Monday Mar 17, 2025

The Odyssey, part 2: Failsons and deadbeat dads

This week we finally shut up about translations and get into some juicy themes and character analysis.

Telemachus: why is he such a dweeb compared to his dad? Rich argues that he's doing the best he can growing up with an absent father. The others are less sympathetic.

Odysseus: is his paranoid murderous rampage justified? what are his singular heroic attributes? Is he portrayed more as admirable or a hubristic figure? Why won't his men obey him?

On homecoming: Why was Odysseus away for so long? Was he kinda dragging his heels on the return voyage? How much strange was he getting? What motivated him to finally come home?

The Ancient Greek marshmallow test: exploring the recurring themes of self-denial, time preference, binding mechanisms, and whether playing the long game could arguably be the central theme of the whole poem.

CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) Telemachus the failson
(00:19:39) why the poem spends so much time on household politics
(00:29:31) Bronze Age morality redux: what have we learned?
(00:36:28) The Ancient Greek Marshmallow Test
(00:45:12) Odysseus’ slow homecoming
(00:57:04) Godhood and rat bastard cunning
(01:13:07) Suitor slaughtering time
(01:17:25) Final thoughts on Odysseus and bronze age heroism
(01:32:48) Listener mailbag and next book announcement

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The Odyssey, part 2: Failsons and deadbeat dads

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