The Odyssey is the hot topic for the summer of 2026. At Kosmos Society we have discussed the epic over the years, so here are just a few of the article posts, videos, and learning resources for those who wish to explore further. You can find a copy of the poem in the Text Library. Articles This is a selection of posts written by community members about aspects of the characters… Read more
The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours[1] is based on a course that Professor Gregory Nagy has been teaching at Harvard University since the late 1970s. The book discusses selected readings of texts, all translated from the original Greek into English. The texts include the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey; selected Homeric Hymns; the Hesiodic Theogony and Works and Days; selected songs of Sappho and Pindar; selections from the Histories of Herodotus;… Read more
In recent posts, Rhodes: the isle of Helios and Thera: the island of many names, we visited two Greek islands on the Aegean Sea. In this post, we will be sailing towards the sunset, to a mountainous island that was home to a famous trickster. 19 I am Odysseus son of Laertes, and I, with all [pāsi] my acts of trickery, [20] I-am-on-the-minds-of [melō] all [pāsi] humans, and my glory… Read more
And now she is back with the old dilemma – who caused the war? She has been blamed, Paris has been blamed but, fundamentally, it was the fault of Thetis, mother of Achilles. There is the old argument regarding Mésalliance, a goddess marries a mortal, some social discord is sure to arise[1] Some social disruption! The destruction of Troy, the wasting of a generation of men on both sides of… Read more
One of the study groups has been working on Odyssey 22, and in December 2020 Kosmos Society performed this rhapsody as one of the groups taking part in the Reading Greek Tragedy Online: Odyssey ’Round the World event. You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjdf99pofjo This Gallery features some visual depictions of this episode, also known as the Mnēstērophoníā, or Slaying of the Suitors. Odysseus has been absent for twenty… Read more