Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey discuss Book Three of the Odyssey: KING NESTOR REMEMBERS.

The lovable old man from the Iliad returns to help set Telemachus on his way.

• More on Telemachus' coming of age story
• What power comes to rest on Telemachus?
• How did Great Ajax die?! (ignobly...)
• What caused the Achaeans to suffer the wrath of Athena?

Check out Dcn. Garlick's 50+ page guide to the Odyssey.

What happens in book three?

Telemachus arrives in Pylos to find King Nestor sacrificing eighty-one bulls to Poseidon and hosting a feast for forty-five hundred people (3.06). Athena, under the guise of Mentor, encourages Telemachus to speak to Nestor (3.16). Telemachus and Athena are welcomed warmly by Nestor’s son (3.40), and, after their meal, Nestor asks them who they are (3.77). Telemachus asks Nestor for news of his father, Odysseus (3.91), and Nestor recalls the “living hell” of Troy (3.113). Nestor tells Telemachus of the disaster that was the Achaean army returning home from Troy (3.147). Telemachus tells Nestor of the plight of the suitors (3.228), and Nestor tells Telemachus of Athena’s favor for his father, Odysseus—as Athena sits there in the guise of Mentor (3.247). Telemachus asks Nestor to tell the story of how Agamemnon died (3.282), and Nestor tells of how Agamemnon was betrayed by his wife and murdered (3.345).

As the conversation turned to returning to Nestor’s halls, Athena, disguised as Mentor, transformed into an eagle and flew away (3.415). Nestor explains to Telemachus what favor he must have with the goddess (3.420) and prepares a splendid sacrifice to Athena in her honor (3.429). He has the heifer’s horns sheathed in gold (3.488), and Athena returns pleased with this sacrifice (3.485). The book ends with them obeying Athena’s orders by preparing a chariot to take Telemachus to Menelaus in Sparta (3.335).

Join us as we read the Odyssey in this YEAR OF HOMER.

Dcn. Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey come together to discuss Book Two of the Odyssey: Telemachus sets sail.

• Summary of the book
• Discussion on key themes
• Aristotle's Metaphysics
• John Wayne references
• And more!

Check out our website for 60+ page reader's guide to the Odyssey.

What happens in book two?

Inspired by Athena, Telemachus addresses the assembly of Ithaca (2.25) and condemns the suitors and invokes the gods against them (2.70). In response, Antinous, a suitor, blames Telemachus’ mother, Penelope, the “matchless queen of cunning” (2.95) for refusing to return to her father’s house and letting him choose for her a new husband (2.125). Thus, the suitors will “devour” Telemachus’ house until a new husband for Penelope is chosen (2.136). Telemachus refuses to tell his mother to return to her father’s house (5.154) and announces he is leaving for Sparta and Pylos to seek news of his father (2.238). Athena, takes on the guise of Mentor—the man Odysseus left in charge of his affairs (2.250)—and reassures him in his mission (2.302). Telemachus has his nurse prepare provisions for his journey and swears her to secrecy (2.384). The book ends with Telemachus setting sail with his crew and pouring out libations to Athena, the goddess with the “flashing sea-gray eyes” (2.472).

Click HERE for more resources.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan are joined by Jason Craig of Sword and Spade magazine to discuss the theme of fatherhood in the Odyssey.

• The fatherhood of Odysseus
• The problem of fatherlessness in Ithaca
• The coming of age story of Telemachus
• And more!

Check out Sword and Spade magazine.

Check out our 60+ page guide to the Odyssey.

Join us as we read the Odyssey as part of our Year of Homer!

WE ARE STARTING THE ODYSSEY! Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Frank Grabowski and Mr. Thomas Lackey to discuss Book One of the Odyssey.

Check out our website - thegreatbookspodcast.com - for a written guide to the Odyssey and other resources.

Questions discussed:

• What happens in book one?
• What should be observed about the invocation to the Muses?
• What should be made of Zeus’ comment on fate?
• What happened to Agamemnon?
• What should be made of Telemachus?
• What major themes and narratives help unfold the story of the Odyssey?

Join us as we continue in our YEAR OF HOMER.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick welcomes Dr. Patrick Deneen, Dr. Chad Pecknold, and Dr. Richard Meloche to introduce Homer's Odyssey.

Dr. Patrick Deneen is a Professor of Political Science at Notre Dame. He is the author of many books and articles including Why Liberalism Failed (2018). His teaching and writing interests focus on the history of political thought, American political thought, liberalism, conservatism, and constitutionalism.

Dr. Chad Pecknold, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the Catholic University of America. “In political theology, Pecknold is principally concerned with close readings of Augustine’s masterwork, The City of God, as a fundamental and transcendent vision that inspires, and has the power to critique and correct, the dynamics of Western civilization.”

Dr. Richard Meloche, President of the Alcuin Institute for Catholic Culture, a ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and a colleague of Dcn. Garlick's at the Chancery.

INTRODUCTION TO THE ODYSSEY

The group discusses the canon of the great books, why we should read Homer and his Odyssey, the role of the great books in theological formation, and key introductory themes in Homer's Odyssey.

Against Great Books by Deneen: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2013/01/against-great-books

The Odyssey of Political Theory by Deneen: https://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Political-Theory-Politics-Departure/dp/0847696235?ccs_id=073621fb-e234-4289-9205-bc6fab3f444a

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Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss the events BETWEEN the Iliad and the Odyssey.

There is a notable gap between the Iliad and the Odyssey. As the Odyssey picks up after the fall of Troy, tradition turns to authors such as the Greek poet Sophocles, the Greek poet Euripides, and the Roman poet Virgil to tell the story of how Troy fell. The following questions, while tracking the fates of specific individuals, tell the narrative that occurs between the Iliad and the Odyssey. One may make a distinction between the Homeric tradition and the Greek tradition at large.

What does this episode cover?

What happens to Achilles?

What happens to Giant Ajax?

What happens to Paris?

What is the story of the Trojan Horse?

How does Troy fall?

What happens to Astyanax, Hector's son?

We start reading the Odyssey next! Join us!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss the FINAL book of the Iliad: Book 24 - Achilles and Priam.

Check out our 65-page guide to the Iliad!

I have put to my lips the hands of the man who killed my son.

Priam to Achilles (24.591)

103. What happens in book twenty-four?

The funeral games have ended, and Achilles, who still mourns for Patroclus, drags Hector’s body behind his chariot around Patroclus’ tomb (24.19). Twelve days after the death of Hector, Apollo pleads with the gods to save the body of the Trojan prince (24.39). In response, Zeus declares that “Achilles must receive a ransom from King Priam, Achilles must give Hector’s body back” (24.94). Zeus tells Thetis his plan, and Thetis informs her son (24.127). Zeus sends Iris to Troy to tell King Priam, who she finds smeared in dung and mourning his son, that the Father of gods and men commands him to ransom his son from Achilles (24.204). Priam, despite the protests of his wife (24.238), obeys the goddess and prepares to leave (24.259). Priam leaves Troy on his chariot alongside a wagon of treasure (24.382). On the plains of Troy, Priam is met by Hermes, under the guise of a Myrmidon, who guides him into the Achaean camp (24.526). Hermes reveals himself to Priam and tells the king of Troy to go into Achilles’ tent and hug his knees (24.546).

Priam does as he is told, and, hugging the knees of Achilles, kisses “his hands, those terrible man-killing hands that slaughtered Priam’s many sons in battle” (24.562). Priam exhorts Achilles to remember his own father, Peleus, and Achilles thinks of his father and weeps with Priam (24.595). Priam asks for the body of Hector (24.650), and though Achilles warns Priam not to tempt his rage (24.667), Achilles has the body of Hector washed and carries it to the wagon himself (24.691). Achilles promises King Priam that the Achaeans will wait twelve days before restarting the war to allow Troy to bury Prince Hector (24.787). Priam sleeps on the porch outside the lodge of Achilles, and Hermes wakes him up to send him home before Agamemnon finds him (24.808). Priam returns home to Troy, and Troy is “plunged… into uncontrollable grief” (24.831). For nine days, the Trojans “hauled in boundless stores of timber” for the funeral pyre of Hector (24.921). On the tenth day, they set the body of Hector “aloft the pyre’s crest, [and] flung a torch and set it all aflame” (24.924). The next day, the Trojans bury Hector’s bones in a golden chest and end the rites with a “splendid funeral feast” (24.942). And thus, Homer ends the Iliad with the burial of “Hector breaker of horses” (24.944).

104. What is the backstory of why Hera and Athena hate Troy?

In the final book of the Iliad, Homer makes reference to the narratives that led to the Trojan war. Hera states that she “brought up” Thetis and gave her in marriage to a mortal, King Peleus (24.72). The story goes that Zeus loved Thetis, but the Titan Prometheus told him that Thetis was destined to bear a son greater than his father.[1] As such, Zeus gave Thetis to Peleus, a mortal, so the son would also be mortal.[2] Homer’s reference of Hera’s role in the Iliad implies she had some part in this scheme as well. Peleus had to wrestle the immortal sea nymph, Thetis, as she changed shapes to win her heart.[3] He was successful, and the gods...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss Book 23 of the Iliad: The Funeral Games.

Check out this section of our guide to the Iliad!

Sleeping, Achilles? You’ve forgotten me, my friend. You never neglected me in life, only now in death. Bury me, quickly—let me pass the Gates of Hades.

Patroclus (23.81)

100. What happened in book twenty-three?

Now back at the Achaean camp, Achilles leads his Myrmidons in mourning around the body of Patroclus (23.13). That night, as Achilles lay by the shoreline, the ghost of Patroclus appears to him (23.76). Patroclus states: “Sleeping Achilles? You’ve forgotten me, my friend… bury me, quickly—let me pass the gates of Hades” (23.81). For as Patroclus further explains, he is not permitted to cross the river Styx until he has received his funeral rites (23.86).[1] Finally, Patroclus requests that his bones and the bones of Achilles be placed in a single urn and buried together (23.100). The next morning, Achilles has a pyre built for Patroclus (23.188). Achilles slaughters sheep, cattle, stallions, and two of Patroclus’ dogs and places them all on the pyre with Patroclus (23.190). He then slaughters a dozen young Trojans, as sacrifices to lay alongside Patroclus on his pyre (23.200). The pyre is lit and, after praying to two of the gods of the winds, it burns well (23.221). Meanwhile, Homer tells us that Apollo and Aphrodite are protecting the body of Hector from harm and decay (23.212).

Achilles tends to the pyre all night until “sleep overwhelms him” (23.265). Achilles awakes and tells the Achaeans to gather the bones of Patroclus and place them into a golden urn; then, the urn will be placed in a small barrow until Achilles dies, then a large barrow will be built for the two of them (23.281). Achilles then announces there will be “funeral games” (23.298), which will consist of a chariot race, boxing, wrestling, a footrace, a duel in battle gear, shot put, archery, and spear throwing. The culture of competition demonstrated in these funeral games would eventually give rise to the Olympics.[2]

101. Who won the funeral games?

The winners of the chariot race were in order: Diomedes, Antilochus, Menelaus, Meriones, and Eumelus (23.572). Eumelus received a consolation prize from Achilles (23.621). Menelaus accuses Antilochus of a foul, Antilochus concedes to him; yet Menelaus’ anger relents, and the Spartan king gives the second prize, the mare, back to Antilochus (23.680). Achilles gives the original fifth place prize to Nestor as a reminder of Patroclus (23.689). Epeus defeats Euryalus in a boxing match (23.769). Giant Ajax and Odysseus wrestle to a stalemate (23.818). Odysseus, with the help of Athena, wins the footrace (23.864). In the duel in battle gear, Giant Ajax goes against Diomedes, but the friends of Giant Ajax call for it to stop (23.913). Achilles then awards a sword to Diomedes as the winner (23.915). In shot put, Polypoetes takes the prize (23.939). Meriones, with the blessing of Apollo, defeats Teucer in archery (23.977). Lastly, Agamemnon wins the spear throwing contest by default due to his station as the high king (23.989).

102. What else should we observe in book twenty-three?

The apparition of Patroclus reveals the religious understanding that a body denied its funeral rites...