Who Wins the Odyssey?

Mark Buchan: Who Wins the Odyssey?

September 18, 2022, 12pm EDT

The Odyssey is a competition. Not only are all the main actors trying to win, they're also manipulating the rules of the assorted contests to help them win. But this begs the question: who does win? Looking in particular at the bow contest and its bloody aftermath, in this talk I'll argue that finding a winner isn't as simple as it seems. In passing, I'll also show how Emily Wilson's recent translation of the poem makes it much harder to work out who the true winner might be. So bring your best guesses (Odysseus? Telemachus? Penelope? The suitors?) and we'll fight (peacefully) over who comes out on top.

N.B. - You can view a recording of this, and other past events on Paideia's Youtube Channel.