Reading The Odyssey!
By Virginia Vagt
Q: You mean Homer's Odyssey?
A: Yes. It's a story with a capital S!
Q: Isn't it difficult?
A: Not at all. Well, it's like getting to know a person. It takes time to get to know The Odyssey. It takes coming back to it, again and again, to hear, visit, and re-visit the story.
Q: What are you talking about? Isn't it a book?
A: The Odyssey is a great epic. Ever since The Odyssey was told (2,700 years ago) all stories about the lure of adventure compared to the steady peace of home, family life, and living in a closely-knit community are based on The Odyssey.
Q: So?
A: So...getting to know The Odyssey is worth it. It's worth the time to read and hear it.
Q: Hear It?
A: We get to know The Odyssey best by hearing it performed, or hearing it read aloud. The story was first told and later written down. In ancient times each performance took three days. Back then people excelled at story telling and listening.
Q: When can we catch a three-day performance of The Odyssey?
A: Hmmm...don't know. But you don't have to wait! Listen to it on CD through Books on Tape and performed by Alan Lee. Another way to meet The Iliad and The Odyssey is through Rosemary Sutcliff's excellent retellings for children: Black Ships Before Troy, The Story of the Iliad, 1993; and The Wanderings of Odysseus, The Story of the Odyssey, 1995. Both preserve the power of the original stories. Her version of The Odyssey simplifies the chronology, which helps, especially when the story is new to you and your family.
Q: By the way, what is the story about?
A: It's about the great adventures and return of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. He was the cleverest Greek warrior in the Trojan War. It was Odysseus who dreamed up the idea of the Trojan Horse. After the Greeks won the Trojan War, Odysseus started for home. But he was seriously delayed. Shipwrecks and various captivities (such as the Cyclops' Cave) and challenges (such as sailing safely past the Sirens) kept him away. He was away so long that back at home his wife and son and whole community were falling apart without him.
Q: Did he get back? Did it all turn out all right?
A: He got back. The second half of the book starts after he got home.
Q: Trouble at home?
A: Danger at home! Once Odysseus the King went away, others wanted to take his place. His rivals were waiting for him, as in "lying in wait for him!" It wasn't an easy homecoming.
Q: So the first story, The Iliad, is about war. And, The Odyssey is about peace?
A: Yes, and also about learning that you don't really know who you are when your family and community fall apart and when you're not taking a positive productive role in your community.
Q: No kidding?
A: No kidding.
Q: Sounds good.
A: It's still in print!
Q: So I was right, it is a book.
A: Yes, you're right. But think of The Odyssey as a story -- a story with a capital S!
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Virginia Vagt is a writer, speaker, editor and 13-year veteran homeschooling mom. Click here to read selections from Vagt's Be Encouraged column or, for additional resources, visit HomeFieldAdvantage.org.