The Odyssey Odyssey
In this podcast, Tom Lee retells Homer's epic poem 'The Odyssey' while exploring the many Greek myths that surround its central narrative. The show frames the Odyssey as a journey through time and against death, moving away from demons and toward home. Lee also considers how audiences have related to this complex hero over nearly three thousand years. Each episode blends storytelling with mythological digressions and reflections.
Episodes
24: Circe in China - "Mrs. Number Three"
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We make a detour on the journey to Ithaca and travel to T'ang Dynasty China for a "Tale of the Weird" (志怪小說) that echoes Circe's penchant for transformational malice...
22: The Comfort of Strangers - Circe: Part 2
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH Odysseus receives help from Hermes to overcome Circe's potent drugs, and we learn that sailors and witches make epic bedfellows.
21: The Comfort of Strangers (Circe - Part 1)
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: Our much-diminished band of heroes takes time to grieve their massive losses brought about by recent events. Odysseus finds another intriguing wisp of smoke in the wilderness. Maybe this time they'll find the warm welcome and the comforts of home they so desperately seek?FOOTNOTES: Learn more about this episode
20: And Then There Was One . . .
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH our intrepid band, having escaped from one man-eating giant, retreat to a tranquil bay, only to find themselves surrounded by thousands of giants with similar appetites. Poseidon's curse moves ominously towards its fulfillment.EXPLORE THE FOOTNOTES FOR THIS EPISODE
19: Oh, The Wayward Wind
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We consider the implications of windbags, pompous and otherwise, as our hero begins to feel the full effects of the parting curse of the Cyclops.
Episode 18: The Big Bad
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: Our hero seeks hospitality in The Wrong Cave. We meet everyone's favorite mythological monster: Polyphemus the Cyclops, whose appetites are as shocking as his social skills.
BONUS: Anyone for Tennyson?
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We hear the complete poem "The Lotos-eaters" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
17: "It's Lotus, Dude..."
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: Odysseus himself takes over the narrative and decides to begin at the beginning. He recounts the departure of his twelve ships with 600 men from the ruins of Troy to an audience that knows the ending: only one of them will survive.A raid on the Cicones goes horribly wrong, and our hero and his trusted companions are blown wildly off course - almost as if they had gone up
SUMMER SPECIAL: IRON MAN
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: we delve into the life and stories of Hephaestus, the god of fire, bearer of culture, architect and blacksmith to the gods. The child of dysfunctional immortals, he struggles to find a home and a family.LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODEE-mail Tom Lee
16: Storytime
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: Odysseus is entertained by the rhapsode Demodacus, who is inspired to tell our hero his own story. An athletic competition gives rise to tension, which another story dispels. The entertainment continues over roasted boar, where art and life collide in a third and final story.FOOTNOTES: More about this episode.
15: Consider Yourself at Home
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: Odysseus casts an epic gaze over the palace of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, who demonstrate their hospitality and provide our hero with hope.VISUAL FOOTNOTES FOR THIS EPISODE CAN BE SEEN HERE
EPISODE 14: We Have to Talk About the Giants...
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We explore the lineage of King Alcinous, Odysseus's host, tracing his family line back to the notorious and ill-fated race of Giants.
BONUS: Christmas With A Pope
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We return from an unexpected hiatus with a "party piece" - a performance of an excerpt from Alexander Pope's 1726 verse translation of The Odyssey, Book V.
EPISODE 13: Laundry Day
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: Odysseus is rescued by a young princess engaged in pursuits of domestic management. Athena returns him to a state of manly elegance, and the princess promises him a speedy return to his homeland on a magical ship.
Summer Special - His Left Foot: Philoctetes
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: Odysseus uses guile and deceit to attain The Bow of Heracles from Philoctetes, the man he betrayed and abandoned ten years before.Watch a video of "The Speckled Bull" - an Irish folktale descended from the myth of Heracles and Achelous HERE.See artwork related to this episode HERE. Email Tom Lee HERE
Summer Special - Achilles' (High) Heel
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We recount the Roman story of the Achilleid, detailing how the immortal nymph Thetis tried to protect her all-too-mortal son Achilles from the perils of the Trojan War and how "wily Odysseus" contrived to foil her schemes.SEE ARTWORK RELATED TO THIS EPISODE HERE.E-MAIL TOM LEE HERE.
12 - "Rosie, You're All Right"
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH we explore the most repeated poetic line in all of the Odyssey and learn the tragic story of Eos, goddess of the dawn, who kindled the wrath of Aphrodite and was cursed ever after to a life of unrequited lust. Ouch.Also, we delve into the misty past of the great citadel of Troy and learn how gods helped to create it, and to (almost) destroy it.Notes, images and music for
11 - "Here We Are, Living in Paradise"
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH we encounter our hero, Odysseus, as the coddled prisoner of the sea nymph Calypso in her island hermitage. Hermes, the reluctant ambassador of Zeus, liberates the captive, who flees directly into the path of a wrathful Poseidon.Images and music referenced in this episode can be explored HERE.E-mail Tom Lee HERE.
10 - Sinon's Weeping (All about that horse...)
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We delve into what may be the least understood episode of the Trojan War: that horse. How could the Trojans be so foolish as to bring that horse into their city? Homer doesn't have much to say about it, but Vergil tells you how....Footnotes and images for this episode are available here.Email Tom Lee here.
09 - Who's Afraid of Helen of Troy?
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH we considered what married life is like when a husband and wife are reunited after a ten-year long war waged over the wife's infidelity. Menelaus and Helen both remember their encounters with Odysseus, and we learn how the sea god Proteus can be tricked into telling all he knows.See notes and images for this episode HERE
08 - A Shudder
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We delve into the birth of Helen of Sparta, I mean Troy, one of the countless children of Zeus whose lives intersect in The Iliad and The Odyssey.Footnotes to the show are available here.EMAIL TOM LEE
07 - War Stories and War Crimes
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: Telemachus and Mentor/Athena visit Old King Nestor in search of news of Odysseus. Nestor relates the chaotic departure of the Greeks from Troy after "Lesser" Ajax angered Athena.Program notes available here.Instagram page here
BONUS: Homer and the Pterodactyl (11:07)
Send us Fan MailHomer and a Pterodactyl walk into this bar...
06 - Night Flight
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We observe life on a small island. Telemachus obeys Athena's command to call an assembly on Ithaca - the first since his father departed nineteen years ago. Athena intervenes in a series of disguises.
05 - Fathers and Sins: Atreus
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: When plotting revenge, they say you should dig two graves: one for your victim, and one for yourself. In this episode, the curse of the House of Atreus is fulfilled in a rather horrifying "dinner for one." We encounter a future king and his future murderer.
04 - Fathers and Sins: Pelops
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: We hear a throwback to one of the foundational myths of Ancient Greece and the origins of the Trojan War. A prequel to "The Odyssey," of sorts, featuring cannibalism and chariot racing (to the death).For more information about art, music and literature referenced in this episode, please see MY WEBSITE.If you have thoughts, questions, or better ideas, please E-
03 - Entertaining Unawares
Send us Fan MailWhile Zeus considers who is to blame for the suffering of mortals, Athena sets the action of the epic in motion, taking on the first of her many disguises and inspiring Odysseus's son, Telemachus.
02 - "The Sea, The Sea"
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: It's not just Poseidon who rules the sea. We explore the many gods of the ocean realm, their parents, their children, and what makes them angry.More information and images on my WEBPAGE.I would love tyo your your thoughts, questions, or better ideas. EMAIL
01 - The Daughters of Memory
Send us Fan MailIN WHICH: The Muses are the inspiration for all poetry, music, dance, theater, and science in Ancient Greece. A storyteller is well advised to pay them due respect, so we dedicate Episode One to them.Some of the artwork mentioned in this episode can be seen at my INSTAGRAM PAGE.Comments? Questions? Better ideas? Please: E-MAIL ME
Introducing this podcast
Send us Fan MailWelcome! Here's a three-minute summary of the plan for this podcast.You can see images related to this and other episodes on my Instagram page. Questions? Comments? Better ideas? I'd love to hear from you! Email me.
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