The Odyssey XXII-XXIV on Core Curriculum

Odysseus killing the suitors in an illustration by John Flaxman (1755-1826)

Our journey is ended! This morning the final episode of Core Curriculum’s slow read through Homer’s Odyssey dropped, concluding the show’s fourth series. It’s been great.

In this episode, host David Grubbs talks to Coyle Neal, Jay Eldred, and me about the three climactic books of the Odyssey. Among the topics we discuss are Odysseus’s slaughter of the suitors and the numerous action movies it reminds us of; whether justice was served in the killing of the suitors and, especially, the slave girls who had collaborated with them; the duel of wits and cunning between Odysseus and Penelope upon their reunion; and the final restoration of order, with a little assist from Athena. There’s much, much more, but this is a good précis of a very rich discussion.

I had a great time on this episode and on all the Odyssey episodes I got to participate in. If you haven’t been following along, I hope you’ll go back to the first episode of the series. These are great discussions and have only deepened my appreciation of some of my favorite books.

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Thanks for listening! And stay tuned for the forthcoming fifth series of the Christian Humanist Radio Network’s Core Curriculum!