The Odyssey of Homer

By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver

Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

What is it in Homer's Odyssey that has so enthralled readers from around the world for thousands of years? By joining Professor Vandiver for these 12 lectures on the Odyssey, you'll find out why.

This literary exploration centers on a single provocative question about the epic poem's protagonist, Odysseus: Why does he long so powerfully to go home? To probe the depths of this question, you'll embark on meticulous, insightful examinations of the most important episodes in the Odyssey. In doing so, you'll understand the cultural assumptions that lie behind Homer's lines and the critical and interpretive issues involved in truly unpacking this ancient masterpiece.

Among the range of episodes, themes, and topics you'll explore are: Odysseus's superb skills as a rhetorician; the abrupt break in the text at the end of the "Great Wanderings" episode, when the poem briefly returns to the third-person narrative; Penelope's knowledge and motives as they relate to the inevitability of her suitors' doom; the effectiveness (or possible lack thereof) in the poem's ending; the historical basis for the Trojan War from which Odysseus returns; and more.

For anyone who's loved the stories of Odysseus's encounters with witches, monsters, and vengeful gods; for anyone who's longed to truly grasp the intricate nature of Homer's epic; or for anyone who has been looking for ways to approach a work that can often be intimidating to first-time readers, these lectures are an invaluable resource and a helpful introduction to the grandest adventure story in Western literature.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1999 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1999 The Great Courses

A perfect sequel!

Elizabeth Vandiver (The Narrator) is great at conveying her points clearly and timely. She does a really good job of examining the source material without tainting it with personal drabble. This is a great translation and I thoroughly enjoyed it.


As for the actual story.. it's hard to discuss without spoilers but I think it's a great home coming story that wraps up the Trojan saga nicely.

Outstanding

This is absolutely one of the best outlines of the Odyssey I have ever heard. I highly recommend it and look foreword to listening to more from Professor Vandiver.

Passionate pedagogy

Wonderful and thoughtful, these lectures are sufficient to want to make you drop out of your regular life, learn Greek, and read the epics full-time

Fantastic

I loved everything about this. Interesting, clear and covering a broad topic in a way that doesn’t overwhelm. Well done!

As good as The Iliad

While I had read the Iliad and not the Odyssey, I listened to this series because I had been so pleased with the Iliad lecture series.

Even without reading the text, I got a lot out of these. I would certainly listen to it again after reading the text, which is praise in itself.

Offers Many Layers of Understanding

I’ve read The Odyssey more frequently than I have The Iliad. It’s always been primarily an adventure story for me and in addition to the text, I’ve enjoyed reading about the places that might have inspired the fabulous lands discovered in this poem. What Vandiver does in this Great Courses book is give you the substance behind the epic that makes it clear why this book has resonated with audiences for millennia and why the ancient Greeks turned to it again and again as a guide to proper behavior. For this is a book that explores in remarkable depth the meaning of what modern audiences would call proper hospitality. It also, and I’m shocked I never picked up on this on my own, depicts what happens to a land when all the fathers go away to war and never come back again. This is a wonderful exploration of one of the all-time great works of literature and is worth listening to again and again.

Elizabeth Vandiver gives great lectures!

I enjoyed both the lecture series on The Iliad of Homer, and this, The Odessey of Homer.

Odyssey II

For my money, Homer could have quit with the Iliad, an epic story of gansterism. Odysseus doubles down on the heroics, perhaps because the sole survivor enjoys the benefit of there being no witnesses to challenge his story. Professor Vandiver thoroughly analyses the Homeric style of storytelling and provides valuable insight into Greek thought. I found her lectures more useful than the book itself.

Excellent Scholarship and Delivery

Clear, riveting, informative; exactly what I want for an overview and introduction to the Odyssey and it’s scholarship.

OohRah Dr. Vandiver! You ROCK!

If ancient or classical studies get better than this Lady I'll buy it in a heartbeat. This is my 4th of her courses and reading the Iliad or Odyssey without Dr. Vandiver's insights is like going out naked and unarmed. Buy it, use the credit. Chapter 12 alone is worth the entire price.