Odysseus Steps on Stage

Rewire the West

I led a panel discussion hosted by Rewire the West on Books 5-8 of Homer’s Odyssey. It was a joyful discussion and Deacon Garlick and Sean Berube added a lot of valuable comments as well.

Here is the link.

And here is a breakdown of the structure of the Odyssey that I discuss at the beginning. It is remarkable how evenly distributed each section of the Odyssey is.

1) Bks 1-4: is the Telemachy (the son searches for news)

2) Bks 5-8: Odysseus gets off Calypso's island and encounters the Phaeacians (almost home)

3) Bks 9-12: Odysseus becomes the bard and narrates his previous adventures to the Phaeacians.

4) Bks 13-16: Odysseus and Telemachus come back to Ithaca and lay their plans to remove the suitors in the house of the loyal swineherd Eumaeus.

5) Bks 17-20: Odysseus is in his palace in disguise looking for the right moment.

6) Bks 21-24: Odysseus is now revealed to all as Odysseus, and takes back his home and reconvenes his marriage with his faithful wife.