In episode two of Among the Ancients, Tom and Emily turn to Homer’s Odyssey. They discuss the twisting, turning nature of both the narrative and its hero, the poem’s complex interrogation of the idea of ‘home’, and the violence Odysseus brings with him on his return from the Trojan War.

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Further reading in the LRB:

David Quint: Poor Cyclops

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n12/david-quint/poor-cyclops

Barbara Graziosi: Where’s the Gravy?

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n16/barbara-graziosi/where-s-the-gravy

Colin Macleod: Homer's Gods

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v03/n14/colin-macleod/homer-s-gods

Emily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of the 'Odysse'y and the 'Iliad'. Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books and host of the LRB Podcast.

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