123 - Odyssey 2: Man of Wiles

A goddess offers Odysseus immortality. He says no.

Eight years on Calypso's island. Paradise, more or less. And he spends his days sitting on the beach, weeping for a rocky little kingdom he may never see again.

Welcome to Part 2 (of 6!) of our series on Homer's great epic.

Part 2 covers Books 5 to 8. We finally meet the man himself, and he arrives naked, half drowned, and buried under a pile of leaves. Why would anyone choose death over eternal life? And why does the greatest hero of the age get home on charm rather than force?

Follow Odysseus as he builds his own raft, survives Poseidon's wrath, and talks his way into the most powerful household on the island of the Phaeacians. Meet the women who hold the real power: Calypso, the princess Nausicaa, and Queen Arete, honored like no woman of Homer's own day. Plus King Alcinous, and the blind bard Demodocus, whose song brings Odysseus to tears.

Christopher Nolan cut three of these four books from his film. They may be the ones that tell you most about who Odysseus really is.

Timestamps:

00:57 Women, Power and Odysseus

03:19 Hermes Visits Calypso

05:25 Odysseus Trapped and Weeping

06:14 Zeus Orders Release

11:03 Calypso's Final Offer