In your plan: Week 4, Mon, 9 Nov 2026.
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Overview
The Odyssey is the second great Greek epic attributed to Homer. It follows Odysseus, king of Ithaca, on his long journey home after the Trojan War, while his wife Penelope and son Telemachus struggle to hold his household together. Where the Iliad is about honour and grief, the Odyssey is about cunning, endurance and the wish to return. It is a rich source for thinking about identity, patience and resilience under long pressure.
Context
The poem was composed around 700 BCE, a little after the Iliad, from a long oral tradition of stories about the return of the Greek heroes from Troy. Sea travel and trade were growing in the Greek world, and the poem reflects both fascination and fear about distant places. The poem was central to Greek education and later became a model for travel and homecoming stories.
Read the full guide: chapter summaries, competing interpretations, key terms
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Curator's notes
- Why it matters
- Founding texts of the West. Iliad = honour and grief; Odyssey = cunning, endurance, homecoming.
- Use in training and coaching
- Ego conflict between leader and star performer; resilience over a long journey
- Connects to
- Greek tragedy; Virgil; Joyce's Ulysses
- What to read
- Iliad Books 1, 24; Odyssey Books 9–12, 21–23
- Text (date)
- Homer, Iliad and Odyssey (c. 750 BCE)
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