Ad Navseam Episode 22: When will Dad be Home? - Homer’s Odyssey, Part 1

In this first of countless (?) episodes on the Odyssey, Jeff and Dave wash ashore on the opening books, Castaway style. Here we find Odysseus’ wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus, besieged in their home on Ithaca by greedy, gluttonous, mindless suitors, and with no idea when Odysseus is ever coming home. As with the Iliad, we consider the first word of the poem — ἄνδρα (andra, man) — and investigate how this might be a guidestone for understanding the epic’s deeper themes. Other key questions: will Telemachus rise to the occasion? How do the meanings of names (glint-eyed Athena) give us insight into character? And what’s Lazy Steve doing in this neck of the woods? Don’t miss the concluding yogurt.