Essays on Homer’s Epic

By Dr Neel Burton — Psychiatrist, philosopher, and wine writer; Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford; author of over twenty books.

The Odyssey is one of the foundational works of Western literature. The story of Odysseus’ long journey home after the Trojan War is a profound exploration of identity, memory, temptation, loyalty, and the meaning of home. More than 2,700 years after it was composed, Homer’s epic has lost none of its imaginative power.

This page brings together my essays on the Odyssey.

The Genius of Homer

Why the Odyssey Still Speaks to Us — Odysseus, Homer, and the Story That Shaped the Western Imagination

Why Does the Odyssey Endure? — In discussion with Emily Wilson

The Odyssey Is About Becoming Ourselves — Why Odysseus’ Journey Is Also Our Own

Why We Never Read the Same Book Twice — What Homer’s Odyssey Teaches Us About Great Literature

Why We Weep for Odysseus’ Dog — Recognition, Memory, and the Need to Find our Way Home

The Philosophy of the Odyssey

Should You Want to Live Forever? — Odysseus, Calypso, and the Philosophy of Immortality

What Is Nostalgia—And Is It a Human Universal? — What Homer’s Odyssey Teaches Us About Nostos

The Greek Dog and the Indian Dog | The Odyssey and the Mahabharata — What Homer Can Teach Us About Ghosting

The Wine-Dark Sea: Wine in Homer’s Odyssey — What the Odyssey Can Teach Us About Wine—and Drinking

Women in Greek Myth: Models, Monsters, or Victims? — Is Greek Myth Misogynistic?

Continue Exploring

There are more featured mythology essays on my Mythology page.

Explore more subjects in the Index Scriptorum.

See the Bigger Picture