This season, join us as we talk about the different ways that Odysseus is depicted in several ancient Greek authors and poems.
[00:00:00] Deborah: Welcome to Season 4 of Musings in Greek Literature. I’m Deborah Beck, Professor of Classics at the University of Texas at Austin. This podcast is a collaboration between me and the undergraduate students in my advanced courses in ancient Greek literature here at UT. The star of Season 4 of our podcast is Odysseus, one of the most well known characters from ancient Greek mythology.
Odysseus distinctive quality in all the stories in which he appears is his cleverness. Which he usually displays through his ability to say one thing while meaning something quite different. Some stories view this as an admirable trait, but others are skeptical of the good intentions of anyone who is so ready to lie.
Still, other stories featuring Odysseus see him as nothing but an amoral schemer who only cares about winning. In this season of our podcast, the students and I delve into the different ways that different stories and storytellers see Odysseus. He’s always good at shaping his words to fit the circumstances, but is that a good thing?
Or a bad thing? Both? Neither? Join us in Season 4 of Musings in Greek Literature to hear more.