Homer’s Odyssey

Course Description

 

Odysseus is truly epic literature’s “man of many turns.” He embodies the warrior, the artist, the creator of fiction, and the seeker of truth—yet he can also conceal, trick, and occasionally cause mischief. Both blessed and challenged by the gods, he is, above all, a soul deeply wounded by years of battle in Troy. His one longing is to return to Ithaca, to the embrace of his beloved Penelope and his son, Telemachos. Homer’s “Odyssey” unfolds as a story of this journey home—a homecoming that ultimately brings healing.

The “Odyssey” also offers a rich mythopoetic exploration of the power of stories, showing us how deeply our identities are woven into the narratives we create. It is filled with reminders of the wisdom gained from listening to others’ experiences, a gift we carry through life.

In Homer’s epic, we witness the union of masculine and feminine energies, creating a “sweet agreement” within the soul. This harmony extends outward, touching the entire Ithacan community and inviting balance and healing for all.

Prior knowledge of ”The Odyssey” is not necessary—just a willingness to journey together as we explore the soul’s movement from fragmentation to wholeness in the timeless landscape of Homer’s masterpiece.

 

Required Reading
Dennis Patrick Slattery, From War to Wonder: Recovering Your Personal Myth Through Homer’s Odyssey (Mandorla Books, 2019).

Suggested Reading
Albert Cook’s translation of the Odyssey is cited throughout my book. The Odyssey. A Verse Translation. W.W. Norton, 1993.

The course will consist of 9 monthly meetings, beginning January 15, 2025. We will meet for 2 hours, followed by a break-out group of 30 minutes in which participants will entertain one or two questions that either Dr. Slattery will provide or grow organically from the presentation and your questions.

Enjoy free access to a bonus class with Dr.Slattery as soon as you sign up for the program!

This program is ideal if

• You wish to explore the power of stories as healing agents for the soul.
• You are interested in the voyage, the journey and the odyssey of your life.
• You desire to learn more about mythopoesis, the making or shaping of coherence and meaning in your life story and its relation to your larger community.
• You want to learn more about the archetypal patterning in life’s events and how they can be turned into opportunities for personal and collective growth.

Course Overview

The format will concentrate on specific passages from the epic, chosen from Dr. Slattery’s book, From War to Wonder: Recovering Your Personal Myth Through Homer’s Odyssey.

Bonus Class:  This bonus class with Dr.Slattery will cover two essential ideas:

1. Why do we bother reading these classics of literature?What kind of knowledge do they offer us today in our contemporary and very warring world? How might reading communally passages from Homer’s poem allow deeper conversations on our human condition that has not changed essentially since Homer’s time?
2. What are the large archetypal themes that Homer’s classic epic offers us to meditate on, regarding our own personal and collective mythologies?

• Class 1: Wednesday, January 15. I. Books I-IV: The Birth of Self-Awareness: The Search for Stories.
• Class 2: Wednesday, February 12, Books I-IV (continued).
• Class 3: Wednesday, March 12 , II: Books V-VIII. From Hiddenness to Community: Wandering Towards Wonder.
• Class 4: Wednesday, April 9, III. Books IX-XII. Reclaiming a Coherent Life: The Myth of Remembrance.
• Class 5: Wednesday May 7, Books IX-XII (continued).
• Class 6: Wednesday June 4, IV: Books XIII-XVI. Home to the Unfamiliar: Crafting, Revealing and Concealing.
• Class 7: Wednesday July 9, Books XVII-XX. Reclaiming Oneself: Cleansing the Household.
• Class 8: Wednesday August 13, Books XVII-XX (continued).
• Class 9: Wednesday September 10, Books XXI-XXIV. From Reunion to Unity: The Weight of Words Over Weapons of War.

By the end of this course, you will be able to

• Describe and understand more fully the deep wounding of warriors returning from battle.
• Explain the suffering of being alienated from home and the struggles one endures to align their transformed selves to a home that is now unfamiliar.
• Appreciate more fully the transformative healing in telling one’s wounded stories and learning to listen more deeply to the painful narratives of others.
• Discern the complexities involved in finding a balance in the tensions inhabiting the returnee.