#337: What Homer's Odyssey Can Teach Us Today

#337: What Homer's Odyssey Can Teach Us Today

I love many of the classic myths and poems of ancient Greece. My favorite, though, is The Odyssey. While on the surface it seems to just be another epic adventure story, if you dig deeper, The Odyssey can give you insights on fatherhood, marriage, and surviving in a world that’s in constant flux.
My guest today recently published a book exploring these themes in The Odyssey, particularly the theme of fathers and sons searching for each other. His name is Daniel Mendelsohn, and he's a classicist, essayist, and book critic. In his latest book, "An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic," Daniel shares the experience of having his 81-year-old father enroll as a student in the undergrad seminar he taught on The Odyssey and the insights he gleaned about his relationship with his dad by looking at the father-son relationships explored in the epic poem. We begin our conversation with a big picture overview of The Odyssey and why Daniel’s dad decided to take his seminar on it. Daniel and I then discuss what we can learn about the relationship between sons and fathers from Odysseus' relationships both with his son Telemachus, and with his father Laertes. We then shift to what we can learn from Odysseus and his wife Penelope on forming a strong marriage, how travel can change us, and why The Odyssey becomes more relevant to men when they have families of their own.
This is a fun podcast filled with amazing insights about one of the greatest stories ever told. After you listen to it, you’ll want to dust off your copy of The Odyssey itself so you can read it with fresh eyes.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episoder(1159)

Tame the Dopamine Drive — How to Stop Chasing and Start Living

Tame the Dopamine Drive — How to Stop Chasing and Start Living

All the neurochemicals in the brain have to do with life in the present. Except for one: dopamine. Dopamine is the one neurochemical that looks to the future. It anticipates what may be to come and dr...

9 Jul 202547min

Books, Routines, and Habits: The Founders’ Guide to Self-Improvement

Books, Routines, and Habits: The Founders’ Guide to Self-Improvement

Note: This is a rebroadcast.A lot of self-improvement advice and content feels empty. And there’s a reason for that. It often offers routines and habits to practice, but doesn’t offer a strong, overar...

1 Jul 202545min

Ancient Buddhist Principles for Modern Life’s Dilemmas

Ancient Buddhist Principles for Modern Life’s Dilemmas

When you’re feeling stressed, burnt out, and anxious — when you’re striving and achieving but still finding yourself persistently dissatisfied with life — you might start looking for answers beyond wh...

24 Jun 202551min

How to Turn Vices Into Career-Advancing Virtues

How to Turn Vices Into Career-Advancing Virtues

What if the traits you’ve been taught to suppress your entire career are actually the very qualities that separate those who get what they want from those who stay stuck waiting for recognition that n...

17 Jun 202554min

Men Don't Run in the Rain — And 7 Other Essential Lessons for Being a Man

Men Don't Run in the Rain — And 7 Other Essential Lessons for Being a Man

When Rick Burgess was growing up, his father, Bill Burgess, was also his football coach. But Bill was a mentor on and off the field not only for his own son but for the many young men he coached at bo...

10 Jun 202553min

The Making of a Supreme Commander — How Eisenhower Became the Leader Who Delivered Victory on D-Day

The Making of a Supreme Commander — How Eisenhower Became the Leader Who Delivered Victory on D-Day

That Dwight D. Eisenhower became Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, orchestrating the largest amphibious invasion in history on June 6, 1944, was far from inevitable.He came from the mi...

3 Jun 202550min

How to Have the Manners and Charm of a Proper English Gentleman

How to Have the Manners and Charm of a Proper English Gentleman

The British just seem like a classier bunch. Part of it is that winning accent. But it's also because English culture has long been steeped in the tradition of learning and practicing etiquette.Here t...

27 Mai 202549min

Become a Master of Uncertainty

Become a Master of Uncertainty

Uncertainty is a constant of human existence. How will market conditions affect your new business venture? What will be the results of the medical test you just took? Will a new relationship work out?...

20 Mai 202550min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
mikkels-paskenotter
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
treningspodden
foreldreradet
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-bisarr-historie
rss-kunsten-a-leve
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
rss-kull
sinnsyn
gravid-uke-for-uke
hagespiren-podcast
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
rss-sunn-okonomi
hverdagspsyken
rss-bak-luftfarten
fryktlos