Podcasts about Polyphemus

For decades, writers and filmmakers have imagined worlds where characters can do things like watch a double sunset (on Tatooine, of course), or stand among the sand dunes of Arrakis, or gaze at the gas-giant planet Polyphemus from the moon Pandora. But even as works like Star Wars, Dune, and Avatar have enticed us with their fictional renditions of planets beyond our reach, astronomers have slowly begun to compile a set of scientific truths about the actual exoplanets. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Keith Cooper (Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact) about the realities beyond imaginary planets. PLUS Jacke takes a look at two AI-related pieces of news: the recovery of writing long thought to be lost on a scroll charred by Vesuvian ash, and a summer reading list that surprised everyone - including the authors who made the list for reasons they were not expecting. Additional listening: 282 Science Fiction 583 Margaret Cavendish (with Francesca Peacock) 693 Understanding the Wonders of Nature (with Alan Lightman) The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at gabrielruizbernal.com . "Two Butterflies" performed by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal and Allison Hughes. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate . The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neptune is the Roman name for the Greek god of the seas and of earthquakes. Poseidon, in Greek mythology, is the father of Polyphemus, the tyrannical, man-eating cyclopes of Homer's Odyssey. Because the Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, it was Poseidon and his wrath which ultimately made Odysseus' trip home a little more circuitous than was to the Big O's liking. Thankfully, Poseidon and his offspring exist only in the long-gone minds and imaginations of Homer and the Greco-Roman world. But there is a true King of king and Lord of lords, which even the wind, wave, continental plates and distant planets obey. Who is this King of Glory? How do the heavens declare His glory? And what might the enigmas and mysteries of our solar system's most distant planet tell us about Him? Come and see! To see pictures comparing the actual colors of Uranus and Neptune see this article. https://www.space.com/uranus-neptune-similar-shades-of-blue-voyager-2-images Music featured for the first 7 minutes of the broadcast comes from Gustav Holst, The Planets Op 32 Vii Neptune The Mystic https://youtu.be/cZt9oXP1OKc?si=d8ZYuTbYtSKuwXtN CNN special episode of Voyager 2 arrival at Neptune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwb-o5N9LBM Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BqnN72OlqA Wayne's blog article on 'Easter - Then and Now' https://creationanswers.net/answersblog/2025/04/18/easter-then-and-now/ Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms.  To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens.  This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.

The boys discuss how to order off menu items, nicknames and how to avoid falling

Welcome to Season 3 of Myths & Muses! This season, we're focusing on monsters -- and, for better or worse, we've had some help in targeting which monsters to focus on from... Medusa. Because she's invited a bunch of them to our camps for our "Misunderstood Monsters" theme. You can see her first letter to us and the "tour poster" for the monsters on the World of Mythik theory board. We're starting with Polyphemus, the one-eyed monster best known for getting blinded by Odysseus. Polyphemus, the one-eyed giant best known for the role he plays in the story of the Greek hero Odysseus. And because we're not sure we quite trust Medusa to have shown us her whole hand, we'll talk about some other giants from across the world, too! Visit the World of Mythik website to learn more and to contribute your theories to our board! All stories told on Myths & Muses are original family-friendly adaptations of ancient myths and legends. Stories from ancient mythology can also sometimes deal with complicated topics for young listeners — to the mortal parents and caretakers reading this, we encourage listening along with your young demigods to help them navigate those topics as they explore these epic tales. Transcript for S3E1 If you'd like to submit something creative you've done inspired by the stories in Myths & Muses, use this form (with a Mortal Guardian's permission!). ----more---- Stuff to Read:  Polyphemus and Cyclopes: Book 9 of The Odyssey The Gigantomachy The Laestrygonians Jotnar:  Yggdrasil  Story of The Theft of Thor's Hammer Thyrsi and Skadi Aztec giants:  The Quinametzin  More on the Quinametzin Help with Nahuatl pronunciation Stuff to Watch: See our curated playlist for this episode!

This week, Alice, and Elliott cover chapter 14 of Percy Jackson and the sea of monsters. After this long break, they talk about the colonials ideologies of the fleece, kilts and the bisexual polyamory of polyphemus ! Links mentioned in this episode: https://linktr.ee/thedemigodpod sources of Elliott's research: https://www.theoi.com https://www.greekmythology.com

Prophecy Radio episode #127 finds Karen and Kristen back to discuss the next two chapters of Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods. We catch up on the board games we've played and loved recently (and tell a traumatic board game memory) before discussing the latest news from Rick Riordan and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Finally, we discuss chapters 24 and 25 of Chalice of the Gods. New episodes of Prophecy Radio will air every other week. All discussions are PG-13. News and Updates (00:09:37) We decide not to worry about the D23 trailer since it has so little new footage for Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2. We are ready and waiting for a real Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 trailer, though. We do have some minor casting announcements to talk about. You can take a look at all the info on the minor casting right here. Timothy Simons as Tantalus, who keeps an eye on activities in Chiron's absence. Kevin Chacon has been recast as Chris Rodriguez We take issue with the article calling him a villain, though. Rosemarie DeWitt will be our C.C. (AKA Circe) Who is not to be confused with Calypso or any other water-related C-named goddesses Aleks Paunovic will be our Polyphemus, although we're not sure to what degree. If they had only cast him for his voice, they would have mentioned that in the announcement, right? Last, but certainly not least, we have our new non-book character played by Beatrice Kitsos … or is she?! Chalice of the Gods discussion (00:29:00) Chapter 24 starts with Percy waking up from a good old regular dream where all the gods were pregnant. And of course it was Annabeth sneaking in his window that woke him. She has a lot to tell him about what she learned about concetrated nectar from Juniper. Is this book influencing the show? Or is the show influencing this book? Percy gave good advice to Grover. Sally would not have a problem with Annabeth in Percy's room. She'd probably just make tea. Trusting moms are some of the best parts of supernatural-being-living-in-a-human-world stories. Annabeth Chase: Scheduler Extraordinaire! We share our favorite lines and moments. Time for chapter 25! And its a big one. Doughnuts to start the day, then time to plug noses and get to work. The menthol to koala/eucalyptus thing took a minute to process. Our trio gets split up by the drops of nectar. Of course Percy is in trouble the minute he's off on his own. Time to meet Gary! He has a very specific look, and its not a flattering one. The god of old age stole the chalice that stops people from getting old. It goes against the natural order of things. Since Percy is the only human to turn down immortality, Geras wanted to give him a chance to understand why this god would steal from Ganymede. Karen reminds us of that reference last week that makes a lot more sense now that we're in the know. Gary is not happy with Percy's reaction and is totally ready to turn him to gravedust. Percy wants to see if there's a deal to be struck. The challenge Geras throws down is not exactly what you would expect… Time to close things out with more favorite lines and favorite moments! Feedback No feedback this week, but we look forward to hearing all your board game recs for next week's episode! Thanks for listening, and tune in next time for episode 128, where we'll discuss the latest Percy Jackson news, along with Chalice of the Gods chapters 26 & 27. This episode's hosts are: Karen and Kristen Each episode, Prophecy Radio‘s hosts will discuss any official news coming out of Camp Half-Blood before doing a chapter by chapter reread of Percy Jackson or one of Rick Riordan's other series. Follow Us: Instagram // Facebook // Tumblr Listen and Subscribe: Audioboom // Apple // Spotify Feel free to leave us your questions or comments through any of these mediums! You can also email us at prophecyradiopodcast@gmail.com or visit our homepage for archives and more information about our show. Prophecy Radio is a Subjectify Media podcast production. Visit Subjectify Media for more shows, including Not Another Teen Wolf Podcast, ReWatchable, and Not About The Weather, and for all our latest articles about the stories we're passionate about. Episode #127 - Twitchy Energy

In this third episode of our read-through of Homer's Odyssey, we'll be exploring Books 9 through 12. Finally Odysseus begins telling the story of his ill-fated journey home from Troy. We'll discuss the city he and his crew sack like pirates for no good reason, the island of the Lotus-Eaters, and the story of Polyphemus the Cyclops. And that's just book 9. We'll have a lot to discuss in our 42nd LIVE show of the year. NO SLEEP TIL ITHACA!⚡Recommended supplementary reading: The Hero and the Man: Language, Truth, and the Homeric Origins of Western Idealismby our own C.B. Robertson ‪@caffeineandphilosophy‬ . https://amzn.to/4086Ol2You can post your questions in the comments via Instagram or YouTube. We've already started the discussion in our Telegram group, The Greater Mandala. (For access, sign up for our mailing list - here)⚡THE ADVENTURE COLLECTION⚡During this episode, we mentioned The Order of Fire's new Adventure collection, featuring a Stay Solar cap and stylish safari shirt designed by Jack Donovan. Check out the collection here.

Liv finishes telling the story of the only surviving Satyr play, Euripides' Cyclops and Euripides' take on Odysseus and Polyphemus...and a chorus of d*** swinging satyrs. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: Euripides' Cyclops Companion by Carl A Shaw; Euripides' Cyclops from Six Classical Greek Comedies, translated by Kenneth McLeish and J. Michael Walton; Warwick entry on the Sanctuary of Dionysus. Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jorge Rivera-Herrans returns to discuss Epic the Musical: The Cyclops Saga! The second saga of Epic: The Musical is all about the encounter between Odysseus and the cyclops Polyphemus. The consequences of this saga will be far reaching as Odysseus makes some interesting choices that threaten the lives and safety of himself and his crew, and ensure that his journey home is a LONG one. Maybe don't mess with a son of Poseidon eh?Once again we compare the source material of the Odyssey to Epic: The Musical and see where the similarities and differences are.Thank you to Jorge for returning for this episode and the other sagas too (also for creating an outstanding musical). Here's a link to his socials:Listen to Epic the Musical now!Follow Jorge on TiktokFollow me!Tiktok: @SabrinaSalisburyWriterInstagram: @sabrinasalisburywriterSources:Epic: The Musical by Jorge Rivera-HerransThe Odyssey translated by Emily WilsonGreat Courses Odyssey of Homer- Elizabeth Vandiver, Ph.D.

Transcripts are available here: https://www.tincanaudio.co.uk/camlann-s1e6-transcript-odysseus Content Warnings can be found at the end of the show notes. Elsewhere. Follow us on social media @camlannpod to stay updated. Share your thoughts with us using #Camlann. If you'd like to support the future of the show, you can do so on Ko-Fi and Patreon. If you'd like to listen along live to episodes as they come out with Ella and Amber, you can do that on Tin Can Audio's Twitch channel from 8-10pm GMT on Mondays. On Wednesdays at the same time, Amber will be going through the process of composing the score, and on our ‘off weeks' on Mondays, Amber will go through the sound design for the show. Camlann is made possible with funding from Creative Scotland and the Inevitable Foundation. The Greek folk song featured in this episode is Ikariotikos - it's a traditional dance and song from the island of Ikaria which has a ‘slow' and ‘quick' version. Odysseus sings the slow version. This episode featured: Dimitri Gripari as Odysseus, Christina Appana as Ariadne, and Will de Renzy-Martin as Polyphemus. Additional voices were provided by the Camlann ensemble. Special shoutout to Ross McFarlane, for getting eaten by a cyclops. With thanks to Eleni Sfetsiori for her work proofreading and consulting on this episode. This episode was written and directed by Ella Watts, with original scoring and sound design from Amber Devereux at Tin Can Audio, and additional Music Direction from Alessa Catterall. Our Production Manager is Ross McFarlane. Special thanks to: Angharad Gilbey, Holly Thwaites Bee, Samuel Thompson, Sara-Luise Edge-Smith, Elizabeth Campbell, Marc Sollinger, Sarah Shachat, David K. Barnes, Rosenkranz Vermilion and Max Degan. We wouldn't have got here without you. Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ που με ακούσατε. Thank you so much for listening. Keep sailing. Content Warnings: Fantasy Violence, Discussion of Death and Grief, Gore and Violent Death (11:41-11:50), Eye Trauma (18:49-19:09)

AS BAD AS PEOPLE SAY?! Percy Jackson Sea Of Monsters Full Reaction Watch Along: https://www.patreon.com/thereelrejects Visit https://gfuel.com/discount/REJECTNATION and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! After the Disney Plus series & our reaction to Percy Jackson & The Olympians, we FINALLY watch the sequel Percy Jackson 2: Sea Of Monsters giving our Reaction, Recap, Commentary, Analysis, & Spoiler Review. Greg Alba & Tara Erickson watch & react to the best scenes / movie clips such as Percy Kills Colchis Bull, Percy Vs Kronos, They Don't Have Eyes, Percy Vs Colchis Bull, The Escape, Charydbis, Polyphemus, Luke's Yacht. The cast features Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson, Brandon T. Jackson as Grover Underwood, Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth Chase, Douglas Smith as Tyson, Leven Rambin as Clarisse La Rue, Jake Abel as Luke Castellan Anthony Stewart Head as Mr. D / Dionysus, Stanley Tucci as Mr. D / Dionysus Nathan Fillion as Hermes, Ron Perlman as Polyphemus (voice), Robert Maillet as Polyphemus / Laistrygonian, &Paloma Kwiatkowski as Thalia Grace. #PercyJackson #percyjacksonandtheolympians #percyjacksonseries #moviereaction #firsttimewatching #percyjacksonseaofmonsters #SeaOfMonsters #olympians #moviereactionfirsttimewatching #youtubersreact #fantasy #action #disney #disneyplus #percyjacksontiktoks #Percyjacksonedits - Follow *Tara Erickson* on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TaraErickson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taraerickson/ twitter: https://twitter.com/thetaraerickson Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Aparrel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Music Used In Manscaped Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG On INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode we chat with Producer/Engineer Thom Monahan about the 1993 Polyphemus album, Scrapbook of Madness. Enjoy! Sponsered by AKG-JBL https://www.akg.co

Welcome to Tape Op's DISCussion, where we call our friends and music community notables to talk about their favorite records. For this episode we chat with Producer/Engineer Thom Monahan about the 1993 Polyphemus album, Scrapbook of Madness. Enjoy! Sponsered by AKG-JBL https://www.akg.co

Welcome to The Secret Language of Plants, written by Endrina and read by Sam Gabriel! This story is serialized in the form of multiple fics with different names, recorded and presented in order on this feed. All text can be found on ao3. My website can be found at http://samgabrielvo.com. Enjoy!

This week we look at a very special giant silkmoth that comes from North America (Luna moths). The species is incredibly iconic, and there are many different meanings for it across various cultures. The best part is you can also raise them relatively easily as a pet!    Patreon -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=46499107 IG: https://www.instagram.com/insects4fun/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085443614825 Email: Insectsfordummies@gmail.com     Music provided by Lofi Girl with featured artist: Brillion.    Transcription:    Welcome back to episode 60 of Insects for fun! I wonder what we should do for episode 100… I've also been thinking of adding other arthropods into the mix. What do y'all think? Let me know in the comments section either on IG, FB or in your podcast player. Also when this episode is released I'll be on a flight back to Japan from the states, so I'm currently writing this weeks in advance. Recently we have had some moon viewing stuff going on in Japan, and I figure what better time than to talk about one of my favorite moths, the Luna moth.    Lunas are in the giant silkmoth family Saturniidae and the genus is Actias. There are actually quite a few species of moon moths in this genus, but not all of them are green like the well known luna. Fortunately in Japan the two different species we have are quite similar to the luna, and I'll be trying my hand at raising one of them next summer.    Actias luna have large and gorgeous pastel green wings with big fluffy white bodies, and one eye mark per wing. The wingspan can reach 5 inches across and also have long tails which only further adds to their celestial appearance. The name Luna is actually in reference to the roman moon goddess Luna, but this was not always their name! The initial name for these was actually plumata caudata which translates to feather tail, and these moths were the first American giant silk moths to be documented in literature. The name was later changed by Linnaeus in 1758. There are actually quite a few giant silk moths with mythological names like Polyphemus, Prometheus and Atlas for example, but the majority of them are brown or a variation of it. The Luna moth can only be found in North America, and not even the entire continent either. These moths chose a side and thankfully for me it was the east! You can find lunas from Canada down to Florida but they stay east of the great plains, and in Canada they're found from southern Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia. I'll never forget the first time I saw one, and thankfully finding them doesn't seem to be all that difficult if you know where to go.    Luna moths are quite partial to forested areas but what kind of plants they eat is dependent on their geographical location. For example the caterpillars we have in Vermont love eating Birch, but I've also been successful at raising them on black walnut as well. Other common hosts include Butternut, Sumac, Sweetgum in the south, Alder, Beech, wild cherry and even persimmon. The time of year to find adult moths also varies heavily by location as well and this is because warmer weather allows them to have multiple breeding seasons unlike the northern populations. In Northern Vermont we have one generation a year and our Lunas start coming out of their cocoons in late May. In the south it's not uncommon to have 2 or three generations in a year depending on the state. Massachusetts for example is right under VT but can have a partial 2nd generation.    The caterpillars are also an incredible green, and they can get pretty big. The 5th and last molt reaches a size up to 3inches or 7.5 cm and has red dots sprinkled over its back. What's unique to these compared to other giant silkmoths is that the entire caterpillar actually turns red right before it begins making a cocoon. At least that's been my experience but I've also read that some of them turn brown or orange as well. But it's not the color or the ability to change colors that makes Luna moths interesting or the moths in the genus Actias. It's actually the tails on their wings that have attracted a lot of attention. Some species in the genus actias have tails on their wings that reach 12cm in length, and that's just the tail section! I can't tell you these are the only moths with long tails on their wings but I can definitely say they are one of a handful, and the reason they have these tails is to protect them from bat attacks! Bat's rely on echolocation to find their prey, and it's one of the reasons why they fly in close quarters to people fishing in the evening. The sounds bouncing off the water from lures being whipped draws them in which can be intimidating I gotta say, and the tails on moon moths disrupt the air waves in a way that confuses bats into missing the body of the moths entirely. In fact studies found that Brown bats are near 50% more successful at hunting lunas when their tails are missing. The tails on these moths are never straight either. At the very base of these tails the wing has a slight curve which catches air in a way that changes the source location of their sounds. For example a moth with no tails is essentially a flying target because the sound originates from the body, but a moth with the tails has its sound point from further below the main body.    Some people had previously questioned whether the tails were used for attracting a mate but uh ima be real with you. These moths could not care less about what their partner looks like. Some of them are so blind that they try to mate with anything. And that brings me to my second point. The female luna moths like all saturniidae release a pheromone to lure males, and half the time aren't even looking in the direction of where males are flying in from. The males have to initiate everything after the female starts calling, so whether or not she lays fertile eggs is dependent on the health or age of the male as well as how closely related they are. Generally speaking the moths have different times of day when they start flying based on gender which is a form of control against inbreeding. Some males won't even recognize their siblings' pheromones.    Now because luna moths are relatively famous as far as insects go, there are cultural and spiritual meanings tied to the moth. One super simple one is transformation and rebirth but that's like a copout meaning given to any insect with relevance that has multiple life stages so we aren't gonna focus on that. The other meanings though have more to do specifically with the luna moth like inner guidance and intuition. I don't know much about chakras but I guess a soft green color is supposed to represent the heart chakra and is connected to our ability to connect to our inner wisdom, and instincts. The other meaning which I really like connected to these moths is divine femininity. Its gentle temperament and grace links to compassion and intuition often associated with a woman's instincts.    In some native american folklore the luna moth is associated with rebirth and spiritual guidance. Similarly in celtic mythology the luna moth is associated with the fae, and is seen as a symbol of rebirth and magic. It really does seem that throughout the world and history these moths have held a special place in the eye of those who see it.  If you would like to raise luna moths it is totally possible to get eggs or cocoons. Especially if you live in the United States, but people can order eggs and cocoons from the US in other countries as well. You just have to be mindful of the host plants you have around. If you simply google luna moth eggs or cocoons for sale you find many different people willing to sell and ship you these insects. They're also sometimes used in elementary schools as a fun classroom pet to showcase metamorphosis. If you want the cocoons to stay dormant during the winter it's important that you make sure the insects came from natural conditions. The amount of light they received as a caterpillar dictates whether or not they are going to diapause or sleep during the colder months, and it's also important that you leave the cocoons outside. They need to stay synced to the natural temperatures and humidity of their environment. Some people put them in the fridge but if you do this the container needs to be air tight because they will 100% dry out and die otherwise. They don't require much oxygen at all while they are in this state of sleep, but if you're concerned you can open the container and give them a slight misting before putting them back in the fridge. Too much water and they will suffocate or get moldy. Also if you live in a colder climate I definitely recommend finding a vendor who lives in a similar place. You don't want souther cocoons coming out early on you.    This concludes today's episode on Luna moths! I may come to this topic again in the future when I have more time on my hands, but for now hopefully this is enough, thank you as always for listening and if you want to support the show you can rate it and leave a review! Or if you need more insects for fun content or want to further support me and the podcast you can head over to Patreon.com/insects for fun to get bonus episodes, ad free episodes, vlogs, and some new things I'll be working on as well. 

The caterpillar of Antheraea polyphemus, the polyhpemus moth, is known for its bright green coloration.

God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses, Poseidon is one of the most iconic Olympians.In this episode, host Tristan Hughes is joined by Seth Pevnick, Curator of Greek and Roman art. Together, they untangle the various myths that describe Poseidon, his children, most notably Theseus and Polyphemus, as well as how the people of Ancient Greece used him to make sense of the world around them.Senior Producer was Elena GuthrieScript was written by Andrew HulseVoice over was performed by Lucy DavidsonAssistant Producer was Annie ColoeEditor was Aidan LonerganDiscover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code ANCIENTS. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here.You can take part in our listener survey here.For more Ancient's content, subscribe to our Ancient's newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part of growing as a person is letting go. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dick-chasse/message

What's up Doc? This week the Abyss crew is joined by Daniel Barnett to dissect Stephen King's legacy (and put it next to the child's heart on King's desk). Before this deep dive, they discuss Primal Fear, the Dungeons & Dragons movie, From, Zachary Rosenberg's The Long Shalom, Humanity Lost by Meghan Douglass, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Frank Bill's Back to the Dirt, Polyphemus by Zachary Ashford, House of Rot by Danger Slater, and the WGA strike. Now sit around the camp fire and listen to Uncle Steve tell you a tale!  

In which we make characters for Trinity Continuum using options from the Trinity Continuum Player's Guide! * What are we making and why? * Polyphemus and NOER * A rodeo protection athlete * Basically Dana Scully * Aspirations! * Paths and accent work * Skills and their Specialties! * Attributes * Moments of Inspiration * Facets Links: Trinity Player's Guide Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/onyx-path/trinity-continuum-player-s-guide Onyx Path YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheOnyxPath Onyx Path Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath Onyx Path Discord: https://discord.gg/5uckcBk

A listener finds a cocoon with a small hole in it...

 The tale of two brothers, Cyclops and Polyphemus. One achieved immortality by becoming an infamous monster known the world over. The other? Shunted to the background. Find out about the maligned brother by listening now! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram:https://twitter.com/MythsMovieshttps://instagram.com/mythsinmovies Support the showFollow us on Twitter and Instagram: https://twitter.com/MythsMovies https://instagram.com/mythsinmovies

Many of us grew up reading the myths and legends from Ancient Greece and Rome. We followed Herakles as he succeeded at one impossible task after another; we cringed when Orpheus turned round at the last moment so that Eurydice fled back into the underworld; we grinned when Odysseus outsmarted the cyclops, Polyphemus. But behind […] The post “But what if a woman wrote this?” – with Claire North first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

In this episode we review Hunt for the Red Widow, In Media Res, and Polyphemus. If you like our show, consider leaving us a review on your favorite podcatcher of choice!

Perhaps you remember reading The Odyssey in high school or college (or possibly you picked upEmily Wilson's fabulous new translation at the Painted Porch). Even if you haven't, you're probably familiar with the cyclops scene. Odysseus and his men find themselves trapped in a cave with Polyphemus, the deranged, man-eating, sheep herding, one-eyed beast. Odysseus hatches an ingenious escape plan: they wait for the cyclops to fall asleep and then stab him in the eye with a sharpened log. Enraged and blinded, Polyphemus staggers to remove the stone he had rolled in front of the entrance of the cave, which frees Odysseus and his men.✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

Diana returns from the Green Lantern Corps citadel just in time to help Hippolyte against Polyphemus and the Minotaur. Twitter: @comicrundown Instagram: @comicbookrundown Email: comicbookrundown@gmail.com Hosted by Joe Janero and Ron Hanes Edited by Joe Janero Theme song provided by one of the Sex Turtles (Joe Cubas) Find our t-shirts at Redbubble and TeePublic https://www.redbubble.com/shop/comic+book+rundown?ref=search_box http://tee.pub/lic/vBbIJZ4eLQ0c

This is the story of a male Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus). I found him in October, hanging from a goldenrod stem near a stream. Over the winter, I learned about his life. I watched him hanging from the goldenrod through snow and subzero temperatures. In March, concerned that an animal would eat him, I brought him into a terrarium where I could watch more closely. On my dad's birthday, June 25th, he emerged from his cocoon, and I released him into the night.

All the hits from Polyphemus

Homer's Odyssey is a massively influential poem from Ancient Greece filled with epic battles, fantastic monsters, gods, spirits, and a journey around the known world and into the underworld. Through three episodes, Odysseus' encounter with the cyclops Polyphemus, his descent into the Hades where he meets his family, comrades, and the ancient hero Heracles, and his return to Ithaca and retaking of his home with his son Telemachus, we will explore the character of Odysseus, the symbolism around him, and how the wisdom of the goddess Athena hones his mind to make him a most formidable hero. Mythos & Logos are two ancient words that can be roughly translated as “Story & Meaning.” Support the channel by subscribing, liking, and commenting to join the conversation! Patreon: https://patreon.com/mythosandlogos The purpose of this channel is to share the important stories at the foundation of human cultures throughout history. These include mythology, legends, folktales, religious stories, and parables from the dawn of history to the modern day. This channel provides interpretations and insight into these stories, to find and apply their meaning to contemporary life. All stories covered are treated academically. This channel makes no claims regarding the historical, scientific, or religious truth of these tales. Rather, its goal is to find the meanings understood by their authors and apply them to the modern world. Ambiment - The Ambient by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Derek Olson of Megalithic Marvels takes you on an audible journey back in time in search of the legendary Cyclops. Was Cyclops a literal one-eyed ancient hybrid giant or a symbol of the lost knowledge the megalithic builders once possessed in ages past? Greek writers like Pausanias mention that the megalithic walls of Europe were erected by a one-eyed giant race who worked in the god's forges under Mount Etna near Sicily. This legend is still preserved today with a term archaeologists use to describe this architecture: cyclopean, from the word cyclops. Cyclopean construction consists of massive polygonal blocks that interlock together without mortar, designed to be earth quake proof. In Greek mythology, the Cyclopes were the giant one eyed sons of the gods & considered the master masons of the golden age. Homer's “Odyssey” features the cyclops Polyphemus who is described as “godlike & towering over all the Cyclops' clans in power”. Polyphemus was the offspring of Poseidon & a woman named Thoosa, thus making him a demi-god. This mirrors the Gen 6:4 account of the Watchers breeding with earth women to produce the giant Nephilim. SHOW NOTES Egypt Tour Part 1 Follow Megalithic Marvels on the following platforms: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/megalithicm... Blog - https://megalithicmarvels.com/ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpiP... Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/megalithicma... TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@megalithicmarvels Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/10186... Twitter - https://twitter.com/MegMarvels

Derek Olson of Megalithic Marvels takes you on an audible journey back in time in search of the legendary Cyclops. Was Cyclops a literal one-eyed ancient hybrid giant or a symbol of the lost knowledge the megalithic builders once possessed in ages past? Greek writers like Pausanias mention that the megalithic walls of Europe were erected by a one-eyed giant race who worked in the god's forges under Mount Etna near Sicily. This legend is still preserved today with a term archaeologists use to describe this architecture: cyclopean, from the word cyclops. Cyclopean construction consists of massive polygonal blocks that interlock together without mortar, designed to be earth quake proof. In Greek mythology, the Cyclopes were the giant one eyed sons of the gods & considered the master masons of the golden age. Homer's “Odyssey” features the cyclops Polyphemus who is described as “godlike & towering over all the Cyclops' clans in power”. Polyphemus was the offspring of Poseidon & a woman named Thoosa, thus making him a demi-god. This mirrors the Gen 6:4 account of the Watchers breeding with earth women to produce the giant Nephilim. SHOW NOTES Video: "Cover-Up" Previous Podcast Episode "Giant's of Lovelock Cave & Mt Shasta Mysteries" Follow Megalithic Marvels on the following platforms: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/megalithicm... Blog - https://megalithicmarvels.com/ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpiP... Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/megalithicma... TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@megalithicmarvels Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/10186... Twitter - https://twitter.com/MegMarvels

In Greek literature and mythology, the one-eyed giant known as the Cyclops is associated with a variety of deeds and histories. In Homer's The Odyssey, the Cyclopes were cannibals who lived an uncivilised life in Sicily, and in another story, Odysseus escapes from his death by blinding the Cyclops Polyphemus.In Hesiod, the cyclopes Arges, Brontes and Steropes were the three sons of Gaea and Uranus, and they created the Thunderbolts of Zeus. Later authors claimed that they were workmen of Hephaestus who were killed by Apollo for making the lightning bolt that hit his son Asclepius. The walls of ancient cities, such as those in Tiryns, were said to have been built by the Cyclopes. In modern archaeology, the term cyclopean is used to describe the construction of walls that are not square. In the fifth-century BC play by Euripides, a group of satyrs provides comic relief as Odysseus and Polyphemus encounter each other. Virgil also associates the Homeric and Hesiodic Cyclopes with the Aeolian Islands and Sicily.Read more at https://mythlok.com/cyclops/

This episode continues to explore the extraordinary painting decorations of Rome's seminal Renaissance suburban villa. From the zodiacal images that represent the patron's horoscope, to Sebastiano del Piombo's "Polyphemus," to one of Raphael's most beautiful paintings known as "The Galatea', and, finally, to the virtual-reality-like Hall of Perspectives, the extensive fresco decoration of the villa makes it one of the most impressive decorative complexes in the world.

In this episode the guys make their way through the rest of Book 3 where we find more regressive pulls back to the old Troy as well as Homeric tags and Odyssean cameos. At the first stop Aeneas is stunned to find a remarried Andromache still alive in Epirus, but also still obsessed with the past and her dear departed Hector. And even more things are off—she seems to be living in a low-rent, Euro Disney, knock-off “Tiny Troy” with a mini Simois, scant Scaean gates, and paltry Pergamum. It's like we've entered Vergil's version of the Upside-Down or some other referent to a show Dave hasn't seen. Aeneas hightails it out of this creepy place and heads for (at last!) Italy, the land of murses and selfie-sticks. Now there's some solid Homeric “fan service”—crowd pleasing walk-ons by Scylla, Polyphemus, Achaemenides, and Bill Murray. Oh, and Aeneas' dad dies. Blink and you'll miss it.  

Today we bring you a full hour of stories from Georgia storyteller Andy Offutt Irwin, all recorded live in the Apple Seed Studio. It's an hour full of zany fun, quick wit, and what critics call his Silly Putty voice. But we hope you'll take away even more: sweet observations about lifetime relationships between generations that will have you thinking about some of the people who are important to you. (2:30) "Polyphemus" is a musical, comical take on the ancient story of Odysseus, who among his adventures, was held captive by the horrible Cyclops. (15:22) "Book Every Saturday for a Funeral" is one of Andy's popular tales about his fictional Aunt Marguerite. In this story she makes a long drive to visit Joy, a lifelong friend who may not have many visits left. (34:14) Host Sam Payne shares an original song called “Songs About You” about being far from the people you love. (40:21) Young Andy finds a perfect (and potentially dangerous) present for a fellow Cub Scout in the story "Secret Santa."

We read the first five chapters of Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne.  As usual, our hosts have varying degrees of familiarity with this childhood classic.  Does it hold up?  Is it worth having kids just to read to them about Pooh and the gang?  Let's find out together.  Theo reminisces about the sweet, delicious Pepsi Era.  Jackie is still mad at Capri Sun.  Rachel is being very Central American.  Topics include: the Taisho Era, birthday errors, PG Wodehouse, AskJeeves, Edward Bear, imaginary friends (Alajenka, Caluppy, and Horse Big), gorse prickles, Nena, Polyphemus, Odysseus, genital nicknames, Pooh in a Pooh Hole, the Addams Family, irrational childhood fears, deus ex machina, MI5, terrible accents, and Harry Potter.

Welcome to Prophecy Radio, a Percy Jackson podcast dedicated to all of Rick Riordan's past, present, and future projects! Co-hosts Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz discuss the latest news in the Percy Jackson/Rick Riordan Presents fandom, then imagine what it would be like if Percy Jackson had its own land at Disney World, as well as analyze chapters 15 and 16 of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. New episodes of Prophecy Radio will air weekly, and all ages are welcome to tune in. News and Updates (00:01:26) Good vibes and antibiotics FTW. Thank you to everyone who entered our Tiger Honor giveaway! Hopefully we'll have more in the future. How about that Lords of Night cover? Happy birthday, Lori M. Lee! This is your reminder that pre-ordering books is a huge help to your favorite authors! Oh, and in case you were still wondering about that rumor that Arnold was playing Zeus… Percy Jackson at Disney World (00:08:59) The likelihood of this happening is low, but we're gonna run with it. How much blue food is too much blue food? What would be the best way to order a surprise ambrosia smoothie? We all want to sit around the campfire and eat s'mores, right? Is there a way to make burnt offerings to the gods? There are so many opportunities for merch ideas, but we're gonna talk about a few of our favorites. Would it be impractical to change our money into gold drachmas? You can never have enough pins. Or stuffed animals, for that matter. Even putting together the look of the shops could be fun. They can take a lot of inspiration from Harry Potter—but do it better. There is no reality in which we don't get a water ride. What if we got an experience like The Forbidden Journey? Would you want to be dropped from the top of the Empire State Building? Don't worry, we've got some non-roller coaster rides, too. We're gonna try to incorporate Rainbow and the fish ponies into everything. What kind of shows could we see? Would they be able to incorporate the musical? And we definitely need a water show. Could you imagine!? There's plenty of room to make some of this educational, too. What's the legality of having a climbing wall and an armory? The Big House would make for a great haunted mansion. And a Pegasus-themed people mover would be so much fun. What if you were able to send an Iris message? Jannik writes in again to let us know whether any of this could ever happen. Merch and face characters seem likely in the future. How did we forget to talk about the hotels!? It's nice to know that even if Percy doesn't get his own world, there are still a lot of wonderful things to come for us. Chapter Reviews (00:49:40) Let's get into Sea of Monsters chapter 15. Tyson's back!! Percy giving Polyphemus a second chance is kind of a big deal. Sometimes the sentences we have to say on this podcast are very strange. Shoutout to Socrates from Daughter of the Deep! Karen gets deep about the cyclopes. Clarisse is pretty cool before she goes full Clarisse. Who wants a Golden Fleece weighted blanket? Percy probably had his first dreamless sleep in months. Karen remembered the name of the empathy link this time. Now it's time for Sea of Monsters chapter 16. We can't stop saying nice things about Tyson. And let's just say these kids are quite decisive despite their age. Will Percy view all monsters differently going forward? Why does Clarisse have to be so infuriating!? Will Clarisse take responsibility for her actions? We love your feedback because it reminds us we're not alone! Thanks for listening, and be sure to tune in next time for episode 20, where we'll talk about our ideas for a Percy Jackson video game. This episode's hosts are: Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz. Each episode, our Prophecy Radio hosts and their guests will keep you up to date on the latest information coming out of Camp Half-Blood, including upcoming books and adaptation news, discuss a topic of choice, and do a chapter by chapter reread of the Percy Jackson series. Follow Us: Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Tumblr Listen and Subscribe: Audioboom // Apple // Spotify Feel free to leave us your questions or comments through any of these mediums! You can also email us at prophecyradiopodcast@gmail.com or visit our homepage for archives and more information about our show. Prophecy Radio is a Subjectify Media podcast production. Visit Subjectify Media for more shows, including Not Another Teen Wolf Podcast, ReWatchable, and Not About The Weather, and for all our latest articles about the stories we're passionate about.

Welcome to Prophecy Radio, a Percy Jackson podcast dedicated to all of Rick Riordan's past, present, and future projects! Co-hosts Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz discuss the latest news in the Percy Jackson/Rick Riordan Presents fandom, then kick off their very first Monster Guide episode with the famous Furies (which includes the infamous Mrs. Dodds), as well as analyze chapters 13 and 14 of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. New episodes of Prophecy Radio will air weekly, and all ages are welcome to tune in. News and Updates (00:01:57) Thanks for being patient while we worked to get this episode out there! As we thought, Rick gave us even more updates about the Percy Jackson Disney+ show in his January 29 blog post. It's nice to hear that Rick thinks the studio had some really smart comments about the first four scripts. What kind of Easter eggs are we looking forward to in the first season? It's SO important that the kids playing Percy, Annabeth, and Grover have good chemistry. Please be sure to go through the proper channels for all auditions. Oh, and don't believe any rumors. We have some thoughts on what the gods could look like. Is there a chance that regular old fans could ever turn up on the show? It's hard not to get ahead of ourselves and think about casting for Heroes of Olympus, but we need to be patient! Can you believe this is one of the biggest shows Disney has ever produced? Karen and Kristen nerd out for a minute about VFX technology. Pre-production is well on its way for Percy Jackson and the Olympians. We really, REALLY want a making of video series for the show. Remember, Rick does NOT have total creative control…and that's okay. Could we ever get an animated Riordanverse series? We also get a little bit of a Kane Chronicles movie update. And everyone is still working on the Daughter of the Deep rights. Thank the gods for bubble wrap. HUGE (and tearful) congratulations to Seale, who's moving over to Scholastic. Mark Oshiro wrote a Star War! Check out the Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting cover. Kristen is not a fan of elbow hair. And let's not forget about the Paola Santiago Disney+ series news! Don't give up on your dreams. Monster Guide: The Furies (00:31:49) After all that encouragement, we have to bring you down because we're talking about the Furies! Kristen will be in charge one day when her voice doesn't hate her. We go over some pronunciations. Hades, the video game, makes the Furies a lot more attractive than they are in the myths. They might be scary, but they actually play a noble role. If you haven't read Percy Jackson's Greek Gods or Greek Heroes yet, we highly recommend it. How did the Furies come to be? It's crazy that they're older than even the Olympians! The Furies are kind of just always around. Despite being hallmarks of Lightning Thief, they don't show up all that often afterwards. Was Alecto ever mentioned by name in the series? Maybe we shouldn't have named the Furies so much in this episode… Did you like our first ever Monster Guide? Should we do more? We also want to talk about the gods in depth! Chapter Reviews (00:43:43) Let's get into Sea of Monsters chapter 13. We can't stop talking about how incredible of a character Annabeth is. What's the steering wheel on a boat called?? Percy in his element is something magical. Thalia's backstory is so tragic, but Annabeth is such a warrior. We really read “The Diary of Luke Castellan” at the perfect time. The weight of knowledge isn't always an easy one to bear. Emotions are a WHOLE different ballgame. What is hubris, exactly? If Annabeth wasn't willing to learn, would she have ended up more like Luke? Fatal flaws are such an important part of Greek mythology. Percy and Annabeth are really such a dream team. But Thalia is also wicked awesome. Time to meet the Sheep of Doom in chapter 14. The island is beautiful…and very dangerous. Clarisse needs to take a lesson on battle strategy from Annabeth. Polyphemus really doesn't care who his wife is, as long as he has one. It was so cool seeing the Nobody trick come back in a different way. It cannot be pleasant to hang onto the belly of a sheep. We can never remember the name of the empathy link!! We get an awesome question from a listener than we'll probably turn into an entire episode discussion. Oh, and if you're interested in some of the mistakes and continuity errors in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, you can check out this Tumblr. Thanks for listening, and be sure to tune in next time for episode 19, where we'll talk about what it would be like to have a Percy Jackson Land at Disney World. This episode's hosts are: Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz. Each episode, our Prophecy Radio hosts and their guests will keep you up to date on the latest information coming out of Camp Half-Blood, including upcoming books and adaptation news, discuss a topic of choice, and do a chapter by chapter reread of the Percy Jackson series. Follow Us: Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Tumblr Listen and Subscribe: Audioboom // Apple // Spotify Feel free to leave us your questions or comments through any of these mediums! You can also email us at prophecyradiopodcast@gmail.com or visit our homepage for archives and more information about our show. Prophecy Radio is a Subjectify Media podcast production. Visit Subjectify Media for more shows, including Not Another Teen Wolf Podcast, ReWatchable, and Not About The Weather, and for all our latest articles about the stories we're passionate about.

Giants have been with us since the beginning of recorded history and their stories can be are told in every culture across the globe.  Were these just stories or did they actually exist?  In this episode of Cosmic Sponge we look at the evidence and stories in search of real proof for these larger than life figures from our early history to the modern era. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cosmicsponge)

Homer - The Odyssey - Episode 5 - Home And Penelope Reunited!   Hi, I'm Christy Shriver and we're here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.    And I'm Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast.  Today we conclude our discussion over the Odyssey, the timeless 24 books that introduced us to so many monsters and legends, but, of course, it goes without saying, we've just scratched the surface in understanding how all of this has influenced our world.  In fact, even as we claim to be on the last episode, we're still just a little over halfway through the story itself.  Our task today is to fly through the rest of the books in 45 minutes give or take a few.  Can we do it?     We'll give it a try.  Obviously there is no way to discuss everything that could be said or even has been said about  Homer himself, these books and all the themes so cleverly weaved.  We've chosen to hit the points thematically which stand out the most and of course- that leads us to the all-important Greek idea of WEAVING.      Oh yes, the woman and their weaving.  Christy, how good of a weaver are you?    Well, you know the answer to that- I have no idea how to weave, spin or even sew.  I can sew on a button.  You know my mother and both of my grandmothers were amazing seamstresses.  My mom even competed in 4H in sewing competitions at Boones Creek High School in Gray, Tennessee.  And your sisters Barbara and Deanna are amazing seamstresses.  But not me.  And of course, sewing is not weaving.  In my mind, although this is nowhere near historical fact,  over time weaving has simplified itself to sewing because we don't have to make our own cloth, and now sewing has become ordering off of Amazon because now most of us don't sew.    Instead we push buttons …. on a phones.     HA!  Well, first of all that analysis of the disintegration from weaving to ordering on Amazon is somewhat deliberately ridiculous, but if you're going to go there, don't take away from the talent of finding the sale and couponing.  There's an art to that.         I guess so, but back to the ancient Greeks, it's easy to overlook if you're not paying attention to the female characters really, but Homer places an enormous emphasis on weaving throughout the Odyssey, even the goddesses weave- Circe and we'll see here at the end- Athena herself.  It clearly indicates how interwoven (if I may use this term) weaving was to the idea of womanhood.  Tell us a little bit about how important weaving was in Ancient Greece.      For sure….spinning and weaving were incredibly important in the expectations for women during this time period.  The was a definite and strong connection between a woman's ability to weave and her desirability as a woman.  Even depictions of goddesses that we see today on ancient art work are often depictions of the goddess weaving.  Athena, btw, was the goddess of women's handicrafts, so of course, weaving and spinning were important elements of her cult.  In fact,  weaving a robe for the statue of Athena, was a part of the very important Panathenaic festival in Athens at the Acropolis.   In the archeological digs found in Greece archeologists have found all kinds of tools used in spinning and weaving.  There is evidence of looms and textiles and strong evidence linking the female contribution in terms of textiles to economic trading at a domestic level as well as a commercial industry.  It's interesting to understand that women of all social classes were weaving- from the lowest slaves to the highest noble women like we saw in Queen Arete of the Phaeacians.  Girls would learn to work wool and weave and would spend a big portion of their time on their “trousseau”.  A trousseau is a collection of all the garments, soft furnishings, beddings, and clothes that a girl would produce during her childhood and would represent her contribution to her marriage.      Yikes, again, I'd be a world of hurt. I can't imagine what my trousseau would look like.  But even without knowing that insight about weaving, it doesn't take much to see that clothes are a big part of the all important recognition scenes that are basically what these last books are about- It's an interesting element of the story to notice how clothes are used by Homer to designate identity.  But before we do that, I wanted to weave in an anecdote, since we're on the subject the weaving and mythology.  Let's take a second to talk about Arachne and Athena.      Arachne as in where we get the word arachnophobia- fear of spiders.    Yep, so the story goes that Arachne was a girl in Ancient Greece who was so good as weaving and spinning that she went around telling people she was a better weaver than Athena.  Well, obviously this made Athena mad , so Athena challenged her to a weaving dual.  They set up their looms in the same room and wove all day and into the night.  When they finished, they compared their artifacts.  Well, Athena had woven a scene of all the gods and goddess on Mt. Olympus sitting together doing good deeds for humanity.  Arachne wove a cloth of all the gods and goddess on Mr. Olympus but in hers they were all getting drunk and falling over themselves.  Archne's was clearly the better craftmanship, but Athena didn't care. She pointed her finger at Arachne and made her entire body shrivel up to what today we would call a spider.  She said, “You want to spin, go ahead and spin!”  And so there you have it.       Oh my, well, I will say, Arachne really should have known better; I would say the first rule of the gods is don't hack off the gods.      So, true.    So, by way of recapping, in episode 1, we discussed the poet Homer and the set up for this story.  We introduced the idea that Homer does not take credit for writing the story, the Muse sung it to him- the story comes from the gods and is about a man Dr. Wilson translates as a complicated man; Fagles calls him the man of twists and turns.  We learn at the beginning of book 1, that after offending Poseidon and wandering the sea for ten years, Odysseus returns home- a place called Ithaca- but he arrives there shipwrecked and alone- all of his companions destroyed by their own recklessness: They should never have eaten Helios' cows.     Indeed, next we introduced this Greek idea that there are things that happen to us as humans that are not our fault that are caused by the gods.  That is a thing, but there are many things that happen to us that ARE our fault because of our own foolishness and often we blame the gods for things that were always in our control.  Of course, what happened to Odysseus falls into this category.  What happened to him was caused by him because he did not respect the gods and the rules of the universe they created.  What happened to him also happened to him because he just couldn't let his ego rest- he had the fear of being a nobody.     He isn't the only person on this earth with that fear. In episodes 2 and 3 we looked at the world the gods created and the values they instructed men to live by.  Episode 2 we looked at books 1-4, often called the Telemachy, and we watched Telemachus develop as a man.  Of course, the first tip to developing into a man is to learn to listen to Athena (something Arachne should have paid attention to).      Indeed, maybe we wouldn't have so many dangerous spiders, if she had.  In episode 3, we talked about Xenia and how fundamental hospitality is to the books of the Odyssey as well as the lives of the Ancient Greeks.  Well, if I'm honest, really not just the Greeks but many cultures around the globe- ancient and contemporary.  We talked about Polyphemus, the one eyed-cyclopes and how his lack of hospitality could be contrasted with some of the many other examples of hospitality we see all over the epic.  We talked about how the hospitality scenes are type scenes and we can learn a lot by comparing them to each other.    On a side note, I was reading a little bit about the Odyssey this week and one writer asked a very interesting question, I don't know the answer to.      Oh yeah, what is it.      This guy wondered how two Greeks gods, Polyphemus' mother was a beautiful sea nymph, but he wondered how two beautiful Greek gods could possibly have an ugly child with only one eye.    HA!  That's a great question. Did you find the answer?    No.  I can't.  So, if anyone out there knows, connect with us on our social media or via email.  I'm interested.      Well, back to our story and the role Polyphemus plays in the Odyssey highlights a burning need inside of Odysseus.  Odysseus, after Polyphemus begins eating his men one by one, is able to blind the cyclopes and then sneak away and back onto his ship.  Blind and enraged Polyphemus begins hurling rocks at Odysseus as Odysseus leaves.  Odysseus' big mistake came, not from blinding Polyphemus, but from taunting him.  As he leaves, Odysseus just can't leave it alone, he tells Polyphemus that if anyone ever asks who blinded him to tell him it was Odysseus.  He had previously told Polyphemus his name was Nobody- but he just couldn't leave it at that.  Odysseus didn't want to be a nobody, he wanted to be a somebody, he wanted to be the recognized leader of his oikos- and he was going to strive for that- no matter if it took the entirety of his mortal life.  He would pay any price to get him- he would even relinquish the offer of immortality.    And so Odysseus takes his ten year odyssey to get there.  I will say- it is not lost on me that one of the most central ironies of the entire story is that here at the very beginning Odysseus cannot let a lie stay a lie- but for the rest of the epic especially here at the end, we see that, Odysseus is not just extremely comfortable lying, but  In fact, it's his trademark.  He prides himself on his ability to deceive.  This last half of the book is literally him lying and deceiving first one group of people than another- all the way until the last chapter where he lies to his own dad for no apparent reason.    So true, strangely enough, though, Athena finds it admirable and helps him conceal time and time again.  Odysseus calls it tactics.  He learns to use deceit and recognition as a weapon for survival.  What we're going to see as Homer  brings the story to its dramatic climax, from a literary stand point is that Homer is him using a type-scene to structure- the recognition scene.  Remember a type scene is a scene that is repeated over and over again.  There are over a dozen of these in the second half of the book and they pretty much follow a similar pattern- first Odysseus tests the person he wants to reveal himself to.  He wants to know if they are loyal, not just to him, but to the oikos.  He uses deception and concealment in the testing process.  Most of the time, he tells these crazy stories about who he is and where he's been.  After going through some long convoluted story about some fake travel, he either foretells that Odysseus will return- or he reveals his true identity- depending on the audience.     Well.  Never again after Polyphemus will he make the rash decision of just openly stating his identity- not even to Penelope.  Athena is most responsible for his many disguises- She changes his physical appearance and she gives him false covers of other kinds, including these convoluted stories.  The whole game is to go into the place, conceal who he is until he's in full control of the moment, and then together with the gods make his move.  Here at the end, he and his oikos  will be given divine power to overthrow the suitors, reclaim his physical space and title, AND do all of this without starting a war with the families or oikos from which all these suitors come from- that's a trick even greater than killing the suitors.    So true, and to bring this back to weaving and textiles for just a second, I think it's one important thing to pay attention to the role people's clothes pay in identifying who they are.  It is very clear that in Homer's world, a person's outfit is very much a way of determining how they ranked in society.  Textile gifts are a big deal.  Notice how important it is to be dressed in the proper way in order to receive the proper respect.      Well, of course, this is not uncommon in all cultures and a very important psychological observation.   I think it was Virginia Wolfe, the British writer, who said, “Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than merely to keep us warm.  They change our view of the world and the world's view of us… There are endless studies on the role of clothing functioning as identification.        Which I guess the simplest way to see what we have going to here is to reduce it to this:  A king without a proper tunic is not a king.  Odysseus dressed as a beggar is not Odysseus.  He may be so in his head, in Telemachus' head and even in Athena's head, but until he is recognized from the outside, he cannot reclaim his oikos.   And we see clothing playing an important part in the various recognition scenes.    The goddess Athena before she allows Telemachus to recognize his father, she makes a point to- before she even changes Odysseus body- to change his clothes.  Let's read that famous passage where Athena reveals to Telemachus that his father has come home.    Page 344    It soon turns into such a sweet passage.  A son recognizing a father; a father recognizing a son.      For sure it's sweet, but in one sense the word “recognition” isn't really the right word here.  Telemachus doesn't know his father.  He can't possibly recognize him.  Which I think is an interesting thing to pay attention to as we go through all these scenes.  All of these people who Odysseus presents himself to have different relationships with Odysseus.  Telemachus has an intimate relationship with his father in one way, but he has no shared history with him.  He has no idea what his father is capable of which comes out in their dialogue. Telemachus is quick to tell his father that reclaiming the oikos is not just a matter of showing up.      Page 346    He goes on to count them out-- we have at a minimum 106 posers maybe more.    To which Odysseus responds that he's not worried.  He's being flanked by Athena and Father Zeus.    Page 346-      That would make me feel more confident.    I know right.  And Telemachus does seem a little more confident, at least he talks to his mom more brazenly, which I find annoying, to be totally honest- can't get rid of that arrogance of the presence.  But he also talks more boldly to the suitors as well.  I love that Odysseus cannot keep his identity a secret from his old nurse.  The recognition scene with Eurycleia is the only one that he does not initiate.  When she washes the beggars feel and legs, she touches the scar and immediately knows what's going on.  Of course this freaks him out and he threatens her, needlessly, I might add.      Don't forget about Argos, the dog.  Argos recognizes him.       True, there is a lot of drama that goes on as Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, loiters around his home and watches how horrible all the suitors are behaving.  The place is in utter chaos and the whole thing is designed to fill him with rage.  I did want to draw just a small minute of attention to book 19 when the beggar and Penelope talk.  At this point in the story, Penelope does not know that Odysseus is Odysseus- at least we aren't told that she knows.  There are many scholars that are absolutely convinced she knows who he is and is faking it, but the interaction between the two is sweet no matter what.  Odysseus, as he always does, tells a long elaborate lie about who he is.  However, during the course of his story, he claims that he met Odysseus.  Penelope wants to test the beggar so she asks him to describe what Odusseys was wearing when he met him.  Let's read that part.      Page 397    For something he saw all those years ago, that's quite a bit of detail he remembers.      And of course, this makes Penelope cry because she had given him that outfit and fastened the brooch on herself.      Well, it isn't too long after that that the scene will be set for Odysseus' complete revelation.  Just as a recap for those who haven't read the story in a while.  Penelope has made the decision that it is time to pick a husband.  She has gone into the vault and pulled out Odysseus' old bow- one he never took to Troy.  She goes downstairs and faces the suitors with a challenge that will decide her fate.  Let's read what she says.    Page 426    The part about all the suitors getting up and trying to string the bow is just classic dramatic build up.  Finally the beggar gets his turn courtesy of Penelope, Eumaeus the swineherd, and even Telemachus.  The suitors have no idea what hits them…it's a pun!!    Oh my, it is!! I do want to point out that the recognition scene with Eumaeus and Philoetius in book 21, is very quick.    There's not any time.The bow contest is heating up and revenge is coming.      That's true, but I also think what we are witnessing is this progression from the less intimate relationships towards the most.  He didn't know Telemachus at all, not really.  He did know Eurycleia, the swineherd and the goatherd, but his relationship with these is one of master/servant- employer/employee- to use our language.  He engages them here like, in some sense in the old way. Odysseus needs these servants, as well as Eurycleia, to come through for him right here.  Eumaues had already spent quite a bit of time with Odysseus as a beggar, and Eumaeus had already made multiple comments as to how much this beggar resembled Odysseus so he was pretty much primed.  But Philoteus had been primed too, if you remember at one point Odysseus, as a beggar asks Philoetius, if Odysseus were to come back would you help him?  Both of these were familiar with his scar and he uses it as evidence- really the only evidence- except they fall back into the old work relationship they enjoyed back in the old days. Odysseus' tone is matter of fact and authoritative at this point.  They are very comfortable falling back into this relationship and it isn't really much of a struggle.     This point where the suitors recognize Odysseus is one of the most exciting parts of the whole story. Even after Odysseus strings the bow and shoots the arrow through the axes, the suitors really don't know what's going on.  It's really only after Antinous is murdered in front of them, that they really start to figure out what's happening.  But of course, whether they recognize Odysseus at this point really doesn't matter at all- they are getting ready to die.      Page 439     Homer does like to get graphic with his death scenes and I have to admit they are super-fun.  IF you don't read anything but like gore- reading chapter 22 is worth a perusal.  Eurymachus tries to broker a deal.  And the poor female slaves, they have a pretty terrible end.  Their existence and the fact that the suitors took them as their concubines- whether or not the women were given an option makes no difference.  They are a source of shame to the oikos and must go.      “”With that, taking a cable used on a dark-prowed ship he coiled it over the roundhouse, lashed it fast to a tall column, hoisting it up so high no toes could touch the ground.  Then, as doves or thrushes beating their spread wings against some snare rigged up in thickets- flying in for a cozy nest but a grisly bed receives them- as the women's heads were trapped in a line, nooses yanking their necks up one by one so all might die a pitiful, ghastly death…they kicked up heels for a little- not for long.”        Odysseus is cleaning.  Eurycleia brought her master fire and brimstone.  He is purging the halls, the palace, the court- all of it.  It's quite a picture of devastation and renewal- however- even with all of the emphasis Homer puts on the end of the suitor- the killing or the revenge isn't the main thing.  Much more attention is given to Odysseus becoming recognized by those that matter most- his father and his wife- the completion of his oikos.  And that is yet to come- chapters 23-24.  With Penelope it literally takes three attempts to convince her of who he is.  The first two of these attempts aren't even made by Odyssues at all but by Eurycleia and then Telemachus.    Well, just to bring it back to a modern theme and something that we have to think about especially when it comes to reuniting with romantic partners.  The recognition with Telemachus was easy.  The recognition scene with the servants was exciting.  This recognition scene with Penelope is expressed with way more mixed emotions- which is extremely understandable.  When two people are brought together after a long time, there's a sense that the external recognition is only a part.  I may recognize who you are on the outside- but will I recognize who you are on the inside?  Are you even the same person you were when I last saw you?  Am I the same person I was when you last saw me?  And of course, the answer is NO- of course neither one of you is.  Your literally not even the same person- molecules in your body have all completely changed- but of course that's not what worries people- will we have a relationship anymore?  Those are not easy questions for anyone.  The psychological gap in a case of twenty years is enormous.      Homer expresses every bit of that.  After Penelope is told Odysseus is home she responds with coldness and skepticism.  Homer says her heart was in turmoil.  Torn.  “Should she keep her distance, probe her husband?”  Let's read the whole paragraph…    Page 458    Notice the detail that he's in rags.  Telemachus, like a child, fusses at his mother, but sweet dad comes to his wife's defense (that would charm me).  Anyway, I think it's cute how Homer creates this developing connection for these two.  In essence, they perform something of a mental fight, or a dance.  They engage each other intellectually, in some sense to see if they are still compatible.  Odysseus, up to this point in the story has never met his match.  He has outsmarted even goddess Circe, nevermind 100 plus suitors.  But Penelope stumps him.      Athena does her part- back to clothes- she weaves for him – decking him out in fine clothes- he is now the recognized king- she makes him godlike, And yet- that is not enough.  Penelope outdoes Odysseus in scepticism and tests HIM with the instruction that his bed be prepared outside in the hall.  What we see here is the difference between outside recognition and inside recognition.  For the servants, seeing the scars were evidence enough that their master was home.  For Penelope, not even seeing her husband as king was enough.  What is special about the bed is that it contained a secret.  It was theirs.  She wanted to know if the bed, in his mind, was still their secret.    Page 461    This is so ingenuous because not only does she prove that she is indeed Odysseus' wife, but in essence she opens the door to allow them to engage in very intimate feelings at this juncture.  What matters isn't really the recollection that the bed can't move, but what that bed has meant to them regarding loyalty, fidelity, trust- these are the issues at stake in Penelope's heart.  And in many ways we are really never told how she feels.  Her options in life have been so very limited.  The stress has been so very great.  Odysseus comes back as a savior, in one sense, but that is a fairy-tale way of thinking about life, and the text here seems much more honest as to the range of emotions that would be engaged as well as the uncertainty of the future not just with Ithaca, but between these two main characters.      Of course, there's a lot metaphorically we could say there, there's a lot in regard to gender roles for sure, but not just that- what she feels, what he feels is way beyond even the two of them.  Reconstituting the oikos starts with Penelope and ends with Penelope.  Of course, this story is told from an ancient male perspective, with a ancient male audience in mind, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot here to think about when we think about what constitutes a healthy oikos- a home- many of us want to build economic, social entities that will constitute a positive legacy- The ancient Greeks saw intellectual compatibility, mutual respect and the absence of secrets between partners central tenants to an lasting oikos.    Of course, I agree, but I will add, although Penelope is clearly front and center to all of this, what we just read is still chapter 23.  There is one more relationship to be reconstituted and that is with Laertes, Odysseus father.   If there is to be a complete reconstruction of structure out of chaos, this relationship is not simply a p.s., but it's central.      Agreed- and of course, Laertes is a reminder, at least you must think that would be, that Odysseus gave up immortality with Calypso for what he is now recreating.  Also, Penelope's entire schtick for keeping the suitors at bay was in weaving a funeral shroud for Laertes.  So, in a sense, and this would be an entire episode if we wanted to trace this theme, the meaning of death is in many ways an idea that has been in this story since the beginning.  We did visit hades, at one point.  But there is something conclusive about this father-son relationship.  It is finding resolution in this final recognition that harmony is restored.      True- although I will say, I found this recognition scene slightly problematic.  Why does Odysseus have to lie to his father?  The first thought I had was that maybe he didn't want to give his father a heart attack- thinking back to the recognition scene with the dog, Argos.     Yeah- I don't know- what I do know- and where we will end because we just don't have time to go into anything else- is that the story ends with Odysseus and Laertes sharing an intimate moment, but a different kind of intimacy than Odysseus shared with Penelope.  We end with trees.  Trees are a tangible token of history.  They are identifying markers.  In this case, the orchard is well-tended.  Odysseus will now be a different kind of hero.  He will not be a warrior doing battle with the world, but a tender of gardens- a man who will live to see his children grow up, who will build, create, and structure a world that has once been filled with chaos.  The orchard of Laertes bares fruit.  There's a little more to the story, Odysseus has to handle that issue with Poseidon, but in the end, I think this is the Greek vision of peace- of a satisfying life. It's not a bad vision.  And the very end, Athena says, “Hold back ye men of Ithaca, back from brutal war! Break off- shed no more blood- make peace at once!”   I agree!!    It is definitely not a bad vision.  They clearly were on to something.   Well, thank you for listening.  We hope you have enjoyed our race through the epic, The Odyssey.  We know there is a lot more to say, but hopefully, we left you with some food for thought as you sort through this complex tale that has mesmerized the world for millenia.  Please remember that if you enjoy our work, give us a good review on any of the podcast apps- apple, amazon, spotify, etc.  If you are an educator, visit our website for support materials. www.howtolovelitpodcast.com.  Also, feel free to connect with us on Instagram, fb, linked in or just plain email.  We'd love to hear from you.    Peace out!!           

Welcome to Prophecy Radio, a Percy Jackson podcast dedicated to all of Rick Riordan's past, present, and future projects! Co-hosts Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz discuss the latest news in the Percy Jackson/Rick Riordan Presents fandom (including the fact that Percy Jackson at Disney+ has the greenlight!), then break down the events of the short story “The Diary of Luke Castellan,” as well as analyze chapters 11 and 12 of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. New episodes of Prophecy Radio will air weekly, and all ages are welcome to tune in. News and Updates (00:01:20) Yes, we're talking about the Percy Jackson/Disney+ official greenlight! Kristen didn't tell Karen about the news because she HATES HER. The announcement video has over a million views now! It's amazing to see all the other authors who are excited too. What did the press release have to say? The show will be closely aligned with the source material. The people working on the show are so talented and seem like the perfect ones to bring Percy to life. It's taken so long to get to this point, so let's take a second to realize how momentous this is. How will this show being on Disney+ affect the way it's received? Disney+ is coming to 42 more countries. This show will be for tweens, teens, and young adults. Shout-out to the over 30 crowd! We think this show will play well for any age. Karen has decided to get her hopes up. The people at Disney seem excited too, and we can get on board with that. What kind of impact will the show's success have on the Rick Riordan Presents books? A band called The Happy Return wrote a song about Annabeth. Mark Oshiro wrote a new book called You Only Live Once, David Bravo. Be sure to enter our Tiger Honor giveaway! “The Diary of Luke Castellan” by Rick Riordan (00:30:25) Have we ever read this short story before? Let's talk about Luke's narration—did we like it? Thalia is such a cool character, and this was an awesome portrayal of her. But it makes it even harder knowing what Luke has done. Were there romantic feelings between Thalia and Luke? It felt like they'd already gone on so many adventures before this story took place! That goat is classic Rick Riordan. What did the leucrota remind us of? Hal is very old for a demigod. Aren't there enough monsters in the world without Apollo being this extra? Did they ever reference Halcyon Green in the Trials of Apollo series? Is there any reality in which Apollo had a point in punishing Hal? Hal reads Thalia's future and it's…tragic. When was this short story published in relation to The Lost Hero? Could reuniting with her family also mean Annabeth? Luke's future is a little messier… It's going to be so interesting to keep reading with this short story under our belt now. Does Luke's diary ever come back into play? Does Thalia have a bright future? Is Hal to blame for continuing the ruse of the trap? You can really see that this is where Luke's radicalization started. But did we also see a bit of Luke's true nature here? Luke is definitely gonna break some promises. Did you see the map of Hal's house? Wouldn't this make a great flashback episode in the show? Chapter Reviews (01:05:57) It's time to jump into Sea of Monsters chapter 11! We're officially halfway through the book. Clarisse is pretty possessive of this quest of hers, isn't she? We feel very differently about Clarisse now that we're older. Does Clarisse have any friends? Did anyone actually want to come with her? We REALLY don't like Ares. Not that we liked him a ton before. He's a misogynist and clearly abusive. Here's the blog post where Rick meets with the gods. Is Ares the worst godly parent out of all of them? Prophecy Count: 9 Grover is smart to give Percy a heads up about the traps on the island. Okay, so Polyphemus isn't completely blind. Charybdis or Scylla? Either one is pretty terrible. Tyson is the true MVP of this chapter. What does Ares have up his sleeves? We were feeling some emotions in this chapter!! Time for chapter 12! It feels like a trap! But they still fall for it. Thank goodness Annabeth is so smart, though. Turns out Blackbeard was a demigod too! What was with the whole mizzenmast thing? We have a lot to look out for in future books. Kristen does an excellent guinea pig impression. Thanks for listening, and be sure to tune in next time for episode 18, where we'll do a deep dive into the mythology of the furies. This episode's hosts are: Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz. Each episode, our Prophecy Radio hosts and their guests will keep you up to date on the latest information coming out of Camp Half-Blood, including upcoming books and adaptation news, discuss a topic of choice, and do a chapter by chapter reread of the Percy Jackson series. Follow Us: Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // Tumblr Listen and Subscribe: Audioboom // Apple // Spotify Feel free to leave us your questions or comments through any of these mediums! You can also email us at prophecyradiopodcast@gmail.com or visit our homepage for archives and more information about our show. Prophecy Radio is a Subjectify Media podcast production. Visit Subjectify Media for more shows, including Not Another Teen Wolf Podcast, ReWatchable, and Not About The Weather, and for all our latest articles about the stories we're passionate about.

Homer - The Odyssey - Episode 4 - The Importance Of "Oikos" And Why Odysseus Pursues It!   Hi, I'm Christy Shriver and we're here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.      And I'm Garry Shriver, and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast. This is our third episode in our discussion of this influential classic, however else you might like to call it.  In the first episode we started our discussion introducing just a few of the issues surrounding Homer, the poet himself, the Mycenean people and the semi-mythical age in which the story is set.  Both of which are full of mystery.  Archeology just does not fully answer questions like if Homer was a real person, or even if Ithaca existed. So, we are left with complicated pieces of a strange large game of sudoku, if you want to look at it as a puzzle.  We tried to clearly portray that the Homeric poems are not historical accounts but creative pieces.  This of course becomes very obvious in the chapters about the wanderings. Six-headed monsters and glamorous witches are obviously imaginative.  But even the parts that seem to reflect “real life”, they still cannot possibly represent the reality of the Bronze age or the Dark age.  Homer didn't know those realities.  We did suggest that there likely was a Trojan war of some sorts, and perhaps King Agamemnon was a real person, but that's just about as far as we can extrapolate with any certainty.  So, the Odyssey, nor the Iliad for that matter, was NOT trying to be a paint a picture of the current society of the period, but they do reflect the values and in episodes 2 and 3 we looked at a few of these values.       So true- In the second episode, we tried to give an overview and a discussion of books 1-4, the Telemachy.  That coming of age story where Telemachus, who was a baby when Odysseus left, arrives at a moment where he wants to embrace adulthood- or manhood as they called it.  And yet, for Telemachus, as for every other teenager that has lived on this planet, that transition is not smooth.  He's awkward, he's confrontational with his mother, he cries in public, but ultimately he leaves home and takes chances in the outside world.  And although, he doesn't come back a hero, he does develop or maybe grow up a little as we see in his homecoming in chapter 15.  He learns what a “real man” is, to use their term.  He learns how to talk to adults and practice proper xenia.  He sees relationships between men and women that are functional and relationships that are dysfunctional.  We even see him at the end of the Telemachy, asserting some agency by giving shelter to a homeless man himself.      And of course, last episode, we spent almost the entire time talking about Xenia, or hospitality.  We talked about the examples of good xenia, like we saw in the Telemachy, but we also saw examples of bad xenia, most notably, in book nine through both the character of Polyphemus but even Odysseus really.  We finished last episode leaving the island of the winds or Aeolia and arriving at the house of Circe.  Christy, this is not the first woman we have met in the Odyssey, but she is one of your favorites, so before we get to Circe and why you seem to like her, as a woman, what do you see in general how we should understand these female characters?  Or should men and women see these characters similarly.      Ha!  Well, that's an interesting question to raise, as today we look at the role of gender in the book as well as in ancient Greek life.  But we must remember that gender roles are not isolated things.  They are not simple things as we clearly see in these wandering chapters.  We also have to be honest with ourselves and admit that when we read texts from other cultures, we have trouble understanding what things mean in the broader context of society as a whole.  Even something as seemingly straightforward as sexism cannot be just read into a text, although there's a temptation to do just that.  One aspect of this narrative that I find fascinating is that Homer in the Odyssey does explore the very raw and honest reality that no matter how patriarchial you may think a society is.    What do you mean by that?    Sure, so, if you want to, you could say this this is simply an old story about a man who leaves his family to fight for another man's woman because she's the most beautiful woman in the world and his friend wants his woman back back, so he dumps his own wife and son for twenty years, then wanders around sleeping with a bunch of evil women who are all madly in love with him until he finally comes back  to an objectified wife who has been perfectly faithful.  This said hero swoops in, kills all the bad guys and lives happily ever after.  That's a brazen really uninteresting story, especially for women, especially for modern educated women.  But we know highly educated modern women DO like the Odyssey, as well as other classics, and how do we know that- currently over half of students who study and teach classical studies are highly educated modern women.  But beyond that, nothing that survives 3000 years survives because it's uninteresting. So, obviously, that's not the right way to approach the story- even if you want to focus on the dynamic between men and women in the story.  This last week I wanted to explore that perspective a little more, so I read the analysis and commentary by Dr. Emily Wilson of the University of Pennsylvania, who, in my humble view, is perhaps the most famous expert on gender in the Odyssey.    Oh wow, you rarely give these kinds of shout-outs.  What should we know about Dr. Wilson.        Dr. Emily Wilson, in 2017, became the first woman to ever translate the Odyssey into English.  She is not the first woman to translate the Odyssey it's been translated by women into other languages, just not English.      To put that in perspective, how many English translations are there?    Oh my goodness, a lot, well over 60 and we keep translating it, but the translators had all been men.  So obviously, I was interested in the idea if Dr. Wilson thought her gender made any difference at all as to how she translated the ancient Greek.  I mean, as a higly respected translator, she was not trying to interpret the text but literally just translate it as faithfully to the original as possible.      What did she say on the topic after all   She literally thought about every single word in the entire text.      Exactly, and I was surprised that everyone asked her that same question- which seemed a little odd, honestly.  I mean over and over again, “As a woman, how did you translate blah blah blah” I mean you could suggest it makes no difference, I mean after all, Google translate doesn't have a gender.      Ha!  I assume that was not Dr. Wilson's perspective.      No, it isn't.  She makes a very convincing argument that, unless translators are reading each other and copying each others ideas, no two people will or should see things the same for a variety of reasons- not just gender.  Our experiences and personal culture absolutely cannot help but color our lives and this affects even how we translate words from one language to another.  One example she gives that we've already seen, but I didn't pay attention to from the part we've already read is in how you translate the word “maid” in section one.  Fagles and other translators have used the word “women” or “maids” to reference these women.  Wilson points out the word in the Greek clearly expresses that these women were slaves- and for her that is an important point not to gloss over- they were not maids- they were slaves.  They were not free- and since in the end they are killed, the understanding of this nuance of text can influence how one interprets their role in the stories and ultimately how you understand what happens to them in the end, which we'll save for next episode.  The way we understand who Circe and Calypso are can also be influenced by certain word choices.  In her view, Homer, is neutral in his descriptions of these women and does not judge Circe or Calypso negatively but some translations do use heavy-handed negative language in English that just isn't connotated the same in the Greek, from her view.  So, understanding that our biases and perspectives are always part of our interpretation doesn't make one person's translation necessarily better or worse, but just something to take into consideration- something to think about.  So, let's think about it.  What do you make of a story about a man who wanders around the ocean and pretty much all of his antagonists or impediments to getting home are female?    HA!  Well, for starters, for me that tells you a lot about female power.  There are few societies today that are as patriarchal as the societies of 3000 years ago, and yet…look at the emphasis placed on navigating a world of women! If we assume that this is a story written by a man and the audiences were primarily male, which I think we can assume both fairly easily- at the very least the first statement of fact is that women cannot nor will not be overlooked- regardless of any formalized power arrangement.  To simplify it, perhaps Homer is saying something as simple as,  to underestimate women is to be destroyed by them.    HA!  I think that's a good starting point- because of course that goes without saying.  But obviously, there's more to it than that. So, let's begin by looking at the power arrangement or social structure in The Odyssey?  Last week we talked about the Greek concept of xenia, today let's introduce a new term.   Develop for us this Greek concept of the “oikos”..or the household- the basic unit of community life.  Life in the Greek world centered around a man building his oikos, a man with no oikos was no man at all.      Exactly, so word “oikos” means household- a person's oikos is everyone and every THING within his orbit of influence- and oikos were led by strong men.  One way to think of it maybe like the godfather in the godfather movies, without the crime element, of course- the head of the family.  Remember this is a pre-city world, as we understand cities today.  A man of means, a good word may be an aristocratic man or a noble man would build his oikos, his home, his household- he would have his wife, his children, but that's just the beginning, he would also have his slaves- of all sorts.  And even these slaves, as we see in the Odyssey had levels in the hierarchy.  So, in a social sense, home, or oikos, is much more than a physical space, although obviously, it contains physical space, but it is a place within personal relationships, the father/son, husband-wife, master-slave, king-competitors- and of course, in this society, the man of the household would be the leader, but the household or the home is a collection of relationships.   An oikos is an economic unit as well as a social one, and since men were often at war, a lot of the economy or the business of running the oikos would be run by women.  Notice all the weaving that goes on, just as one example- weaving is an economic industry.  This is industry in a pre-industrial society.  But it's not just weaving, there is agriculture, as we'll see when Odysseus gets back to Ithaca.  Archeological evidence shows these households were running olive presses, building furniture, doing all kinds of self-sustaining and maybe even commercial ventures.  So, a nobleman of means is absolutely defined by how he governs his household.  The bigger the household: more slaves, more land, more live stock, more gifts he accumulates, the more successful he is as a man- a more respected oikos.      Okay, so, let's go back to page one, what do we know about Odysseus, well if we go by the Wilson translation, this is a story about a complicated man, but what is he trying to do, he wants to get back to his wife.  Odysseus has proved his manhood by winning at war.  He got lots of glory on the battlefield which he is very proud to talk about with King Alcinous, but that is not enough- in fact, maybe it's only half enough.   Penelope is central to the entire storyline because she is at the center of his oikos.  She is at the heart of the story because Homer is suggesting a man without a good wife will struggle in building a good oikos.  Odysseus' manhood is not complete; his glory is not complete if he does not have a well-ordered oikos that will outlive him.  What does a man have if he loses his oikos?  A man with no oikos is not a nobleman anymore- if we want to say it that way.   In Book 11, which we're going to get to in a second, Odysseus goes down to Hades and runs into all sorts of people, one of which is Achilles and he calls Achilles blessed- he says there is no one more blest than him, that there never has been nor ever was, and Achilles responds protesting.  Let's read his response..    “No winning words about death to me, shining Odysseus!  By god, I'd rather slave on earth for another man- some dirt-poor tenant farmer who scrapes to Keep alive- than rule down here over all the breathless dead.”      So, in other words, I hate it so much down here, I'd rather be a person without an oikos than be down here.  Which suggests to me that a man without an oikos is as low as a man can go- regardless of glory.    Yeah- Achilles doesn't seem to be that impressed with his Hades lifestyle.  So, getting back to Odysseus, we might assume that since he wants to get home, it's because he's so in love with his wife and their marriage is so ideal- we might also assume that on her side that's exactly what Penelope wants as well- that their love story is at the heart of this story. But THAT is never stated- and that is what Dr. Wilson means by being careful about the complexities of the text and drawing conclusions based on our time period.  Odysseus' return to Penelope is wrapped up in his return to his household, his little kingdom.  There is no doubt that Penelope is a part of that, but Odysseus' does not to go to the grave without reclaiming and establishing his oikos.    Yes- I think so.  Another thing to notice is that all these noble women, the ones we're supposed to respect- are identified through their relationship with their male oikos.  Arete is Wife of Alcinous the king, daughter of King Rhexenor- no one of merit can exist outside this oikos system- and the head of the oikos is always going to be a male.  Circe and Calypso are independent women and unattached, BUT they only exist in the mythological world- and that is part of why they are dangerous.  The Sirens are mythological and definitely dangerous.  The monsters Scylla and Chrarybdis are mythological and nothing but lethal.  To live well in humanity is to live well in community.   Men must express success within the oikos system and so must women.   At the end of the day, not even if you are endlessly spectacularly gorgeous, powerful, and sexually seductive; if you are unattached, it appears you are dangerous and you function outside the normal order of things.  In some ways, you are incomplete.      To be honest, there are those that would say that's true even today-maybe even me- I would word it differently, we would say something like balancing career and personal life- but it's not all that different, especially if we take the gendered terms out of the equation.    Maybe, that's slightly controversial, and something worth thinking about, or if you're listening to this with a class, discussing, but let's talk about these “dangerous women”.      Well, Circe is independent, and she does turn men into pigs, but she is not unkind.  I guess that's why I like her.  Last episode, we left Odysseus upset because he'd been blown back to King Aeolus and was told he wasn't getting another bag of winds.  At this point, Odysseus still has quite a large group of men he's responsible for.  They leave King Aeolus as a group of 12 ships, and they row for a week only to have a nasty encounter with a disagreeable Laestrygonian woman, one described as being “huge as a mountain crag” and who filled them with horror.  Like Polyphemus, the Laestrygonian people, instead of feeding guests, eat them.  They also fling rocks at Odysseus' crew, spear them like fish, and kill most of them. Unfortunately, eleven of the 12 ships go down. ONLY Odysseus' ship survives this onslaught.  So by the time, he meets Circe, he's down to one ship and about 45 men.  When they get to her island, they split up in two groups.  Eurylochus, one of his crewmen, takes 22 men and they find her palace.  But when they find it, they see it's surrounded by all these wild animals that should be wild but are actually tame: wolves and lions.  We ultimately understand that they are tame because they are not animals at all, but men she's turned into animals.  Anyway, when we. Meet Circe she's playing the part of a good woman, she's weaving- these women and their weaving, they all do it.  Anyway, Circe invites them in, like a good hostess gives them wine, cheese, barley, all the good stuff…but in the wine she put a drug, then she struck her wand and turns them into pigs.  Only the leader, Eurylochus, who didn't drink the wine escapes to warn the others.    HA!!  You know Circe is magical.  She's a witch, an enchantress, a goddess, otherworldly, and yet she's also very much expressed as a woman.  Perhaps that's what makes her so dangerous to Odysseus.  Even her weaving is described as divine.  There are two sides to Circe.  She's the sexual temptress or evil witch, but she also excels at the art of being a woman in the traditional or domestic sense.      Either way, She is too much for Odysseus, to the point that Hermes, the messenger of the gods intervenes and helps him.  Let's read what Hermes tells Odysseus.    Page 239    So, is the goal to trick or subjugate Circe?    I don't think so.  We'll see later that Circe's oath is conceded from a position of honor.  Odysseus' asks for it; he doesn't demand it.  She's always above him, she's a goddess- he's not.  Hermes helps him get on Circe's good side, and when he does, she speaks to him with a human voice and uses her magic for good.  She turns the men back into men from pigs, but look what she does, she makes them better versions of their former selves.  That's nice and she treats them really well, after the small issue of exposing them as the pigs they were got resolved.  At the end, even though, she really wants Odysseus to stay, she not only lets him go, but she also tells him how to get home.  He's got to go to Hades.  But the broader point is that he needs to WANT to go home.  Life with Circe would be really nice, but to stay there would be a distraction- it would keep him from his goal of building his oikos.  It would be getting away from the main thing.  And as my daddy has repeated to all of us kids all my life, “You gotta keep the main thing the main thing.”      Well, if the main thing is to get home, they have to go through Hades to get there.  We've seen that before.      Yes, your buddy Carl Jung would say it's inevitable.  Let's read where Odysseus delivers the bad news to his men.     “You think we are headed home, our own dear land?  Well, Circe sets us a rather different course…down to the House of Death and the awesome one Persephone, there to consult the ghost of Tiresias, seer of Thebes.” So I said and it broke my shipmates' hearts.  They sank down on the ground, moaning, tore their hair.  But it gained us nothing- what good can come of grief?  Back to the swift ship at the water's edge we went, our spirits deep in anguish, faces wet with tears.  But Circe got to the dark hull before us, tethered a ram and black ewe close by- slipping past unseen.  Who can glimpse a god who wants to be invisible gliding here and there?”    And of course, off they go.  Persephone, btw, is Hades wife, queen of the Underworld.  The Underworld itself is a place you can sail to,  in the Homeric world.  It is located beyond the river that encircles the world.  In other places of Greek mythology, we see it as being split up and really not just one place, with some levels being way better than others.  However, in this story, it doesn't seem that awesome, at least we don't see Achilles liking it very much.  But they go, Odysseus meets quite a few people including his mother Anticleia, Agamemnon, Hercules, Ajax, Jocasta, Oedipus' mom, as well as quite a long list of other women.  We really don't have time to focus on all the little stories about Hades.  Suffice it to say, that Tiresias tells him what to do and what NOT to do to get home.  Let's read the advice.    Page 252    In other words, stay focused!!  Keep the main thing the main thing.  Don't listen to the voices that can distract and seduce you.  It seems, the difference between the one man who makes it versus the 44 men, who die, in large part has to do with their ability to stay focused.  And so, it happens pretty much like he said.  They go back by Circe's, they go by Sirens, those temptresses who sing and coax men to come close but to come near them is to to be lured men to their deaths.  They avoid that pitfall but Odysseus putting wax into the ears of his men, and then tying himself up with ropes.  But then there are the female monsters Scylla and Charybdis- Scylla is a six-headed sea monster who rapidly and unexpectedly snatches six men at a time as they go by.  Charybdis is an enormous whirlpool that swallows Odysseus' ship.  Charybdis swallows her victims slowly while Scylla gets them by surprise.  I guess you can interpret those metaphors any number of ways.   Either way, by the time Odysseus gets to the end of chapter 12 he is literally hanging to a fig tree trunk for dear life- alone.  Everyone else is dead.      Odysseus has resisted all the temptations of the mythological world, but he has one more temptation.  Calypso will keep him for seven years, there's an archetypal number, and he's tempted with the most tempting thing anyone could ever be offered- eternal life. What is the value of an oikos?  Is an oikos worth that?  Odysseus has a long time to sit around and think about that, and in the end, he is unequivocal. He wants to go home.  With Zeus' permission, he drifts back to the world of men- of humans, he's made it.  He's resisted all the challenges, the temptations, the darkness; he's made his personal journey.  He's found the king who will help him finally restore his own oikos, not just get home, but restore his oikos.      And there is one person who is not happy about that.  Let's hear Poseidon's complaint to Zeus.    Page 290    Poseidon is outraged not that Odysseus is alive, but that his oikos will be restored.  He punishes the Phaeacians by turning their boat to stone and  by building a mountain ridge around their home, but we don't seem to care all that much about them, poor things, because our attention is now redirected to Ithaca.  What's it going to be like when he gets there.    You know I've heard that a lot of servicemen can really identify with conundrum expressed here in Odysseus' homecoming.  After all, what is Odysseus if not a veteran combatant.  Yes, Odysseus is home, but home isn't how he left it.  In fact, when he looks at it, he doesn't even recognize it. It must be reclaimed.  Homecomings as anyone knows who's been away for a long time, aren't always as we have imagined them in our heads.  We're different people; the people we left are different.  And if Odysseus is going to restore his world, reclaim or perhaps recreate his oikos, he will have to listen to the voice of wisdom, Athena.      When we started the book, we met two other nobles who came back from war.  In many ways Penelope has been compared to Helen.  Now Odysseus' homecoming will be compared to Agamemnon's (who we met in Hades), to Menelaus and Nestor.  It's interesting to notice, if we're going to look at it this way that Odysseus wanderings are expressed through a series of female aggressions- distractions, traps, sexuality, deceitful voices, apparently all kinds of things we've seen displayed in this world of imagination- and personified by female monsters, in large part.  And so now, he's made it…maybe…and the nature of the aggression changes as well.      I was actually surprised to see that only a portion of the story is about the wanderings and it's told in a backstory- the wanderings is really what we think of the story being about.  But we're only in book 12 and there are literally 12 more to go.   The climax is not getting home- not really.  It's the external homecoming versus the internal homecoming.  He's home externally, but that doesn't mean much at this point- it's just the halfway point.  Things have to be ordered for relationships to be right. There must be a second homecoming;  it's a little unsettling really- it ain't over.     Oh, and there's one more thing-  because we're talking gender today- let's not forget- what about Penelope?  Interestingly enough, Homer NEVER let's us see inside Penelope's head, and in fact, he very intentionally conceals from the reader any insight into what Penelope really wants.  What will this homecoming mean for her? Penelope has spent 20 years weaving- now think about this- that is before headphones and podcasts.  The time she spends weaving is time she's spending primarily thinking and Penelope, if she is described as anything in this story, is described as a person who thinks carefully.    In that she is her husbands well-suited mate- she matches him with her cunning.  Except in her case, her options have been much more reduced.  She has needed way more cunning to navigate her world of men, then Odysseus has needed to navigate the wild sea and the assortment of female dangers.      So, where do you think that will leave these two when they meet up?      The short answer is- in different places.  And that's where we are going to pick up next episode.  The Grand finale will consist of all these recognition scenes that lead us to Homer's vision of the promise that no matter how far out of sorts your life has gotten, there's always home—not just a physical place, but an established and recognized place within meaningful relationships-  that each of us can restore our oikos.  And although, what we call an oikos today isn't the same as the Greeks, the good Lord knows our households have more configurations than even Odysseus could imagine- it's a nice idea- this idea that hope of building ours is always alive- no matter how far away it feels, so lost, so screwed up we think we've made out of our world-  if we just hang on to the fig tree over the whilepool trying to kill us- we too can restore our oikos- and build a home once again.      Yes, and that is regardless of our gender!      For sure-     Thanks for listening, we hope you are enjoying this Odyssey.  If you have are, please support us by sharing an episode with a friend either via text, via twitter, Instagram, facebook or how you share your favorite things!  Also, take a second a give us a five star rating on your podcast app. And of course, always feel free to communicate with us!  We are always hear and ready to hear your ideas on our favorite classics.    Peace out!     

Homer - The Odyssey - Episode 3 - Odysseus And The Cyclops Don't See Eye To Eye!   I'm Christy Shriver, and we're here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.      And I'm Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast.  This is our third episode covering Homer's Odyssey, and Christy, are we finally getting to Odysseus this week?     Yes- We finally meet our title character- it was an odyssey. Pun pun-     Oh my- here we go….    I know, and we get to see wordplay this week as well- although word play through translation is not exactly the same but the Greeks did a lot of it, and not just in the Odyssey, so it's nice to get just a little taste.    How interesting.    I know, it really is.  Homer, even though writing in verse that has meter, does not rhyme, but he does use word play- which may or may not be called a pun- but it does play around with the meaning and sounds of different words.      In episode 1 we discussed a lot of the historical context both of the period in which the story is set, but also of the mysterious writer, the supposed blind bard, we have always called Homer.   I did notice we do finally get to mee the blind bard of the Odyssey, the one the ancients think might be based on our poet, but I'm not sure I would have even paid much attention to that character if we hadn't talked about Demodocus being the model for Homer, previously.      No, I agree.  I wouldn't have either.  It's kind of an interesting literary concept, at one point there is a bard telling a story about a bard telling a story and then there's the story- so a story within a story within a story- talk about complicated.      Yeah- let's just move on.  In episode 2, we discussed Telemachus and his coming of age story that we call the Telemachy- or books 1-4.  In that portion of the story, we learned that swarms of suitors have overrun the family home back in Ithaca while Odysseus is away.  Telemachus' mother, Odysseus's wife, Penelope is being pressured to pick one of these suitors to be her husband, an act which would give the selected suitor a claim to be king or chieftain of Ithaca, perhaps even a contested heir to her fortune, leaving Telemachus' life in extreme danger.  We saw that Penelope tricked the suitors by claiming she would marry one of them after she weaved a funeral shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes.  During the day she would weave, but at night she would unravel her work.  For three years this worked until one of her ladies' maids gave her up.  It is at this point that we enter the story of Telemachus.  Athena visits him, first in the shape of an old friend of Odyssseus', Mentes,  but then into another man named Mentor.  She encourages Telemachus to take charge of his own future- to go out in the world and try to find out what has happened to his father by visiting his father's old war buddies.  Telemachus listens to Athena and visits two places: Pylos and Sparta.  Here he learns very little, honestly, about what happened to his father, but what we do see is Telemachus coming into his own.  We see his confidence and sense of self develop to the point that he seems quite a different person as he journeys back home ready to confront the very dangerous challenge of taking control over his own home or really retaking a kingdom that has been taken away from him.    Yes- and today we will see where Odysseus has been this whole time.  The goal today is to get through book 9, maybe start book ten, which is kind of a chronological boomerang really.  We start book 5 twenty years after Odysseus has left home.  Calypso is forced to release him which she does.   Poseidon is outraged and reacts.  Garry let's read Poseidon's response.    “I'll give that man his swamping fill of trouble!” With that he rammed the clouds together- both hands clutching his trident- churned the waves into chaos, whipping all the gales from every quarter, shrouding over in thunderheads the earth and sea at once- and night swept down from the sky- East and South Winds clashed and the raging West and North, spring from the heavens, roiled heaving breakers up- and Odysseus' knees quaked, his spirit too; numb with fear he spoke to his own great heart: “Wretched man- what becomes of me now, at last?     And of course the answer is- you're not to die yet.  The gods will see to it.   He is shipwrecked and then found naked on the beach by Nausicaa, the daughter of King Alcinous ruler of the incredibly gracious and skilled Phaeacian's.    And of course, it is through these people, we see an incredible example of what the Greeks call Xenia and basically how Homer defines what it means in this world to be a good person. In the Homeric world, or perhaps the ancient Greek world, if we can generalize, what makes a person good or bad is not the same as we think of today. So, Garry, just to get us started, as a concept, what is Xenia.    Well, it's a concept of hospitality that is an extremely complex and developed social  institution in the ancient Greek world.  If we break the word down- the word xenos- that word means both guest-friend or guest-stranger.  If you think of the word xenophobia- it means you have fear or hatred of strangers.  So xenia is how you receive or treat strangers in your community, your oikos, your household.   Well executed xenia solidified relationships between peoples; it created alliances, and could often be the difference between life and death.  It was also religious- one of Zeus' names is Zeus Xenios because he was the god that embodied a moral obligation to be hospitable to foreigners or strangers.       And it's that moral element that is so central to so much of what we should understand about why things happen the way they do in the Homeric world.  In Homer's world, hospitality drives morality.  It is in the hosting, receiving, gift-giving and relationship building that is pushing forward the movement in the world.  It's what gets you in favor or in trouble with the gods.  If you are a good host and/or good guest, you are a good person.  If you are a bad host/ bad guest, you are a bad person.  To me it really seems to be that simple.  The moral code that determines your place is life is not based on the ten commandments or something like that- it is not based on lying, or stealing or even murdering- things that we use to define morality. If you think about it, all three of those things Odysseus does all the time and is even admired for how well he does them.  The gods are proud that he is cunning.  He brags about sacking villages.  The climax of the book involves broadscale murder (there's a slight spoiler, if you are 3000 years behind the times and don't know the ending).  There is definitely no morality around sex at all.  The definition of who you are as a person is very dependent on something else and that something else is what the ancient's called xenia- this concept of being a good host and being a good guest.  Garry, from our standpoint today, that seems weird.  We don't value hospitality in this way at all, and on the other side, we look poorly on people who are pirates, liars, thieves, or adulterers.     True- and it is a very interesting way of thinking about things- and something we should think about.  Of course, obviously and I know you weren't being exclusionary, but there are other values emphasized in Homer's epics- respect for the gods, being a wise and moderate person, not to mention, you are supposed to avenge the death of family members, that is also part of the moral code, but your point cannot be overstated more- the importance of hospitality is essential to success in life, and there are very good and obviously practical reasons for this.      Just to clarify what we're talking about- even before we get to book five, we've seen examples of this in every chapter of the epic already.  Telemachus was a good host to Mentes. Nestor and Menelaus were amazing hosts to Telemachus ,and now Alcinious is even more gracious then the other two and in fact brings Odysseus home, even though it will cost him dearly, as we'll see at the end.      True, but the concept of Xenia is not just inherent in Greek culture.  It was important in other cultures in other parts of the ancient world as well.  If you want an example that you might be familiar with from this time period and if you familiar with Biblical text we see similar things in the book of Genesis in the Bible. Abraham is very concerned about being a good host as well as a good guest and we see various interactions of him being a guest when he wanders around Canaan.  And just as the gods in the Odyssey punish and murder those who do not respect the rules of hospitality, there is a perspective to suggest that the Hebrew God of the Bible also punishes those who do not respect the rules of hospitality- just look at Sodom and Gomorrah and how the destruction of that town is set up by the abuse of guests in the community.  How you receive strangers very much defines your humanity in many cultures and has for a long time.  This idea of morality being connected to hospitality is very ancient and deeply embedded in various ancient cultures.      Well, in the Odyssey there are at least 12 hospitality scenes of all kinds. We see examples of bad hospitality as well as examples of good hospitality- In book five, we see both juxtaposed against each other almost back to back.  In Polyphemus the Cyclopes- we see almost a perfect example of a bad host.   But he isn't the first character in the book to violate the rules of Xenia- for that we don't need to look further than book one and the suitors.  Those guys are clearly terrible guests, terrible humans and we don't feel a bit sorry for them when they get what's coming in the end.  But before we get t here, let's start with the concept of xenia itself.  What is this idea of being a host which is so central to the story?  How should we understand it in terms of culture so we can then extrapolate cross-culturally?  Why is hospitality important to the degree that it is a motif in almost every book of this epic.  In fact, it's a type scene.     A type-scene.  That's a new term.  Christy, what's a type scene?    A type scene is a scene that you see over and over again.  It's kind of like a pattern.  But you become familiar with it to the point that you can recognize differences in how different people practice the same pattern or the same type, so to speak. For example, in the Iliad, how a person puts on his armour is a type scene- it happens over and over and you can see the pattern with the differences.  Holding sacrifices is another type-scene- it happens all the time.  There are many kinds of type-scenes at the disposal of the bard, he uses them to set up the story. We don't have time to feature all of them, obviously, but I want to talk about hospitality because it's so relevant to what the Odyssey is all about, in my view.   Like I said before, in the Odyssey there are at least 12 hospitality scenes.  So, that's a lot of emphasis- it sets off the plot in chapter 1, it creates complications throughout, and in some ways how we can watch Odysseus evolve as a character.  We watch him develop as we watch him reveal who his is in these various interactions with his different hosts.  So back to this idea of gift-giving and hospitality.  What are your thoughts- just in general?    Well, first of all, let's recognize that we are in an ancient world consisting of mostly isolated islands.  There are no hotels, no restaurants, and not even any money.  The Chinese are given credit in being the first to come up with money, but that wasn't until around 770 BCE.  So, just in that regard, you can see how important relationships would be just on a survival level.  Bartering, obviously did exist. But, in general, if a person is going to travel, he will have to rely on mercy from other people to survive, and of course that's how ancient societies worked.  Again, a parallel example of ancient text would be the stories of the Old Testament in the Bible, if you recall.  People went into the lands of others and threw themselves at the mercies of those rulers.  So in some sense, the idea of emphasizing hospitality on a macro-scale makes sense- I'll host you if you'll host me.  But that doesn't answer the second question, why all these gifts?  You would think that the one giving the gift would be the one being hosted.  He/or she after all is the one being fed, being clothed.  You would also think that if you were a rat of a human, and so many of us are rats, you could just go around and exploit person after person.  And notice, and you can see this through the many scenes of hospitality, you are supposed to feed and bathe a guest BEFORE you even ask their name or their business.  THAT was the ethics of the tradition.  So, the question, is why give gifts?      Well, of course, I don't know, but the obvious first pass guess, again, maybe is the idea of reciprocity.  I am going to host you today knowing that one day that balance of power may shift and I may need your hospitality.  I'll give you a good gift, so that one day you will give me a good gift- that sort of thing.  Except, as I say that out loud, it does fail the say out loud test.  After going through the Christmas season, if you are a person who practices gift-giving, you know there are always those people that shaft you.  How many of us have been in situations where we drew names, and you're supposed to buy a gift for the person that you get their name and spend a certain dollar amount.  Well, we all know that person or persons who will shaft whoever they draw.  They will justify it by saying to themselves, “Well, the original price was the money limit, I just got it on sale and they'll never know.”- which of course is bogus because we always know.   But sometimes people don't bother even doing that.  They may just shaft you because there is nothing anyone is going to do about it at a holiday party.  That sort of thing.  I can't imagine the Greeks not having those schumcks- well, we know they have those schmucks- they've moved into Penelope's house in book one.  So, I guess I'll ask you- why give gifts?  I can see how it would make a society a better and kinder place, but I can't see how and why it works.  It seems to go against human nature.    True- Of course the first reason is it makes you a good person and it pleases the gods- and we want to be good people and we all want to please the gods.  We just do.  Even those of us who unfortunately find ourselves incarcerated for terrible things we've done to other people, will likely NOT EVER want to give up the idea that we are good people.  We want others to see that in us, and we want the gods to see that in us.  And of course, we see that idea here- the gods will reward generosity and hospitality.      Which brings us to Alcinous' daughter- she truly is depicted at being a wonderful human being.  She's brave and she's generous.  Let's read where Odysseus approaches her and begs for mercy.    Page 174    But of course, as we can clearly see here.  Naussicaa, the princess, is an exceptional person.  Not very many of us are as wonderful as this girl, so I don't think reciprocity fully explains the concept of gift giving.  Of course, I don't know for sure, but one perspective  to consider here is in watching the balance of power.  Remember, primitive societies didn't have InterPol, or the United Nations, or anything like that, but that doesn't mean they didn't still have complex systems of interacting. When you show up on someone's shore, the smart thing for the person on the shore to do is to kill you at the get go- and in fact, that's what happened a lot.   Man, after all is a warring being, and societies historically war. And that is where I see the value of gifts.  The currency of today and the currency of the ancient world in one sense is the same- fame, reputation, power, glory, status- isn't that what people buy with their money- a higher place on the hierarchy?   Today, we literally BUY it with money.  We can and do buy VIP seating, VIP lounges, private planes, exclusive clubs, name brands and for what?  These things showcase that we are more important than other people- our social rank- no matter how egalitarian we claim to be.  In the ancient world just as today, greatness is defined by reputation, fame, glory- and how that happens is by giving and getting.  It's builds reputation.  If we look at what actually happens in this particular story what I notice is that for one- These tokens matter economically.  And this particular family, which is described as being a cunning family, are good at amassing wealthy by being recipients of great gifts.  We certainly see it in Odysseus.  But we also see it in Telemachus who actually negotiates his gifts, but and even Penelope is very smart in collecting gifts and building her own wealth.   But let's look at it from the other side of things.  What the giver gets in exchange is also of great value.  The giver of each gift is sending with the recipient a signal to everyone who sees the gift a message of his great reputation.  Everyone is reminded that King Menelaus is great every time he sees an artifact that came from his kingdom.  Everyone is reminded not to mess with a man as grand as can afford to give away something as great as this gifr or that gift.  But the giver is also building personal indebtedness that can extend multi-generationally.  We saw that when Telemachus visited his fathers' friends.  This networking extends reputation and gift exchange is also a tool with  which hierarchy is established.      Well, in the case of King Alcinous, he had a tremendous reputation for greatness and was, and I quote, “obeyed like a god”.   We could talk quite a bit about this banquet  King Alcinous and Queen Arete threw in honor of their guest:  the recognition scene, the games, etc.  but I want to jump ahead to the cyclopes- which is just fun to read.  And of course, it brings up one of the reasons why this book is so popular.  It's readable at every level.  We can read it for some psychological or anthropological understanding of humanity, but it's also just as fun and worthy to read the gory description of a dude poking out another dude's only eye.  So, jumping straight to book 9, the bard, in book eight, has been telling Odysseus' story but now Alcinous is making Odysseus tell his own story and finally Odysseus confesses his identity.      I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, known to the world for every kind of craft- my fame has reached the skies.  Sunny Ithaca is my home.  Atop her stands our seamark, Mount Neriton's leafy ridges shimmering in the wind.      And on he goes describing his homeland.  The first story he tells is about him sacking and plundering Cicones- sacking the city, killing the men.  By our standards, its sheer pirating, but it's not a shameful story in this context.  The shame came at the end when his stupid men got drunk and allowed the Cicones to get them back.  He says “out of each ship, six men-at-arms were killed.”  So, there's the example of how a lot of these interactions between peoples go- people warring against invaders.  But after the Cicones, he gets to the Lotus eaters.    The Lotus eaters' story is famous too, and I love how the Percy Jackson movie portrayed the Lotus eaters as being a casino in Las Vegas, and the men just kind of losing track of time as so many have in those corridors that connect the Pallazzo to the Venetian or Bally's to Paris.      I agree- Las Vegas is perfect.  The passage about the lotus eaters is a short passage especially for how well known it is, let's remember those famous Lotus Eaters.    Page 214    You know, I've heard this passage described as people high on drugs, but we may be too quick to go the route of mental incapacity.  When the men go back to their boat, they are aware that they are being forced to leave, and they even cry about it.  It's not their perceptions that are impaired; it's their will that's impaired.  The bedazzling experience of the present has totally obliterated any sense of time as well as any concern about other experiences in the future.  It's a metaphor for a lot of things beyond drugs that have this effect- although drugs definitely unfortunately do this in the extreme.      Ha!  I would say so- can we say tik tok!!  You know, our good friend, Cristiana, the other day got on tiktok, and let me say she's my age, so we're not talking about a child.  Anyway, her complaint about it was that she spent an hour drifting through video after video.  She was entertained for sure, but after an hour she looked up and realized could not tell you one thing that she had seen.  The videos were too short to even stick in her short term memory.  She was annoyed because she couldn't account for the time- she remarked that she literally had nothing to show for it- it went the way of the lotus eaters.    Ha!  So true- I guess Instagram and Facebook aren't much better,  but let me ask you this- is that an example of good xenia or bad xenia?     HA!  Well, I think of it as just a little sidebar until we get to the big xenia story-  the story of the Cyclopes-     A couple of things to notice as we compare the story of Polyphemus as host to the story about King Alcinous and Queen Arete and their reception of Odysseus.  With the Phaeacians, we see a positive example of what it means to be a good person.  We see a great and confident leader who has built a good community.  Homer is going to juxtapose that with this community that does not work well.  We are going to see what it means to be bad- a bad person, a bad leader and live in a bad society.  Remember when I said that a type-scene is a scene where you recognize a pattern.  Well, the pattern to receive a guest has been established a bunch of times already starting in book one now through book 8.  And Polyphemus does everything absolutely wrong.  He's the very opposite of a good person, and the Cyclopes society is the opposite of a good society.  Besides the hospitality type-scene- we also have an assembly which is another type-scene.  We've had a bunch of assemblies already as well- remember when Telemachus called an assembly, they met and passed around the scepter and all that, well Polyphemus is going to try to call an assembly, but it doesn't go well either because nothing these barbaric people do is worth anything.  They are awful in all ways.    So, in a traditional hospitality scene- you're supposed approach the visitor, welcome the visitor, seat and feed the visitor, offer the visitor a drink, then ask the visitor's name, exchange information, entertain the visitor, allow the visitor to bath, then sleep, try to detain the visitor give the visitor a gift, make a sacrifice  to the gods and finally escort him to the next destination.  That's exactly what we've already seen over and over again up to this point.  With that in mind, let's look at how Polyphemus treats civilized life.  First of all, Polyphemus isn't there at first, but when he gets there, before anything else, he asks them who they are.      Let's read it.     Page 219    Stop after other men then read his response    And of course they answer him, not by stating who they are but by saying who've they've been with and asking for a guest-guest.      Which  didn't go well.    No- let's read how it goes.     P 220      Instead of feeding the guests, he eats them.  It can't get worse than that, but there are more oppositions, instead of the host offering the guests wine, Odysseus offers Polyphemus wine.  And instead of Odysseus revealing his identity, he conceals it- He tells Polyphemus his name is Nobody or No man depending how your book translate it- And of course Polyphemus  likes the wine so much he decides to give Odysseus or Nobody a guest gift, but the gift is terrible.    Page 222    The scholars tell us that this scene actually has four examples of word play in the Greek, but the translation only comes across as one.  It's kind of fun that it works.  But it is this word play that has interested so many and sets the primary complication for the ten years of Odysseus' life.    Odysseus manages to get Polyphemus drunk and he and his crew stab him in the eye, very infeasibly with a piece of wood they made out of embers (don't try to explain that scientifically).  Let's read it.    Page 223    And of course, Odysseus gets away by being smart, patient, more cunning- the things that the gods reward.  Polyphemus is left to cry out to his father Poseidon- which of course in some ways is the correct idea, you are supposed to pray to the gods before your guests leave, but not like this.  And of course, finally Odyssey leaves not being escorted but by fleeing with his life as Polyphemus throws boulders at him.  Ironically, however,  Odysseus would have gotten away, and we wouldn't have had a story except for the lines that Odysseus blurts out once he's safely far enough away where he thinks he's escaped.    Page 227  .  He just can't be a nobody.  He had to tell him who he was.  He wanted him to know.  And isn't that what takes all of us on so many personal Odysseys.  We just can't be a nobody.  We would lose something in our humanity like that.  It's about identity.  That's what we're looking for in some sense.  It's what the whole of life experience is about in many ways.  Who are we?  We are NOT a nobody- at least we hope we're not- we hope to be a somebody to somebody.  How well Homer knows us.     Indeed.  It's an idea that we see Homer taking with us for the rest of the books.  Odysseus will reclaim his name.  He will define it. It's what defines your home- the place where you are somebody.  But another point to make, and I don't want to leave this discussion of uncivilized people without making mention of one other thing.  There is something very interesting to notice in Poseidon's prayer.  You know, if I had been blinded, and I had a magical father with powers, I might pray for my eyesight back.  That would be the most helpful thing moving forward, at least you'd think.  But that's not what Polyphemus does.  Let's read it.    Page 228    He'd rather have revenge than his own eyesight.      Indeed- it's fascinating to me- that when Homer wants to finish his description of what a pitiful example of a living breathing low-life is, what a totally uncivilized society looks like- he starts by saying it's a group of people who do no work, produce nothing, have no assemblies, do not live well in community, but he ends it with a prayer to seek vengeance in a final breath.      Ha!  I guess so. The worst of in us all played out- a bad person would rather hurt another person that move forward.   Well, off Odysseus goes.  He thinks he's caught a break at the beginning of book 10.  He reaches the home of the god Aeolus- a giant floating island.  And this god receives him well- another hospitality scene.  They go through all the things, and he gets a great parting gift.  He gives him a sack of wind.  Aeolus binds the winds from all the corners of the earth except the West Wind that blows Odysseus all the way to Ithaca.  For Nine days he sails non stop.  He can see men tending fires on the beaches of his hometown.  He's made it.  He can rest, but his men are greedy.  Right before they get there, while Odysseus is asleep, the shipmates open the bag wanting to sneak out treasure while Odysseus isn't watching.  When they open the bag all the winds come out at once, and they get blown all the way back to King Aeolus.  Oops.  Odysseus asks him to put the winds back in the bag.  This time, Aeolus says, sorry but no.  Instead this is what he said- let's read King Aeolus lines.    , “Away from my island- fast- most cursed man alive! It's a crime to host a man or speed him on his when the blessed deathless gods despise him so.  Crawling back like this-it proves the immortals hate you! Out- get out!'    And so off he goes- and I guess it's time for us to head out as well.  Next episode we'll pick up with Circe, and go through the rest of Odysseus' wanderings.  I also want to talk a little bit about the role of women in the books, as we'll meet a couple more.      Sounds good.  So, we'll call it a wrap for today.  Thanks for listening.  WE hope you're enjoying our discussions as we work our way through this influential classic.  As always, we hope you will honor us by sharing an episode with a friend either by text email or word of mouth.  Please leave us a five star rating on your podcast app and of course visit us at howtolovelitpodcast.com, where we have plenty of instructional materials if you are a teacher or student.  Also, follow us on any or all of our social media: Instagram, facebook, linked in, and if you'd like to receive our monthly newsletter, please email Christy at christy@howtolovelitpodcast.com.                       

Homer - The Odyssey - Episode 2 - Telemachus Begins The Journey To Manhood And Finding Odysseus!   Hi, I'm Christy Shriver and we're her to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.    And I'm Garry Shriver, and this is the How to love lit podcast.  Today is our second episode covering the first and perhaps foremost author in what is often described as the Western Canon- Homer and his famous epic, The Odyssey.  Last week, we discussed a little of the historical context surrounding the mysterious origins of the story- the Bronze age, the Myceneans and the Trojan war.    But besides the origins of the stories, we also discussed the origins of Homer himself, if there was such a man.  It is thought that Homer lived 400 years after the timeframe of the settings of the stories he tells in his epics.  His version of The Odyssey was solidified in or around 750 BCE.  Tradition claims he was a blind bard who began this famous tale invoking the muse who had shared it with him, and within his stories the religion and cultural heritage of the Greeks has not only been preserved and passed down, but the tales have influenced the writing, thinking and worldviews of innumerable cultures around the world. Like most first book episodes, however, in episode 1 we didn't get far into the story itself, we stayed in the opening of book 1.  At the beginning of book 1, we meet Homer himself invoking the Muse to tell us Odysseus' story.  But then, the skies are opened before us and we are swiftly taken upward to the mighty Mt Olympus where we are privileged with a glimpse  inside a discussion between the gods where Zeus brings up Agamemnon's son, Orestes, avenging his father's murder by killing his own mother and her lover after they plotted and killed him on his return from Troy.  We are reminded by Zeus himself that men tend to blame the gods for everything that happens to them, but that there are many things that happen to us that are indeed our own fault.   Zeus talks about the case of Agamemnon's son avenging his death as an example.  Following this, Athena brings up the case of Odysseus, the mortal she likes.  She requests Zeus' permission and help to help bring Odysseus home, even though he has foolishly angered Zeus' brother, Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding one of his sons, the cyclops, Polyphemus.      The Odyssey really has quite a complicated set up in some ways, and this week's episode which will cover the Telemachy is really more set up before we even meet the namesake main character, Odysseus in book 5.      There is a lot going on, there are a lot of Greek characters, a lot of backstory to explain why things are the way they are. Certainly a lot of intrigue and treachery has already taken place before we meet Odysseus on Ogygia's island, and we learn a lot of this context in the Telemachy.        True- the Telemachy or the first four books in the epic centers around Telemachus- and that is the name of Odysseus' son.  Odysseus' wife is named Penelope, and they had a son right before he had to leave against his will for the Trojan War.   The Odyssey opens with the story of Odysseus' son, but here in the Telemachy we also meet Penelope.  We meet Eurycleia.  She's a slave who has been a nurse for both Odysseus.  We meet Mentor.  It starts about a month before Odysseus arrives back in his homeland after his absences of 20 years.  In these first four books, we learn that Ithaca is in total chaos.  There is no leadership, no code of morality, no enforcer of the rules.   There has not been a assembly of the community in twenty years.  After the first four books of the Telemachy , the story switches over to Odysseus' captivity in book 5, where Hermes arrives at Ogygia and tells Calypso she must let Odysseus get home explaining to the reluctant nympyh that it is not his fate to stay with her forever.  The story of Odysseus' difficult journey from Calypso's island is from books 5-9- the stories about his journey over the last 10 years are told in the context of a flashback.  In chapter 15, we resume the Telemachy, with Telemachus arriving back home, and then in Book 16 Telemachus and Odysseus reunite and from there the story takes a totally different direction as these two seek to restore order and justice to Ithaca.  So, yes, it's slightly complicated.  But what do we expect from an epic!!!       I think it's likely that if you were Greek listening to this story being sung by Homer, himself, you already knew the stories at least in part, so the complicated plot line and characters weren't confusing like they can be for us today. But even today, so many of us are familiar with many of these story lines from different places.  For example, just the name mentor- I've heard that word used all my life, but I didn't know Mentor was the name of a man in the Odyssey who mentored Telemachus.  There's a lot of references in pop culture to a lot that we're reading- from the various gods that show up in movies, or monsters that have found their way in video games, or even just portions of the stories that have been told in things like cartoons.   Things like cyclops and sirens are a part of the culture of the world, and it seems I've always known what they were not necessarily knowing they came from The Odyssey.  For me, the best way to read this book, is not to try to keep track of all the names and characters.  It's easy to get  lost in the details of the different digressions. I found that just reading through is the best plan- and if I forget who Mentes is or Eurymachus, I can still understand what's happening in the story.  It doesn't hurt the overall understanding if we don't understand every detail of every story Menelaus, Nestor or Helen want to share with Telemachus.      No, I agree, the main ideas are easy to follow.  For one reason and this was also one thing we talked about last week is how Homer pares down the complicated Greek pantheon of gods to a number small enough for us to manage, so the pantheon of gods isn't what is going to confuse us.  Once you know who Athena, Zeus, Poseidon and Hermes are, you are pretty much good to go, and these we will learn in context. But another reason is because the focus isn't on the gods it's on the family- and even that is pared down.  We are concerned about Odysseus' family.  The value and the place of the family is very important to Homer and to Greek culture.  Odysseus, as well as the other characters, but let's focus on Odysseus, always identifies himself in relation to his family- his father, Laertes, his son, Telemachus,  and/ or his wife, Penelope.  Understanding what these basic family relationships mean is of great interest to Homer.  What does it mean to be a father, a son, a wife?  What do we do with these roles?  How do they form our identity?     So,the Telemachy which is the first four books of the Odyssey focuses on Telemachus as the starting point of the story, which is a little unusual.  Telemachus is not the protagonist of the Odyssey.  He's also not very heroic, at least not as we think of Greek heroes.  In fact, a lot of literary critics absolutely reject Telemachus as anything but drain on Odysseus.  I am not going to see him like that.  I see Telemachus' role as unique, for sure.  And, he definitely is not a returning hero like his future, but he is still the future- but it is a different future.  He is the future for Odysseus, the future for Ithaca and will have to be defined differently.  Whatever Odysseus is to be in this world after he returns from Troy, he will be it in the context of his family relationships- and when we see Odysseus on the island with Calypso, we see him understanding himself just in that way.  Calypso has offered him immortality, but it's not what he wants.  As great as he is, as a hero, as a warrior, as a pirate, he is nothing alone, and so before we meet Odysseus in chapter five crying and groaning for home, we start by looking at Telemachus- the personification of Odysseus' home.  One thing to notice about Telemachus as a character, and this is something I didn't know until I researched him for this podcast, is that Telemachus is the ONLY character in Greek literature that is not a static character.      Just as a refresher, let me remind everyone that Static characters are characters that don't change in stories. The character traits that define them at the end of the story are the same as the ones in the beginning and usually the one that creates the tragedy.  We saw this in both Oedipus and Antigone.  No one in those stories is willing to change- hence the problem.  Dynamic characters are characters that are changed by the experiences of the story- either for the better or for the worse, so you're saying that NO other characters besides Telemachus experience change over time or grow up?    I'm not saying it.  Greek scholars CMH Millar and JWS Carmichael made that claim in the journal Greece and Rome, but yes- that's it exactly.  Greeks are famous for their tragedies, but how the stories are set up with those chorus' and all, it's not designed for characters to develop inside the story- maybe between stories- Oedipus certainly changes between stories, but not within a story.  Telemachus is the only character where, the point of him is to see him change over time. So, whatever this change is, is obviously something very important to Homer.  And for Homer, the change is explicitly stated- it is not implied- it is absolutely stated through the various characters who will talk to Telemachus.  Homer is interested in showing us how a boy becomes a man.  Now, let me make the one obvious disclaimer, I am going to use gendered language because this is the way the ancient Greeks thought of this idea today we call coming of age- but please understand that this journey of self-discovery is not exclusively male – it's not even exclusively a path from childhood to adulthood, although that's always the language we employ and a good way of understanding this.    No- I think psychologically speaking, we could say that many adults never arrive to this sense of  manhood if you want to use the gendered language of the Greeks.  What Homer is clearly talking about is that place in a life's journey where any individual takes up the burden of personal responsibility- the transition from passive agent in one's life to active agent.  This is something that we think of as being nurtured by parenting because role models are how we learn in this world.  But parenting is a luxury not everyone experiences.  What do you do if you have no healthy role models in your world for whatever reason?   And what if you do- is a privileged birth a guarantee of future success? What we can see clearly in the life of Telemachus, especially if you compare him with the suitors and other sons in the Telemachy is that nothing is guaranteed- regardless of your advantages or disadvantages.  This acceptance of personal responsibility that the Greeks are representing through this language of becoming a man is something that no one can do for anyone else-  either a person takes on the burden of responsibility for his or herself and the others who are in their orbit or a person doesn't.  The suitors certainly think there is a shortcut to success, and so did the man who killed Agamemnon.       But, the gods don't allow these kinds of people to succeed ultimately- in the cases you just mentioned  both of these groups experience  the same fate- death.  Homer's gods absolutely make sure everyone gets hit with something- not even King Menelaus himself, married to the most beautiful woman in the world escapes the twists and turns of fate thrown at them by the gods.  But as we are told in the first lines of the story- what we do with the circumstances we are given are in large part what will seal the outcome of our existences.      And so the challenge of facing one individual's particular fate is broken down by looking at the particular circumstances facing Telemachus at this particular age.  Most scholars suggest he is probably 20, but that's not explicitly stated anywhere.  I think it's also interesting to note that the things he has to deal with are tremendously difficult problems and they are also not his fault.  Telemachus knows this and does what most people at least want to do when we are faced with tremendously large and difficult problems that are not our fault.  We meet Telemachus in the beginning  casting blame and sulking.  He's angry, but honestly it's easy life.  He gets pushed around by people who have literally injected themselves into his world, and he just sits in a corner.      I find it interesting that at one point Telemachus even claims that he's not even sure who his father is- even though- no one else seems to question this at all.  It's that kind of ‘who am I' that seems to be casting blame.  None of what we see in Telemachus here is very admirable or helpful.   Homer clearly illustrates the cost of doing nothing- regardless of the reason- and there are lots of good reasons to do nothing-  Telemachus has reasons to be intimidated.   He's young, he's outnumbered by men who are better trained, larger and older than he is.   He doesn't have any personal strength of mind, but maybe not of body either. At least at this point in the story, we can't be sure of how strong or smart he is.  He hasn't done anything to show us one way or the other.      Yes- and I'm glad you brought up strength of mind-  you have brought us exactly back to Athena- the goddess of wisdom.  That's who Telemachus needs and that who comes to intervene on his behalf.  The best of us are the ones who are good at listening to Athena, and thinking of wisdom as a Greek goddess speaking in our ear- is a very lovely way to conceptualize this.  In this case, he will hear a little voice speaking to him from outside of himself.  It will be on him to decide whether or not to listen to the voice.  Let us jump into the story and see how Athena meets Telemachus in book 1.  One magical element of the story is that Athena is a shape-shifter.  She can appear to people as anything or anyone she wants and that is what she does.  She is going to approach Telemachus as an old family friend, a neighboring king, a man by the name of Mentes.  As Mentes, she enters his house.      Page 81    Telemachus receives her/him well.  He gives him a seat of honor and tries to take care of the stranger.  It doesn't appear that he knows him.      No, and Athena, as Mentes, prophecies that his father will come home.  But Telemachus is despondent.  He's bitter at what has happened.  He's angry people have moved in and are taking over his home, siphoning off his wealth, and that his mother can't seem to do anything about it.  But it never occurs to him that HE can do anything himself.  He dreams of the day when his father will come back, he also longs to be famous in his own right. He dreams, but he cannot conceive of taking initiative himself.  Athena, the voice of wisdom must awaken him.  Let's read what she says in the person of Mentes    Page 86-87    First of all, he must remember who he is.  He is a son- a member of a family, he has responsibility to himself, but also to his father dead or alive as well as his mother.  Athena charges him to take up that banner of responsibility, but then she gives him a very practical plan.  Do this 1) get a boat, 2) find some associates 3) go get some advice from older successful men.  Find out the status of your family.  After you have information as to your actual status, come back and take hold of your own life.      It's also interesting that she compares him to this other prince we've heard about from Zeus, Prince Orestes who killed Aegisthus, a different lord who had made a play on his birthright and had taken him down.  There is this idea that gods will help you, but it's on you to take down your rivals.  Over the next three books, Telemachus kind of wakes up to this idea that nobody is coming- although in his case, someone IS coming, but Athena doesn't let him know that.      He wakes up to his own independence- his separateness from his mother, his nurse, his mentor, even this father- he is going to become comfortable with his own personhood.  Leaving home was Athena's strategy to enable this to happen in him.  He wakes up to a sense of responsibility- that it's on him to make something happen but lastly, he also wakes up to the difficulties of his mother's position.  He doesn't come across as empathetic at first, but this changes as he himself matures and we see this in book 15- he moves to viewing his mother as a woman with complicated choices and respects what she's managed to do and I, as a mom, appreciated this change in attitude, for sure. When Telemachus talks to his mom in book 1, and I know this is my own cultural understanding of a text of a different culture, but I was offended at how rude he appeared to me- more offended than Penelope was.  He bosses her around.  I want to read this, “So mother, go back to your quarters.  Tend to your own tasks, the distaff and the loom, and keep the women working hard as well.  As for giving orders, men will see to that, but I most of all: I hold the reins of power in this house.”  I would have wanted to say, young man, don't talk to your mother like that.  But, her reaction is not one of offense, but the word the Fagles uses is “astonished”.  And she obeys him almost happy.  It says she took to heart “the clear good sense in what her son had said.”              Well, I think she was astonished.  Here is this young man who has never taken agency in his life, and now he's going to try to stand up to her and to the suitors.  She seems to be glad he's at least owning the fact that he has responsibility in this household.  This is new.  In some ways, especially if you compare him to Orestes who is likely the same age as he is- that Telemachus might even be an embarrassment to her.  The suitors certainly have no respect for him.  In the very next paragraph it says they and I quote, “broke into uproar through the shadowed halls, all of them lifting prayers to lie beside her, share her bed.”  Penelope has been and IS  in real danger with no protection at all.  Now Telemachus tells the suitors to leave; they are amazed that he is willing to talk to them like that, even if they don't show any signs of actually moving or conceding space.  Antinous says this, “I pray that Zeus will never make YOU king of Ithaca, though your father's crown is no doubt yours by birth.”  In other words, I know this is your birth right but if you cannot claim it, you cannot have it.  The idea being, even if something is yours by birthright, it's not really yours until you can claim it.    Leadership as we all know, is more than a position, there must be an element of person charisma that creates respect.  When someone is supposed to be charge who does have personal charisma and who cannot garner respect, someone else who does will snatch it regardless of who holds the official position.      And that's where we are in the story here in Book 1.  Telemachus should be a king, but he is trapped in a place where he can't get anyone to respect him even if he wanted them to.     According to Aristotle, albeit years later, one essential part of being a king or leader is the ability to dispense justice.  That is what kings do in the ancient world, and really that's what good leadership is supposed to do to this day.  Telemachus has not done that up to this point; he has not been able to do that in any way for various reasons- and the reasons are understandable.  But that doesn't matter.  He has not administered his properties; he is not administering justice in his realm of influence, and so Telemachus has no authority and his world has no harmony.  Until he can figure that piece out, he is not in charge, he is not a king.  And so the question the text brings up, is how can he do this?  And of course the first step is that he must realize it's on him to do it.  Telemachus is going to have to construct his own authority in the eyes of those suitors.    Well, that's true, and honestly, he has to construct authority in the eyes of the reader of the text as well.  WE have to decide he's worthy, especially after we see everything that Odysseus is and has been.  If Homer can convince us that Telemachus is worthy, then we can accept and even feel glee when we see what happens to the suitors at the end of the story.  It will feel like a king dispensing justice and not just vengeance.  That's an important distinction.  Justice is for everyone; vengeance is personal.  And of course, at no time either in book 1 or in book 2 are we convinced that Telemachus is capable of of being a king.  In book 2, he calls an assembly together of all the Acheans.  This is a big deal.  No assembly has been called since Odysseus left twenty years before.   Everyone crowds around, the elders come in, Telemachus takes his father's seat.  Nine speeches are given by various people, but on first pass nothing good comes out of any of this.  Telemachus is filled with anger, he complains about what they have done but ultimately he dashes the speaker's scepter and bursts into tears.  None of that is great, but it IS a start.  The text says that everyone felt pity, but what does that do.  They just sat there in silence.  One of the suitors, Antinous, speaks up and basically says, well, it's really your mother's fault.  She won't pick a new husband, but instead has tricked us.  She told us she would marry someone when she finished making this shroud for her father-in-law Laertes, but every day she weaved it and every night she unraveled her work, so that the shroud was never done.  This went on for three years. Antinous calls Penelope “matchless queen of cunning” which is quite the backhanded compliment, but ultimately, he is taking the focus away from Telemachus.  Telemachus appears to be a nothing here.  On the other hand, and let me ask this question, from a historical perspective,  I never really have understood why Penelope had to get married.  Why couldn't she just be the queen?      Well, I'm not totally sure, remember this culture is mysterious.  One idea might be that warring and pirating is such a key component of the culture, so as not have a warrior as the head would leave a kingdom vulnerable to invaders- that may be one idea.  But, I will say, just in general, that it's important to understand that every single character in this story is an aristocrat.  These are not common people.  They are rulers, and in the world of aristocrats, and this is not just in Greek culture, but all cultures to this day, if we're honest, people put a lot of effort in planning and selecting marriages.  Social interchange between families creates links of union and interdependence that are the hallmark of the history of humanity as a whole.  So, in that sense, marriage is a political and economic game that can be won or lost.  Men compete- and this is no more obvious than with this actual game we will see being played by these suitors.  I think it's important to note that all of these suitors come from good aristocratic families.  These are not beggars or miscreants that are moving in on her.  They are Greece's finest, so to speak, men who feel like they can compete and deserve to be a king.  What is a little difficult to understand here is who is supposed to be responsible for the choice of Penelope's next husband, and we see different answers depending on who's talking here. Athena tells Telemachus to send his mother back to her father and to let her father make this choice.   Antinous says something similar, but if Antinous sends Penelope back, the he's the one in charge, not Telemachus.  If she goes back because Antinous told her to, basically the suitors have already seized authority over Penelope in making this decision for her and taking it away from Telemachus.  What we can say for sure, is there is a power vacuum in Ithaca- Telemachus may have the position of leadership because of his birthright, but he doesn't possess the charisma or the moral authority at this point to exercise any leadership and be listened to.  He is ignored and irrelevant.      That is the point of his own Odyssey.  And I think that's the whole idea that people have intuitively understood.  The first step in manhood and I'll use the gendered language of the Greeks, the first step to growing up is understanding that you have to do something and if you don't- others will swoop in and make those decisions for you, but the decisions others make likely will not be in your best interest.   Even if you start out disadvantaged, just as Telemachus is starting here, there are things you can do to help yourself.  For Telemachus, that's what he gets from listening to the goddess Athena and discerning her words of wisdom.  He gets up, calls an assembly, announces his plan.  He heard Mentes and figured out that those were words he should be listening to- they were the words of the goddess Athena.  But after listening, he still has to make a choice, he has to actually pick up and do what Athena told him to.  And he does.  He goes to the storehouse, collects goods for the trip, he talks to his nanny and tells her to not tell his mom for at least 10 maybe 12 days,  and he even faces down the suitors, clearly establishing to their faces that he views them as enemies.  He calls out the game.  And let me further note, as soon as he starts moving, Athena also engaged the world and pushed others to help him.  She also drugs the suitors so he can get out without being challenged.      Page 105        And off he goes first in book 3 and then in book 4 to older wiser men- King Nestor at Pylos and then King Menelaus at Sparta.  One interesting little side-bar is that scholars really do not agree  as to what he gets out of this trip if anything.  For sure, he doesn't get what he sets out to get.  He doesn't find his father.  They also don't agree on how long he was gone.  Homer in a couple of places implies he's only there a couple of days, but in other places, and if you match up Telemachus leaving Ithaca with Odysseus leasing Ogygia, he would need to have been gone about a month.      I think the month idea makes more sense especially if you think about the changes that occur in Telemachus while he's gone.    Well, I agree.  Also there's that detail that the nurse was told not to tell her for 10-12 days, so that's another hint, that Homer understands and expects his audience to understand Telemachus is gone longer than a couple of days.  Anyway, I'm not sure it matters a whole lot- the transformation is the transformation and the reunion on the other side will be the reunion on the other side.  In Pylos, he meets Nestor's son, Peisistratus, who has had a much more normal upbringing than Telemachus had. Pylos is kind of the example of family that has gone right.  Nestor, even in the Iliad is kind of portrayed as a wise counselor who gives speeches and advice.  Although it has been pointed out that at no time does Telemachus ask their opinion on what he should do.  He seems to be interested just in learning about the past, who his father way, how things have worked.    And he learns a lot about that.   Nestor talks  a lot about what happened at Troy- things I didn't know.  He talks about Achilles and Patroclus, about Ajax, King Priam and the role Odysseus played in the war.  He also tells Telemachus about his own journey home, and we revisit again this story about Agamemnon being murdered by his friend and Orestes murdering his father's murderer as well as his own mother.      To which I notice Telemachus said, “If only the gods would arm me in such power I'd take revenge on the lawless, brazen suitors.”  Basically, saying, I wish I were like that guy.   It's very obvious that Telemachus doesn't know how to act in this world and that is exactly why Athena sent him out.  Ithaca is not the world of Pylos or Sparta.  In fact, it's very different, but there are things to learn.  He learns by listening to how other men act and how he they interact with each other.  He learns how to conduct himself religiously, too.  How do I stay out of trouble with the gods.  The day after the big banquet Nestor throws, Nestor sends his youngest daughter Polyoaste to give Telemachus a bath.  There are those who suggest this detail of the bath is designed to express some sort of a baptism, if you want to see it that way.  Telemachus emerges and I quote, “looking like a god”.  I don't know if that's a stretch- sometimes literary people can stretch stuff.      Maybe a bath is just a bath,    yes or maybe it IS a baptism.  Who knows.  What we do know for sure is that Nestor sees something great in Telemachus, something the suitors haven't seen.  Nestor sees leadership, something, we as readers haven't seen either and Telemachus responds to this.  Nestor gives him horses, a chariot and sends him off with his own son to Sparta.  In Sparta, we are going to assume he stays for about a month, he will see and experience the life of the most successful man in Greece, Menelaus, husband to Queen Helen, the woman who started the Trojan war.  Telemachus is overwhelmed by the amazing opulence of this environment.  He's never seen anything like this before.  In terms of wealth, this is the ultimate.      The main takeaway from my perspective for Telemachus is comparing how Menelaus conducts affairs successfully and we can compare this to how things are going in Ithaca.  If we think about the last conversation Telemachus had about his mother not getting married, how interesting that we see Menelaus conducting not one but two marriages- and not even his child through his wife.  Menelaus is creating that most political of arrangements- marriages- two of them.  WE can already see that Telemachus is less awkward meeting Menelaus than he was meeting Nestor, even though this stage is even bigger.  He's speaking is more controlled and more confident to the point that when Menelaus offers him three horses, and he actually declines because horses are impractical in Ithaca.  In other words, this version of Telemachus can engage a great man like Menelaus as an equal.      Or man to man- to use a gendered expression- and this really impresses Menelaus.  WE don't know what all happens in Sparta really.  We do get to hear Helen's side of the Trojan war story, which I found really interesting, but we don't really have time to get into that- suffice it to say, it's not her fault.  The main takeaway is that by the time Telemachus leaves Menelaus which isn't until book 15, he's ready to go home.  The Telamachy won't pick up again until book 15 when Athena sends him home.  But by book 15, Telemachus is aware of his responsibilities, and we see this new Telemachus- Telemachus 2.0 as a man of action.  I know it's getting a head in the story if we look by chapters, but by book 15, Telemachus is going to offer political asylum to a wanted murderer in Ithaca.  This is stepping out in the realm of administering justice.  The man's name is Theoclymenus.   Theoclymenus is a prophet and interprets for Telemachus and omen of a hawk who is appearing on the right with a dove in its talons.  He correctly predicts that “no family in Ithaca is kinglier than yours; you will have power forever.”  That's always a nice thing to say.      And so, there we go, now Telemachus is set up for the confrontation, now we just need to get Odysseus home.      Yes- and that is what books 5-8 are about as well.  Odysseus also must find his way to those sandy shores- but before he does, he's going to tell the King who will take him how he ever got himself in the mess he did.  And next episode, we'll listen in and find out why you should never expect a Christmas party invite from a cyclops.  There's the tip for the day.      Ha!  Well, I'll keep my hopes down on that score.  Thank you for listening.  If you are enjoying this series on Homer and the Odyssey, please remember to give us a rating on your podcast ap.  And of course, share an episode with a friend.  Also, don't hesitate to connect with us via email, our website www.howtolovelitpodcast.com, Instagram, Facebook, linked in or any other social media ap you use.   And if you are listening to this in real time, we hope you are getting off to a great start in this year 2022.             

In this episode, we break down Odysseus' famous journey to Ithaca from Troy. Every scene in this story is famous, from the Lotus-Eaters to the Cyclopes. from the sorceress Circe to the House of Hades, and from the Sirens to the Flock of Helius. Join us as we look at all of these famous adventures and discuss what to admire in Odysseus and what you should definitely not admire!  Follow us on Twitter! @UlmtdOpinions

More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Book 13 features monologues from heroes like Ulysses and Ajax, from queens and nymphs like Galatea, and monsters, like Polyphemus. All in all, this book is a potent reminder that human speech has been the primary vehicle driving the action in the Metamorphoses. Polyphemus is an especially interesting case because instead of appearing as a monstrous, shadowy presence on the edge of the world, eating Greeks and bashing ships, he has his own real character, expressed through his (somewhat, possibly) charming song attempting to win the heart of Galatea. While still obviously lacking the rhetorical polish of Ulysses, there can be no doubt his speech has its own unassuming, sincere charm. All of this makes us ask about the place and power of speech in the world of Ovid. How much power does speech have to transform the world? How much power does slippery rhetoric, and even straightforward lying, have to influence our perspective? If we assume speech has significant power, which it seems that Ovid does, do the poets wield that power for good or evil? What do those terms even mean in this universe of constant, churning transformation?

Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson have snuck out to find Grover and the Golden Fleece which is in Polyphemus' lair in the Sea of Monsters! Will they make it? Will they be able to save Camp Half Blood? What is Luke even planning? Listen on and find out! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nerdy-podcats/message

It's the ultimate showdown: Polyphemus' lack of hospitality versus Odysseus's hubris. Which will the gods hate more? The answer may surprise you! Topics include sympathetic Disney villain prequels, strange character design, monster friends, who gets to boast in Greek mythology, and which characters deserved more from the Star Wars sequel trilogy (Hint: All of them).Spoilers for Dr. Stranger, Supernatural, Adventure Time, Star Wars (Sequel Trilogy), How to Train Your Dragon, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and Futurama  Content Warning: This episode contains mentions of and conversations about cannibalism, meat-eating, murder, physical violence, abandonment, abuse, and death. Siren Songs of Adventure Time Bonus Episode up at Bunker 9: Patreon.com/musesofmythologyLearn more about Native Women's Wilderness at https://www.nativewomenswilderness.org/Following Entering Storybrooke on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/storybrookepod/Check out the other Riordanverse podcasts mentioned in the episode:Through the Mist https://linktr.ee/through_mistAbout UsPodcast of Poseidon was created and co-hosted by Darien and DJ Smartt.Our music is Athens Festival by Martin Haene. Our cover art is by Audrey Miller. Find her on Instagram @bombshellnutshellartLike the show? Ready for more? Support us on Patreon and get instant access to bloopers, outtakes, and bonus episodes! Patreon.com/musesofmythologyFind us @PoscastOfPoseidon on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Find all of our episodes and episode transcripts at PodcastOfPoseidon.comSupport the show

Polyphemus realizes that Grover is a satyr and not a Lady-Cyclops so he decides to marry Clarisse instead. Annabeth becomes Nobody and tries to distract the Cyclops while Percy rescues Clarisse and Grover.

In this episode we'll explore Odysseus and Polyphemus on the Eleusis Amphora.For more information visit, https://smarthistory.org/eleusis-amphora/

Read the post and see the picture here: https://thewildlife.blog/2021/08/04/dispatches-from-somewhere-4-antheraea-polyphemus/ Support The Wild Life at www.patreon.com/thewildlife Support this podcast

In which we discuss the third book of the Aeneid. Book three has Aeneas relating the tale of the Trojans as they journey from the shores of burning Troy to their arrival at Carthage, where they are hospitably and warmly received by Dido, the Carthaginian queen. (As the next book will reveal, this hospitality will not ultimately be reciprocated by Aeneas, to say the least). Because this book follows the path of Odysseus' journey in the Odyssey so closely, we spend much of our time comparing and contrasting these two journeys, giving particular attention to the very different encounters with Polyphemus, the monstrous cyclops blinded by Odysseus. What kind of leader is Aeneas? What kind of a leader was Odysseus? What kind of leadership is held up by the poem as ideal and why? We also consider some murkier, more metaphysical, depths about the nature of meaning and truth. How do morals and meanings exist? Where do they come from and what grounds them? The Trojans, being literal (but not, perhaps, especially literary) seem to be seeking a literal piece of ground on which to built a nation, and from which to emanate a moral order. Sometimes we say “the history determines the metaphysics of the poem,” and sometimes we say “the metaphysics determines the history of the poem.” Join us on our own journey of trying to understand just what we mean by all those words.

The Sea of Monsters, ch. 15 to 17 (cw: discussion of animal mutilation from 9:52 to 10:10) This week, the Unwise Girls talk the latest in Percy Jackson movie news, deliberately spread misinformation, grouse about the retread-heavy story and how disappointing Polyphemus is as an antagonist, wish for more for Grover than being a damsel-in-distress goatboy-in-a-dress, and do our own retreads as we get sucked back into an old whirlpool argument. Check out our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/unwisegirls)! Follow the show (https://twitter.com/unwisegirls). Hosted by Jacqueline (https://twitter.com/swampduchess) and Jane (https://twitter.com/janeyshivers). Edited by Jacqueline. Cover art by Vera (https://twitter.com/Innsmouth_Inn). Intro/outro credit: On Hold For You by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/6928-on-hold-for-you License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Join us as we approach the end of Sea of Monsters - our favorite heroes escape Polyphemus, but run into Luke, who gives an award winning Evil Villain performance. Follow us on social @camphalfpod

Let's chat about this beautiful giant silk moth! Check out the instagram for pictures from what we talked about in this episode as well as the others! The handle is @thegreatnortheastpodcast

Ok! This cyclops Polyphemus really has only half a brain. In this episode we will experience the waves of fear and anger of the characters as they do the scary, horrifying and the near impossible

Rev. Nick Chambers speaks on the Gospel of Mark 8:31–38

This episode, Abi and Sarah bring you our interview for Season Two with the wonderful Hardeep Dhindsa (*trumpet fanfare*). In our fascinating chat with Hardeep, we cover issues like the discipline divides in the UK, whiteness and Classics, and why most Classicists are “afraid of post-modernism”. (Honestly, anything this side of the eruption of Vesuvius is all a bit much for us). And we do this, all within an episode that brings you art (just can’t help ourselves), Troy and Troy: Fall of a City, studying in Rome, The Carter’s Apeshit, and Hardeep just generally ticking all of our mythological boxes (we’re looking at you Polyphemus and Sarpedon). The title of this episode was lovingly ripped straight from Hardeep’s own MA thesis (with his kind permission) because we can’t resist a pun.

If you ask us, this episode is *eye*conic.We’re *eye*ing up one of our favourite mythological figures, the Cyclops, Polyphemus (yes he’s got a name guys, let’s use it). He’s our *blind* drunk, *eye*rate, *eye*ronic friend with just the one peeper (or is it just one?). In Part One of this topic, we’ll be taking you through his journey from epic monster to preening (if ambitious) pastoral suitor and finding out how he got there. You might have to turn a *BLIND EYE* to his actions – but hey, Nobody’s perfect, right?

If you ask us, this episode is also pretty *eye*conic.In Part Two of this topic, we bring you the main theme of the Cyclops – transgression (ooooooooh). Transgressing more than just the social norm of “don’t kill people for cheese”, Polyphemus is found crossing (or failing to cross) boundaries of love, genre, and landscape. All in all, he’s just a big, hairy guy with a bit of an anger issue and we think he deserves some Blind Love.

This is an ancient tale indeed! It comes from one of the most famous books in the world, Homer's ODYSSEY. The hero of our tale, Odysseus, lands on a strange island and soon becomes the captive of the giant one-eyed monster Polyphemus. The vivid nature of this story made it a favorite of the ancient Greeks, and the scene of the blinding of the cyclops, which I have illustrated here, is one that has been reproduced over and over again for hundreds and hundreds of years-isn't that amazing!!? We must warn listeners that this episode involved the Cyclops hosting a BBQ of some poor greek soldiers! It is an old story and they were often the most gruesome- I think older kids will relish the adventure in this one, however, and so to them, I pass the story on!!Please Subscribe, rate and review!Bonus Material available weekly on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/landofnodlearning?fan_landing=trueJoin us on Instagram!https://www.instagram.com/landofnodlearningJoin our Facebook page!https://www.facebook.com/landofnodlearningListen on Apple podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/land-of-nod-kids-stories/id1539956312Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/69uOzUlxEwNaoCnkMV92OUListen on Castboxhttps://castbox.fm/channel/Land-of-Nod-%7C-Kid's-stories-id3807844?country=ieSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/landofnodlearning?fan_landing=true) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Books 5-9 of The Odyssey, as translated by Emily Wilson. Well, well, well. Finally we learn what Telemachus’ deadbeat dad has been up to for the past 20 years! Jackie and Rachel tell tales of their own past on the high seas, and Theo finally becomes interested in the book. Topics include: a terrible seal plan, our best boy Polyphemus, Ancient Greek feminism, Odysseus taking things way too far, and, as always, lots and lots of oil. Content warning: The Odyssey contains discussion of violence, sexual assault, animal sacrifice, and slavery.

We've gone from the multi-eyed Beholder to the now singled eye cyclops, I'm sure Polyphemus would be proud of us. Or maybe not, I dunno. You think their tears are bigger as a result, and can be used as lube? Actually, don't answer that, I don't want to think about it. Art is by Cha.sai (@bobaaaatea | https://twitter.com/bobaaaatea )!

In our final episode on the Sea of Monsters, our crew escapes Polyphemus, has a run in with Luke, some more prophecy fun, and we get a BIG reveal for the remainder of the series. Charles and Asia get into more Clarisse, some more budding romance, and a really nice tie-up to the Tyson plotline. We discuss the merits and successes of the gods’ parenting skills, and start speculation for the next book. Next week we will be reading chapters 1-10 of book 3 in the series, the Titan’s Curse.

In our final episode on the Sea of Monsters, our crew escapes Polyphemus, has a run in with Luke, some more prophecy fun, and we get a BIG reveal for the remainder of the series. Charles and Asia get into more Clarisse, some more budding romance, and a really nice tie-up to the Tyson plotline. We discuss the merits and successes of the gods' parenting skills, and start speculation for the next book. Next week we will be reading chapters 1-10 of book 3 in the series, the Titan's Curse.

Our brave trio has finally made it to Polyphemus' cave deep in the Sea of Monster where they find... Diego and Sam from The Half-Blood Report! Together our brave team off podcasters succeed and fail many times in their discussion of Percy's journey this book to overcome his internalized prejudice and discuss the nature of success and sacrifice while reading Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters Chapters 15 and 16 "Nobody Gets the Fleece" and "I Go Down With The Ship" through the theme of Success! More Half-Blood Report: @halfbloodreport https://open.spotify.com/show/0Wcw3or4P5kI6tuZYTLD4p?si=ud9ndFMORpylZach9PahkA Check out bonus content on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/returntocamp Follow us on Twitter & Instagram: @ReturnToCamp For more of your Hosts: @brydnstllmn @niamhhsherlock @avapirie Buy cool merch at Redbubble: www.redbubble.com/people/onthevergepro/shop Offerings: http://bit.ly/Off-SoM Music: https://www.purple-planet.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/return-to-camp-half-blood/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/return-to-camp-half-blood/support

What do you think of when you hear the word clever? Do you think of the sly fox outwitting the crow in Aesop's fables? How about Odysseus tricking the cyclops Polyphemus? Maybe you think of someone you know who always seems to twist things to their favor. Whatever it is, it's clear that being clever can be used for both good and evil. Sometimes, however, being clever doesn't turn out the way you think. Today's stories are all about being clever. From prideful mice to vengeful cannibals, we'll hear a wide range of what being clever can look like. We'll also be able to see what the consequences are when being clever backfires. We'll have the pleasure of hearing from Ingrid Nixon, Cindy Rivka Marshall, Martha Hamilton, Willy Claflin, and Tim Lowry.  On Today's episode, enjoy the following:Story Spotlight:- “The Three Snake-leaves” by Ingrid Nixon, from Grimm's with a Twist (11:26)Storytime pieces:- “The Magic Pomegranate Seed” by Cindy Rivka Marshall, from By the River – Women's Voices in Jewish Stories (8:57)- “How Brazilian Beetles Got Their Gorgeous Coats” by Martha Hamilton with Mitch Weiss, from How & Why Stories World Tales Kids Can Tell (2:58)- “Lion and Mousie” by Willy Claflin from Goat Whisperer (4:05)- “Mutsmeg” by Tim Lowry from Getting the Creeps (14:54)-      "Silly Jack" by Ed Stivender 

This week, we encounter the crypt keeper, a cyclops, and a mysterious stranger. 

Javier Reyes, host of the Locked on Padres, joins the podcast. He had never seen Bull Durham before being asked to come aboard and he was impressed how the movie moved away from typical sports films. We also remember the name of the cyclops in The Odyssey and give love to Andrew Davis, director of The Fugitive. Follow his podcast at @LO_Padres   Join the Bull Durham Minute Dugout on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/928386427538867/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/BullDurhamMin

Welcome to the campest Camp in Nazi Germany - Bergeroff and Merengue...It is the way forward...Unless your name is Indy or Polyphemus... Then you are going to be trapped and praying for any way out... But that is not going to happen - not yet anyway... Welcome to Gallowtree, 1939...

Polyphemus and Dr. Jones are at the mercy of the WI as their search for the dreaded Necronomicon widens...They need to find the book before the Nazi Ockter sympathizers claim it as their own... But will the sinister Aunty pip them all at the post? And why does she want Polyphemus' goolies for his participation in the art of ghouling? Find out in this episode of Gallowtree: The Ghouls of Gallowtree... Rated PG (ish)...

Neptune is a very important energy. Neptune is God of the Ocean and of Fresh Water. in mythology, Neptune was the father of Polyphemus, one of the Cyclops. Odysseus had an important encounter with Polyphemus, an encounter that we can learn much from.

This selection is paired with Book 12 of The Odyssey by Homer. Get Issue 22 of NonBinary Review from Zoetic Press. In the twelfth century B.C.E., Odysseus sacked Troy and turned his eyes, thoughts and footsteps toward Ithaca and home. But having bested and blinded Polyphemus in the ninth book with a stake of wood Continue Reading… The post Siren’s Lament appeared first on Nonbinary Review.

Perhaps you remember reading The Odyssey in high school or college (or possibly you picked up Emily Wilson’s fabulous new translation). Even if you haven’t, you’re probably familiar with the cyclops scene. Odysseus and his men find themselves trapped in a cave with Polyphemus, the deranged, man-eating, sheep herding, one-eyed beast. Odysseus hatches an ingenious escape plan: they wait for the cyclops to fall asleep and then stab him in the eye with a sharpened log. Enraged and blinded, Polyphemus staggers to remove the stone he had rolled in front of the entrance of the cave, which frees Odysseus and his men.It’s brilliant and, best of all, Odysseus, never having given the cyclops his real name, is off scot-free. But then, just out of reach of the bleeding, angry, shouting cyclops, he turns back and taunts:“Cyclops! If any mortal asks you howYour eye was mutilated and made blind,Say that Odysseus, the city-saker,Laertes’ son, who lives in Ithaca,Destroyed your sight.”Odysseus just couldn’t help himself. He wanted the credit. And he stupidly forgot that Polyphemus’ father was Poseidon, and that the lord of the sea was unlikely to act kindly towards someone who had blinded his son. This moment of hubris cost Odysseus something like ten years of his life, as Poseidon threw up countless obstacles, one after the other, between Odysseus and his wife, Penelope, back home in Ithaca. It’s a lesson that many people have heeded (and plenty of others have painfully forgotten) ever since. Marcus Aurelius, for his part, talked often about the worthlessness of credit. So you did a good thing, he says, why do you need to be thanked for it? It felt good to do, it helped someone else, why do you need the third thing of credit or recognition or gratitude? The same goes for a clever plan or successful business deal. Do you really need people to know you pulled it off?The answer is that you don’t. In fact, it’s usually better not to get credit (because the ‘right thing’ is not always appreciated, because other people might get jealous, because it puffs up your ego). Think about that today, and remember it always. You don’t need credit. That’s not what should motivate you. Do the right thing because it’s right. Pursue excellence because that’s what you do. Leave the recognition and the rewards alone.

STORY  0:00 – 1:03:45 This episode includes all of the adventures – the horror, the comedy, and the strategy – inside the cyclops Polyphemus’ cave.  The episode concludes with Odysseus being cursed, followed by a short primer on how to curse one’s enemies, Bronze Age style. POST-STORY COMMENTARY:  UNDERSTANDING XENIA  1:03:45 – 1:25:37 The Odyssey’s... The post EPISODE 2 CYCLOPS appeared first on ODYSSEY: THE PODCAST.

Odysseus begins to tell his story... So far it involves people who eat Lotus and a giant with one eye named Polyphemus.  CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing. Sources: The Odyssey by Homer translated by Emily Wilson. Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Odysseus begins to tell his story... So far it involves people who eat Lotus and a giant with one eye named Polyphemus. CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or monsters, I'm not as deferential as I would be were I referencing the real thing.Sources: The Odyssey by Homer translated by Emily Wilson.Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here: mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

GoldsMiffs!  It's yet another week and another installment of The Odyssey. This one involves a debut appearance from a famous mythical creature. Our one-eyed friend the Cyclops. Just how will Odysseus and his men escape the clutches of the giant...  Hey you! Yes you. Why don't you follow us on social media at @MiffsPodcast. You can email us at MiffsPodcast@gmail.com and we love hearing your correspondence! Why don't you send us an email? Also please give us 5 Stars on ITunes. The only reason you should be exempt from doing THIS WEEK is if you have been blinded by a nobody. However, that is the only reason. Also you can now join our new group collective! Join the Miffs Podcast -The Miffsfits' page facebook group. Either click on the link OR search for it on Facebook. If you're feeling brave - post something on there and start a discussion! Why don't you also check out Matt's stand-up gig listings on his website:http://www.matthosscomedy.com/upcoming-gigs-1/http://www.matthosscomedy.com/viva-las-vegans/ Do you like what we do? Want to help contribute to us? Please donate to our podcast. This helps pay for stuff like trains, smelly National Express coaches and to pay for hosting the podcast. Donate how ever much you would like. If you wanted to do a one-off payment- please use Matt's Ko-fi account (let us know it is for Miffs or else Matt will keep the money for himself, even though he does all the hard-work). DONATE HERE! If you wanted to sustain the podcast over a duration, we can take regular payments from Patreon (like a dollar a week). The more you give the more we are able to give to the podcast. We do this podcast because we love it, so if you can't pay, don't worry. Just give us a rating and share with a friend. But if you can afford to give us some pocket money, we'd be eternally grateful. PLUS there will be some bonus content for Patreon donators (some of the best stuff). DONATE TO OUR PATREON HERE.   See you next week Miffsters and Miffsfits

Greek myths have always been powerful resources for thinking and feeling: they are ‘good to think with’. We shall illustrate this with the example of Polyphemus, the best known of the one-eyed, anthropophagous, pastoral giants known as the Cyclopes.  

KAREN LEEDER Karen Leeder is Professor of Modern German Literature at the University of Oxford, and Fellow and Tutor in German at New College, Oxford. She has published widely on modern German literature, especially poetry and has been active in translation in the UK and beyond: including a stint on the English PEN Work in Translation Committee, the Steering Committee of the British Centre for Translation and on the Board of MPT. DURS GRÜNBEIN Durs Grünbein was born in Dresden in the former East Germany in 1962. He has lived in Berlin since 1985, working as poet, essayist and translator from English, Latin and Greek, and now as Professor at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. He won Germany’s major literary prize, the Georg-Büchner-Preis, at the age of 33. Ashes for Breakfast (Faber), his ninth book of poems and his first in English translation, was launched at the 2006 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival.