This class will coverThe Odyssey, the blind bard’s epic sequel to The Iliad.  After the Trojan War, the man of many turns, Odysseus, wends his way slowly home to his kingdom in Ithaca. Will his wife Penelope and son Telemachus welcome him after twenty years absence? Along the way, he and his men face mythical creatures which pose terrible obstacles and beautiful nymphs who work to change their minds.  Blessing and wrath, challenge and consequences are set before them by the gods. 

We will read large selections of the Robert Fitzgerald translation in full. We will wrestle with the idea of true agency of choice in light of the gods' involvement, watch Odysseus test the bounds of the Greek guest-friendship known as xenia, and follow up with some feasting of our own. As we consider Homer’s art of storytelling, we will create our own epithets, talk about “going home”, look for echoes in other stories and finally offer our voices in commonplace book writing and the final project.