About The Odyssey

The Odyssey, the second of the epic texts attributed to Homer, and also a major founding work of European literature, is usually dated to around the 8th century BC. It is an epic poem, effectively a sequel to The Iliad, written in Ancient Greek but assumed to be derived from earlier oral sources, telling the story of Odysseus’ wanderings and his eventual return from the Trojan War to his home island of Ithaca.

The cultural background to the poem indicates a Bronze Age setting around 400 to 500 years before the Homeric literary period itself. The poem contains elements of myth and legend as well as sheer literary invention, and covers the ten years of its hero’s adventures from the destruction of Troy to his return to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus.

Of particular interest is the role of women in the Bronze Age culture described, represented in a sense by Odysseus’ guardian deity, Athene, the goddess of mind. Odysseus is an archetype of the person of intellect who uses brains and eloquence rather than brawn to outwit opponents and impress peers, and therefore sets the scene for later Greek Classical culture.

Source: Poetry in Translation website.

From stories of the heroes and victims of the iconic Trojan War and Odysseus' wanderings and return, Homer crafted the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundations of Greek and later literature.

In these great works, the many-sided character of Odysseus has fascinated later poets and writers, from the Greek tragedians through to Dante, Tennyson, Kazantzakis, James Joyce, and many more.

But the most fascinating, multifaceted - and problematising - take on his character may not be there, nor the 'greatest hero' played by Matt Damon in the upcoming Christopher Nolan film, nor Ralph Fiennes' 2025 war-damaged soldier but, I want to argue, Homer's own. 

For in his Odyssey, Odysseus is the consummate storyteller, shimmering variously, delighting all with his adventures among nymphs, goddesses and monsters, depending on his audience. 

But what will happen when he has to leave the world of stories to return to ‘rocky Ithaca, good for goats’ to become the returning head of the household, father, son, and husband to those he left so long ago? 

We explore these questions and more in a course of three lectures and seminars, live online, led by Dr Jan Parker, University of Cambridge. Wednesdays, 6.00-8.00 pm British Summer Time, 6 May to 20 May 2026.

Lectures

Lecture 1. Odysseus' other women: Human and magic. Odyssey, Books 5-6, 9-12

Lecture 2. Return to Ithaca and to those he left behind. Odyssey, Books 3-4, 14, 16

Lecture 3. Penelope … and aftermath. Odyssey, Books 19-24

Course Dates

Wednesdays, weekly, 6 May to 20 May 2026.
18.00-20.00 British Summer Time
19.00-21.00 Central European Summer Time
Morning or lunchtime in the Americas

Set Reading

Homer, The Odyssey (Oxford World’s Classics, 2018) or on the Poetry in Translation website, trans. A. S. Kline (2004). You can also buy a printed or audio version of this translation from Poetry in Translation.

Course Fees (all include VAT at 20%)

£130.00 Full price
£115.00 CAMcard holder
£115.00 student or pensioner on a low income

Dr Jan Parker is a Senior Member of the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge. Her latest book is The Iliad and Odyssey: The Trojan War, Tragedy and Aftermath (London, 2021) and article 'The Hero Returns' ARGO: The Hellenic Journal https://www.hellenicsociety.org.uk/publications/argo/ (October 2025). You can also read her article on Odysseus, Trauma and Identity in Antigone Journal.

To book, please click on the image below.