The Odyssey of Homer

Overview

Course No. 302

Join Professor Vandiver for this 12-lecture exploration of Homer’s epic masterpiece, The Odyssey. This course delves deep into Odysseus’s perilous journey home after the Trojan War, examining why his longing for home is so powerful and how this ancient Greek epic continues to captivate readers worldwide.

Through meticulous analysis of key episodes, you’ll uncover the cultural assumptions behind Homer’s lines, explore critical interpretive issues, and gain new appreciation for this foundational work of Western literature. The lectures illuminate Odysseus’s rhetorical skills, Penelope’s complex motivations, the poem’s narrative structure, and the historical context of the Trojan War.

Video Lectures

01: Heroes’ Homecomings (33 min)

Distinguish between kleos (glory) and nostos (homecoming) epics while examining The Odyssey‘s complex chronology.

02: Guests and Hosts (31 min)

Explore the crucial concept of xenia (guest-host relations) in the Telemachy episodes.

03: A Goddess and a Princess (31 min)

Analyze Odysseus’s first appearance and his interactions with Kalypso and Nausikaa.

04: Odysseus among the Phaiakians (31 min)

Study Odysseus as storyteller during his Phaiakian court narration.

05: Odysseus Tells His Own Story (31 min)

Continue the “Great Wanderings” with Circe’s island and the journey to Hades.

06: From Persephone’s Land to the Island of Helios (29 min)

Examine Odysseus’s underworld narrative and its truthfulness.

07: The Goddess, the Swineherd, and the Beggar (30 min)

Transition to Ithaka with Athena’s guidance and Odysseus’s disguise.

08: Reunion and Return (29 min)

Follow Odysseus’s emotional reunions with Telemachos and entry into court.

09: Odysseus and Penelope (30 min)

Decipher the enigmatic conversations between the disguised Odysseus and Penelope.

10: Recognitions and Revenge (31 min)

Witness the bow contest, slave recognitions, and suitors’ slaughter.

11: Reunion and Resolution (31 min)

Conclude with the marital bed symbolism and evaluate the epic’s ending.

12: The Trojan War and the Archaeologists (30 min)

Investigate historical and archaeological evidence for the Trojan War.