Podcast
Odyssey: A Daily Odyssey through Homer’s The Odyssey
Hosted by Grunt Work Podcasts · EN
Odyssey: A Daily Odyssey into Homer’s The Odyssey is a daily read-along podcast for anyone who’s ever thought, “I should really read The Odyssey someday.”
Every day for one year, host Landen Celano reads one page from The Odyssey, (using Butcher & Lang English prose translation), then follows it with smart, spoiler-aware commentary: close reading, Greek mythology context, Homeric weirdness, and whatever tangents the text demands.
If you’re here because you’re hyped for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Odyssey film: welcome. This show isn’t about the movie. It’s about finally experiencing the ancient story itself, in order, one page at a time.
Read along on YouTube (the text appears on screen), or grab the same Butcher & Lang translation from Project Gutenberg. Want a more traditional audiobook experience? Patreon subscribers get commentary-free audio at the end of each chapter.
New episodes daily. Despite rain, sleet, snow, and hydra encounters.
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Episodes
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The Blinding of the Cyclops (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 13)
3d ago00:07:06Tap to summarizeSleep lowers the guard that strength could not, and courage hardens in the fire. What was planned in silence is carried out in terror and pain. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Polyphemus collapses into a drunken sleep, and Odysseus brings his long-prepared plan to its brutal turning point. The olive-wood stake is heated in the fire, and with the help of his chosen companions, Odysseus drives it into the Cyclops’ single eye, twisting it like a shipwright’s drill. Blinded and maddened with agony, Polyphemus cries out across the hills, summoning the other Cyclopes to his aid. This moment transforms helpless captivity into violent reversal, as wit, endurance, and timing finally strike back against brute force. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Transcribe →Named No One (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 12)
4d ago00:06:09Tap to summarizeA gift is promised, and a name is asked—but the answer is a weapon. Wit slips where force cannot go. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus offers the Cyclops more of the dark, honey-sweet wine, which Polyphemus praises above all earthly drink. Drunk and delighted, the giant demands Odysseus’ name so that he may give a stranger’s gift in return. With careful guile, Odysseus answers that his name is “Noman.” Polyphemus accepts the claim—and grants his gift with chilling clarity: Noman will be eaten last. This moment seals the trap, where language itself becomes the instrument of survival. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Transcribe →The Stake Is Made (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 11)
5d ago00:09:51Tap to summarizeCunning replaces despair, and patience hardens into resolve. What cannot be overcome by force is shaped instead by craft. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus devises his plan of escape and vengeance. He fashions a massive olive-wood club from the Cyclops’ own staff, hardens it in fire, and hides it within the cave. Lots are cast to choose the men who will stand with him in the attempt. When Polyphemus returns, seals the cave, and devours yet more of the crew, Odysseus approaches him with dark, potent wine, offering it as a gift and speaking boldly of his lawless cruelty. This moment marks the turning of the tide, where intelligence, preparation, and timing become the only weapons left to the trapped men. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Transcribe →A Choice Deferred, a Plan Begins (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 10)
6d ago00:10:23Tap to summarizeVengeance tempts the hand, but survival demands restraint. In the darkness of the cave, thought overtakes fury. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus weighs whether to kill the Cyclops as he sleeps, but foresight stays his hand: without the giant alive, the men could never move the immense stone sealing the cave. At dawn, Polyphemus resumes his grim routine, milking his flocks and devouring two more of Odysseus’ companions before leaving the cave, sealing it once again. Left behind with the remaining men, Odysseus turns his mind to cunning, devising a plan for vengeance and escape, trusting that Athene may yet grant him renown. This moment marks the shift from helpless endurance to deliberate strategy, where patience becomes the only path to survival. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Transcribe →The First Feast of Horror (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 9)
1w ago00:07:36Tap to summarizeWords fail, and law shatters in an instant. What was asked as hospitality is answered with brutality beyond imagining. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, the Cyclops reveals his utter contempt for Zeus and the gods, boasting that he fears no divine law. Feigning ignorance, Odysseus deceives him about the fate of his ship, but the ruse offers no mercy. Polyphemus seizes two of Odysseus’ men, smashes them against the ground, and devours them raw, drinking milk afterward like a beast. Trapped within the sealed cave, Odysseus and the survivors can only weep and pray as the Cyclops sleeps among his flocks. This moment marks the full collapse of custom and restraint, as Odysseus confronts a foe who recognizes no justice, no gods, and no humanity. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Transcribe →The Lawless Host (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 8)
1w ago00:09:37Tap to summarizeHospitality is tested at the threshold of fear. A plea is made to custom and to the gods—before mercy has spoken. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus and his men wait within the Cyclops’ cave, lighting a fire and eating cheese as they await the shepherd’s return. The giant arrives bearing a massive load of wood, pens his flocks, and seals the cave with a stone no ordinary men could move. After tending his work, he discovers the strangers and questions them harshly. Though terrified, Odysseus answers with care, naming Agamemnon, invoking the laws of hospitality, and appealing to Zeus as protector of suppliants. This moment places mortal custom against brute power, as Odysseus entrusts survival to words, gods, and the fragile hope of justice. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Transcribe →Waiting in the Giant’s Cave (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 7)
1w ago00:06:50Tap to summarizeAbundance tempts restraint, and curiosity overrides caution. What should have been taken becomes a trap patiently entered. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus carries the powerful wine of Maron and provisions into the Cyclops’ cave, guided by an uneasy foreboding. Finding the cave empty, he and his men behold stores of cheese, milk, lambs, and kids in careful order. Though his companions urge him to take what they can and flee, Odysseus chooses to remain, hoping to meet the cave’s master and receive the gifts owed to a stranger. This moment marks the fatal pause—where choice, not chance, binds Odysseus and his men to what comes next. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Transcribe →The Cave of the Cyclops (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 6)
1w ago00:10:07Tap to summarizeCuriosity crosses the final boundary between caution and peril. What begins as exploration draws Odysseus closer to a presence unlike any he has faced. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus sails to the Cyclopes’ land and discovers a vast cave near the shore, surrounded by flocks and enclosed by stone and towering trees. Leaving most of his men to guard the ship, he selects twelve companions and ventures inland. With him he carries a skin of potent, honey-sweet wine given by Maron, priest of Apollo at Ismarus—a gift of great power and rare secrecy. This moment quietly arms Odysseus for what lies ahead, as preparation and pride carry him toward a meeting with a lawless giant. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey. Passage “So I spake, and I climbed the ship’s side, and bade my company themselves to mount, and to loose the hawsers. So they soon embarked and sat upon the benches, and sitting orderly smote the grey sea water with their oars. Now when we had come to the land that lies hard by, we saw a cave on the border near to the sea, lofty and roofed over with laurels, and there many flocks of sheep and goats were used to rest. And about it a high outer court was built with stones, deep bedded, and with tall pines and oaks with their high crown of leaves. And a man was wont to sleep therein, of monstrous size, who shepherded his flocks alone and afar, and was not conversant with others, but dwelt apart in lawlessness of mind. Yea, for he was a monstrous thing and fashioned marvellously, nor was he like to any man that lives by bread, but like a wooded peak of the towering hills, which stands out apart and alone from others. “Then I commanded the rest of my well-loved company to tarry there by the ship, and to guard the ship, but I chose out twelve men, the best of my company, and sallied forth. Now I had with me a goat-skin of the dark wine and sweet which Maron, son of Euanthes, had given me, the priest of Apollo, the god that watched over Ismarus. And he gave it, for that we had protected him with his wife and child reverently; for he dwelt in a thick grove of Phoebus Apollo. And he made me splendid gifts; he gave me seven talents of gold well wrought, and he gave me a mixing bowl of pure silver, and furthermore wine which he drew off in twelve jars in all, sweet wine unmingled, a draught divine; nor did any of his servants or of his handmaids in the house know thereof, but himself and his dear wife and one housedame only. And as often as they drank that red wine honey sweet, he would fill one cup and pour it into twenty measures of water, and a marvellous sweet smell went up from the mixing bowl: then truly it was no pleasure to refrain.
Transcribe →The Island of Goats, the First Test (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 5)
2w ago00:11:25Tap to summarizeAbundance offers a pause, but curiosity presses forward. What is gained in safety is weighed against the need to know. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus and his men explore the uninhabited island and hunt the wild goats stirred by the nymphs, feasting until nightfall on meat and stored wine from Ismarus. From the shore, they look across to the land of the Cyclopes, hearing distant voices and seeing smoke rise. At dawn, Odysseus gathers his crew and announces his resolve to sail out with his own ship to test the nature of the Cyclopes—whether they are lawless and cruel, or hospitable and god-fearing. This moment marks the deliberate step from refuge into risk, where curiosity and leadership set the course toward danger. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey. Passage “So soon as early Dawn shone forth, the rosy-fingered, in wonder at the island we roamed over the length thereof: and the Nymphs, the daughters of Zeus, lord of the aegis, started the wild goats of the hills, that my company might have wherewith to sup. Anon we took to us our curved bows from out the ships and long spears, and arrayed in three bands we began shooting at the goats; and the god soon gave us game in plenty. Now twelve ships bare me company, and to each ship fell nine goats for a portion, but for me alone they set ten apart. “Thus we sat there the livelong day until the going down of the sun, feasting on abundant flesh and on sweet wine. For the red wine was not yet spent from out the ships, but somewhat was yet therein, for we had each one drawn off large store thereof in jars, when we took the sacred citadel of the Cicones. And we looked across to the land of the Cyclôpes, who dwell nigh, and to the smoke, and to the voice of the men, and of the sheep and of the goats. And when the sun had sunk and darkness had come on, then we laid us to rest upon the sea-beach. So soon as early Dawn shone forth, the rosy-fingered, then I called a gathering of my men, and spake among them all: “‘Abide here all the rest of you, my dear companions; but I will go with mine own ship and my ship’s company, and make proof of these men, what manner of folk they are, whether froward, and wild, and unjust, or hospitable and of god-fearing mind.’
Transcribe →The Isle Before the Monster (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 4)
2w ago00:08:10Tap to summarizeThe sea delivers not relief, but silence—and a land shaped by abundance without law. What seems untouched soon proves ominous. In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus describes arrival near the land of the Cyclopes, a people without assemblies, laws, or ships, each ruling only his own household. He recounts a nearby uninhabited island rich with goats, fresh water, fertile soil, and a perfect harbor—unused only because the Cyclopes have no seafaring craft. Guided through darkness and mist, Odysseus’ ships beach there unseen, and the crew sleeps until dawn. This moment sets the stage for danger to come, contrasting natural plenty with human absence—and foreshadowing the cost of lawlessness. ⸻ New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey. Passage “Thence we sailed onward stricken at heart. And we came to the land of the Cyclôpes, a froward and a lawless folk, who trusting to the deathless gods plant not aught with their hands, neither plough: but, behold, all these things spring for them in plenty, unsown and untilled, wheat, and barley, and vines, which bear great clusters of the juice of the grape, and the rain of Zeus gives them increase. These have neither gatherings for council nor oracles of law, but they dwell in hollow caves on the crests of the high hills, and each one utters the law to his children and his wives, and they reck not one of another. “Now there is a waste isle stretching without the harbour of the land of the Cyclôpes, neither nigh at hand nor yet afar off, a woodland isle, wherein are wild goats unnumbered, for no path of men scares them, nor do hunters resort thither who suffer hardships in the wood, as they range the mountain crests. Moreover it is possessed neither by flocks nor by ploughed lands, but the soil lies unsown evermore and untilled, desolate of men, and feeds the bleating goats. For the Cyclôpes have by them no ships with vermilion cheek, not yet are there shipwrights in the island, who might fashion decked barques, which should accomplish all their desire, voyaging to the towns of men (as ofttimes men cross the sea to one another in ships), who might likewise have made of their isle a goodly settlement. Yea, it is in no wise a sorry land, but would bear all things in their season; for therein are soft water meadows by the shores of the grey salt sea, and there the vines know no decay, and the land is level to plough; thence might they reap a crop exceeding deep in due season, for verily there is fatness beneath the soil. Also there is a fair haven, where is no need of moorings, either to cast anchor or to fasten hawsers, but men may run the ship on the beach, and tarry until such time as the sailors are minded to be gone, and favourable breezes blow. Now at the head of the harbour is a well of bright water issuing from a cave, and round it are poplars growing. Thither we sailed, and some god guided us through the night, for it was dark and there was no light to see, a mist lying deep about the ships, nor did the moon show her light from heaven, but was shut in with clouds. No man then beheld that island, neither saw we the long waves rolling to the beach, till we had run our decked ships ashore. And when our ships were beached, we took down all their sails, and ourselves too stept forth upon the strand of the sea, and there we fell into sound sleep and waited for the bright Dawn.
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