiste

EPISODE 7 CALYPSO

Jul 29th, 2019 1h 31m

STORY 0:00 – 54:30 The episode opens in year seven of Odysseus’ long, largely undocumented sojourn on Calypso’s island. Odysseus is longing for home, apparently unmoved by the promise of immortality with a goddess. Up on Mount Olympus: Athen

EPISODE 8 TELEMACHUS

Jul 28th, 2019 1h 50m

STORY 0:00 – 53:15 At the same time as Hermes takes flight to Calypso’ island, in order to rescue Odysseus, Athena takes flight to Ithaka, in order to “rescue” 20-year old Telemachus: from his remarkable immaturity. This episode picks up the s

EPISODE 9 TELEMACHUS, MENELAUS, and HELEN OF TROY

Jul 27th, 2019 1h 35m

STORY 0:00 – 53:45 Athena sends Telemachus off on his first ever “road trip” – to Pylos and to Sparta – in the hopes that it might help the milquetoast young man to “grow a pair”. Telemachus meets some familiar characters from Iliad: windy o

EPISODE 10 NAUSICAA

Jul 26th, 2019 1h 30m

STORY 0:00 – 1:04:45 At the same time as Athena is in Ithaka – “mentoring” Telemachus – Odysseus washes ashore the land of the Phaeacians: badly beat up, half-starved, and totally naked. And his only hope of receiving the xenia that he needs

EPISODE 11 DEMODOCUS and THE PHAECIANS

Jul 25th, 2019 1h 39m

STORY 0:00 – 1:18:30 Odysseus – his identity still a secret – spends a very full day as the guest of the King Alcinous and Queen Arete. Most of the day is spent in Odysseus doing his best to NOT reveal his identity. But songs sung by the ba

EPISODE 12 HOMECOMING

Jul 24th, 2019 2h 28m

STORY 0:00 – 1:33:40 Odysseus – after twenty years away – wakes up on the shores of his own dear Ithaka. Athena provides her boy with an intelligence briefing, a reconnoiter strategy, and, of course, a disguise. And then Odysseus launches in

EPISODE 13 RECOGNITION AND REVENGE

Jul 23rd, 2019 2h 31m

STORY 0:00 – 1:36:40 Our story opens with possible “recognition”. Penelope and a homeless beggar (Odysseus) have a long conversation, and take turns decoding a dream. Does Penelope know that the beggar is Odysseus? The next day Penelope ann

EPISODE 14 REUNION

Jul 18th, 2019 1h 31m

STORY 0:00 – 1:03:05 And finally, Penelope and Odysseus (no longer in disguise) meet. Penelope sets one final test, Odysseus passes it, and certain recognition ensues. Following that, Homer attempts to tie up a few lose ends in his plot – a

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