From You’re Dead To Me: Iliad and The Odyssey

The new Odyssey movie was just released, with a star-studded cast including Tom Holland, Zendaya, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattison. If you’re a fan of fantastical myths and legends, heroes behaving badly, ancient Greek culture and want to know more about Homer’s epic poems that have inspired countless writers, artists and filmmakers for centuries, look no further than this episode of You’re Dead To Me from the BBC - the comedy podcast that takes history seriously.

Host Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Greece by historian Dr Emily Hauser and comedian and actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe to learn about the Iliad and Odyssey. Traditionally attributed to the poet Homer, these works tell parts of a legend that has fascinated us for centuries: the story of the Trojan War. Featuring a cast of unforgettable characters – Achilles, Odysseus, Paris, Helen, Hector and Agamemnon – the war between ancient Greece and Troy has inspired writers, artists and filmmakers for over a millenium. But the Iliad and Odyssey only recount episodes of this much bigger story.

In this episode, Greg and his guests trace the origins of the poems in the 8th century BCE, looking at whether Homer really wrote them and how these originally oral tales came to be written down, before exploring the fantastical tales they tell. Along the way, we also look at whether or not the Trojan war really happened, how the ancient Greeks defined heroism, and examine the role of gods and monsters in the poems and the lives of their heroes.

You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past. They have just launched a new season, so find more episodes of You’re Dead To Me wherever you get your podcasts.

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