THE ODYSSEY / 03
The
Odyssey.
Eight shared readings through the poem’s decisive scenes, with the Greek always on the page.
Eight meetings through the moments that make the poem.
We follow the Odyssey through selected passages that carry the story from absence to return: Ithaca without Odysseus, Calypso and the Phaeacians, the Cyclops, Circe and the dead, the dangers of the voyage home, disguise and recognition, the bow, Penelope and the bed.
The Greek text is always present alongside a reliable translation. I introduce the language needed for each passage, so no previous Greek is required. We read slowly enough to hear the poem and still keep sight of the whole voyage.
Structure8 meetings · 90 minutes each
Group6–8 readers
IncludedGreek passages, translations, notes and study materials
01
The poem opensThe Muse, the absent Odysseus, Ithaca and the household waiting for a return.
BOOKS 1–202
Calypso and departureOdysseus at the edge of the world, the gods in council and the decision to leave immortality behind.
BOOK 503
Phaeacia and the strangerNausicaa, hospitality, identity and the moment Odysseus begins to tell his own story.
BOOKS 6–804
The CyclopsName, cunning, violence and the encounter that reveals both Odysseus’s intelligence and his danger.
BOOK 905
Circe and the deadTransformation, descent, prophecy and the knowledge Odysseus must carry before he can return.
BOOKS 10–1106
The sea of lossesThe Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, the cattle of the Sun and the cost of getting home.
BOOK 1207
Ithaca in disguiseEumaeus, Telemachus, Argos and the slow work of recognition before Odysseus can reveal himself.
BOOKS 13–1708
The bow, Penelope and the bedRecognition reaches its end through the contest, Penelope’s testing and the private sign of the marriage bed.
BOOKS 19–23