The Odyssey I-II on Core Curriculum

Athena, disguised as Mentor, leads Telemachus in one of John Flaxman’s illustrations for The Odyssey (1810)

Series 4 of Core Curriculum has arrived! Previous seasons have tackled the Iliad, Plato’s Republic, and the selected poetry of Sappho. This season we’re talking through Homer’s Odyssey book by book.

In the first episode of this series, Michial Farmer of the Christian Humanist Podcast hosts my friend Coyle Neal, of the City of Man Podcast, and myself in a discussion of Books I and II of the Odyssey. We discuss the Odyssey’s relationship to the Iliad and even touch on the vexed and unanswerable question of authorship as well as talking about the events of these books, which follow the title character’s son Telemachus as he begins a journey in search of his missing father. We discuss the poem’s theme of hospitality and honor and, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, compare Homer’s work to everything from blatant parodies or homages like O Brother, Where Art Thou? or “Duck Tales,” to the perspectives of modern war movies, to other heroic poems like Beowulf, and to less obviously related stories like Home Alone and Back to the Future.

It’s a ton of fun. As much as I adore the Iliad and loved talking through that a year ago, I think I enjoyed our discussions of the Odyssey even more and am excited to listen to all of them as they come out.

You can listen to Core Curriculum by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, and other fine podcasting platforms. It appears Stitcher will no longer allow me to embed the episode, so if you’re looking for a web player you can listen to it on the episode’s page there. You can look at Michial’s detailed shownotes, including all of our references and allusions to outside material, on the Christian Humanist Radio Network’s site here. Subscribe to the show—and the other shows on the CHRN—so you don’t miss future episodes.

Thanks for listening! Hope y’all enjoy.