Episode 2

Why You MUST Read Homer--and How to Get Started. Week 2: The Odyssey

I'm reading Ted Gioia's "Immersive Humanities Course," 52 weeks of World Classics. Week 2 starts with Greek Poetry, and then we start Homer and The Odyssey. What a great week!

I'm a beginner at reading the classics, but I've decided to just "crack the book" and get started. Here are a few of my key take-aways from this week:

  1. The surviving Greek Lyrics are very male-dominated, full of war and fighting and politics, with not a lot of attention paid to nature or beauty, or even romance. That is, until you get to Sappho, a woman. Her verses are really beautiful. I can’t help but wonder why. Is it just what survived? Or is that an accurate reflection of Greek society? I thought it was the second until I read Homer.
  2. The Odyssey is full of male and female characters, and they are both important to the story. So where the poetry was very male-centric (except for Sappho) Homer absolutely isn’t. I mean, Penelope seems kind of weak, but Athena is absolutely crucial to the plot. I will have to think about this a lot more.
  3. Odysseus is a pain in the neck. While I love the story, I'm not a fan of the guy himself so far, at least by Book 10. For instance, when he gets ready to pass by the Sirens, he is told to lash himself to the mast of the ship IF he wants to hear the Siren Song. And that’s what he chose to do! Why would he not just say, “Nope, I’ll put beeswax in my ears like the rest of the crew and we will just sail on by.” It seems supremely arrogant.
  4. Telemachus, on the other hand, seems to me to possibly be the better hero. I’m looking forward to seeing him find his dad.

I have a lot of other thoughts this week, especially about the Fagles translation I read.

This is a year-long challenge! Join me next week to finish the Odyssey. We'll be joined by a fun guest!

CONNECT

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/ 

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321 

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Crack The Book
Crack The Book
Join me as we explore some of the most influential books in the world, to find out what we can learn for our 21st century lives.

Listen for free

About your host

Profile picture for Cheryl Drury

Cheryl Drury

Cheryl stayed home with her four children for many years, where she found her engineering and actuarial science degrees to be surprisingly useful. Together with her husband they also ran a horse boarding barn for several years. As new empty nesters, they sold the farm, moved to Charleston, SC, and bought Abide, a 136' sailboat, with the goal of sailing to as many places around the world as possible.