Odysseus Comes Home to Penelope | The Odyssey Finale, Ep. 14

This is the final episode of a sleep-story adaptation of Homer's Odyssey: after twenty years apart, Odysseus and Penelope are reunited through the secret of the olive tree bed, and Odysseus finds his father Laertes in the orchard.

Euryclea climbs the stairs to wake Penelope, who can't let herself believe the news. She comes down and sits across the fire from the stranger, then tests him with the one secret only the two of them share: the bed Odysseus built around a living olive tree. Athena holds back the dawn so they can have a longer night, and Odysseus tells Penelope the whole story of his journey. In the morning he finds Laertes working in the orchard and proves who he is with the trees his father gave him as a boy, and Athena brings peace to Ithaca. Adapted from Samuel Butler's public-domain prose translation (Books XXIII–XXIV), with gentle narration for sleep. Jacob opens and closes this finale with a thank-you to everyone who followed the series.

What's covered in this video:

- Euryclea wakes Penelope with the news that Odysseus is home, and Penelope refuses to believe it.

- Penelope sits across the fire from Odysseus in silence while Telemachus calls her heart harder than stone, and Phemius plays a wedding dance to hide what happened from the town.

- Penelope tests Odysseus by asking for their bed to be moved, and he reveals that he built it around a living olive tree.

- Odysseus and Penelope embrace like a shipwrecked sailor reaching land, and Athena holds back the dawn to lengthen their night.

- Odysseus shares Teiresias's prophecy of the oar and a gentle old age, then tells Penelope his entire story, from the Lotus-Eaters to the Phaeacians.

- In the underworld, Agamemnon hears the suitors' story and praises Penelope's faithfulness.

- Odysseus finds his father Laertes in the orchard and proves who he is with the scar and the fruit trees Laertes gave him as a boy.

- Athena and Zeus end the feud with the suitors' families and bring peace to Ithaca.

Mentioned in this video: The Odyssey, Homer, Samuel Butler translation, Odyssey finale, Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus, Laertes, Euryclea, Eurynome, Phemius, Medon, Dolius, Eupeithes, Halitherses, Athena, Zeus, Hermes, Agamemnon, Teiresias, Mentor, Ithaca, the olive tree bed, Penelope's test, the reunion of Odysseus and Penelope, Odysseus and Laertes, the orchard of Laertes, the meadow of asphodel, Lotus-Eaters, Cyclops, bag of winds, Circe, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, cattle of the Sun, Calypso, Phaeacians, Greek mythology sleep story, bedtime story for adults, Dream With Jacob, Jacob Evans.

Fourteen episodes, twenty years, and it all comes down to a bed built around a living tree, a secret only two people in the world knew. Thank you for making this voyage with me. I'd love to know: which part of the Odyssey stayed with you the most? Tell me in the comments.

Some of what I use for sleep, if you're curious:

Sound machine → https://amzn.to/4b4fWeY

Essential oil diffuser → https://amzn.to/4gmcksq

Humidifier → https://amzn.to/4aBjOE8

Sleep mask + headphones → https://amzn.to/44go88b

Cooling bamboo sheets → https://amzn.to/4eY0ylE

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