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IN WHICH: we delve into the life and stories of Hephaestus, the god of fire, bearer of culture, architect and blacksmith to the gods. The child of dysfunctional immortals, he struggles to find a home and a family.

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IN WHICH: Odysseus is entertained by the rhapsode Demodacus, who is inspired to tell our hero his own story. An athletic competition gives rise to tension, which another story dispels. The entertainment continues over roasted boar, where art and life collide in a third and final story.

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IN WHICH: Odysseus casts an epic gaze over the palace of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, who demonstrate their hospitality and provide our hero with hope.

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IN WHICH: We explore the lineage of King Alcinous, Odysseus's host, tracing his family line back to the notorious and ill-fated race of Giants.

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IN WHICH: We return from an unexpected hiatus with a "party piece" - a performance of an excerpt from Alexander Pope's 1726 verse translation of The Odyssey, Book V.

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IN WHICH: Odysseus is rescued by a young princess engaged in pursuits of domestic management. Athena returns him to a state of manly elegance, and the princess promises him a speedy return to his homeland on a magical ship.

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IN WHICH: Odysseus uses guile and deceit to attain The Bow of Heracles from Philoctetes, the man he betrayed and abandoned ten years before.

Watch a video of "The Speckled Bull" - an Irish folktale descended from the myth of Heracles and Achelous HERE.

See artwork related to this episode HERE.

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IN WHICH: We recount the Roman story of the Achilleid, detailing how the immortal nymph Thetis tried to protect her all-too-mortal son Achilles from the perils of the Trojan War and how "wily Odysseus" contrived to foil her schemes.

SEE ARTWORK RELATED TO THIS EPISODE HERE.

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