The Heart of It

Summary

The Illiad & The Odyssey are two epic poems by Greek author Homer, works that have been entertaining— and perhaps exasperating— readers for centuries. In a series of lectures, literary scholar Elizabeth McNamer provides engaging insights into these two iconic works. McNamer first discusses how The Iliad portrays love, jealousy, pride, and the courage men and women display in war. McNamer then focuses on and The Odyssey in which the hero Odysseus endures strange adventures en route home to his faithful wife. While these lectures are grounded in scholarly research, they are also accessible for contemporary audiences, helping them appreciate more fully these two great works.