Why The Odyssey endures
The Odyssey translator Emily Wlison and Oxford psychiatrist and philosopher Neel Burton on why Homer’s epic poem endures and what it says about the human condition.
Listen 49:58
(The Odyssey/Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pic/Melinda Sue Gordon - © Universal Studios)
The nearly three-thousand-year-old story of Odysseus and his ten-year struggle to get home to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope, after the Trojan War has been told, retold, interpreted, and reinterpreted. The Odyssey alone has inspired more than 60 English translations and dozens of movie and TV adaptations. Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster version of The Odyssey is shattering box office predictions with close to a billion dollars in ticket sales worldwide.
This week: why does Homer’s epic poem endure, what does it have to say about the human condition and what does Nolan get right and wrong about the story?
We’re joined by two guests:
University of Pennsylvania Classics professor Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of The Odyssey was praised for its accessible and musical use of language. She recently panned Nolan’s film.
Neel Burton is a psychiatrist and philosopher whose writing explores the wisdom of the ancient world.
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