Great Books #5: The Odyssey — Transcript

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1. 0:00Today, we start the Odyssey.
2. 0:03And the Odyssey is a sequel to the
3. 0:05Iliad,
4. 0:06and it's a family story. It's a story
5. 0:09about a homecoming. There are three main
6. 0:11characters, right? There's uh Odysseus.
7. 0:15Sorry.
8. 0:18Odysseus,
9. 0:21who is the main character, and that's
10. 0:23why it's it's called the Odyssey.
11. 0:26Um then there is
12. 0:29Penelope,
13. 0:30who is
14. 0:31his wife, and there's Telemachus,
15. 0:34who
16. 0:35is
17. 0:36their
18. 0:37son.
19. 0:39>> [snorts]
20. 0:40>> And as we discussed when we um
21. 0:43read the Iliad, Homer is first and
22. 0:46foremost
23. 0:47concerned about the human condition.
24. 0:50What does it mean to be human?
25. 0:53What does it mean to live in a world of
26. 0:57war, of trauma, of tragedy? And how can
27. 1:01we
28. 1:02overcome uh this adversity?
29. 1:05So, um
30. 1:07the Odyssey is about three individuals
31. 1:11and a family, and they're all
32. 1:12traumatized. They're all heartbroken.
33. 1:16Okay? So, Odysseus
34. 1:20is we trying to return home from the
35. 1:22war.
36. 1:23And his problem is that he has PTSD,
37. 1:30which is post-traumatic stress disorder.
38. 1:32And this is very common for soldiers who
39. 1:34return from war. They've seen so much
40. 1:36violence, they've seen so much tragedy,
41. 1:40they've seen so much senseless death,
42. 1:42that their souls are shattered. And that
43. 1:44is Odysseus' problem.
44. 1:46Then you have Penelope, who's suffering
45. 1:48from depression.
46. 1:50And why is she depressed?
47. 1:52Because her husband has been away for 20
48. 1:55years.
49. 1:56And she doesn't know if
50. 1:58he's alive
51. 2:00or he's dead.
52. 2:02He's probably dead, right? It's been 20
53. 2:04years. There's been no sign of him for
54. 2:06the past 20 years, but she cannot bring
55. 2:10herself to admitting that
56. 2:13um he's dead. So, she's put herself in a
57. 2:16very
58. 2:17precarious situation. There's dozens of
59. 2:20suitors who want her hand in marriage.
60. 2:23And she she wants to say no,
61. 2:27but she's afraid that if she does that,
62. 2:31then uh she'll be alone for the rest of
63. 2:33her life. But, she doesn't want to say
64. 2:34yes because she refuses to
65. 2:38admit
66. 2:40that her husband, the love of her life,
67. 2:42Odysseus is dead. In her heart, she
68. 2:45feels that he's still alive, but in her
69. 2:49head, she cannot justify it. She cannot
70. 2:52explain it. It's just a feeling in her.
71. 2:54Okay? And so, her response, and this is
72. 2:56what we call cognitive dissonance.
73. 3:01Her response is just to shut down.
74. 3:05Okay? She just spends all her time alone
75. 3:07in her room.
76. 3:09At first, she's weaving stuff, but then
77. 3:10she just sits in her room.
78. 3:13All right?
79. 3:13And then there's Telemachus.
80. 3:16Telemachus, his problem is that
81. 3:20his he doesn't know if his father is
82. 3:23dead or alive.
83. 3:25But, the man is a legend. This is a man
84. 3:27who won the Trojan War by coming up with
85. 3:31a stratagem with the Trojan Horse.
86. 3:33Okay? So, he is a legend in this world,
87. 3:35and everyone sings his praises.
88. 3:38And he's his son, so he's living in his
89. 3:41shadow, okay?
90. 3:43And he wants to prove he's better than
91. 3:47his father.
92. 3:49He wants to become a hero himself, but
93. 3:52he's being
94. 3:54burdened by the legacy of his father.
95. 3:57The other issue is that unless his
96. 4:00father is dead, he cannot inherit his
97. 4:02father's legacy, right? His prop- the
98. 4:05property,
99. 4:07uh the reputation cannot be transferred
100. 4:10to him. Then there's his mother, who is
101. 4:13just sitting around the house every
102. 4:14single day.
103. 4:16If she were to get married, she would
104. 4:18leave, and then he could be master of
105. 4:20his own house, right?
106. 4:22But she's still around, so he's kind of
107. 4:24stuck. At the same time, the suitors are
108. 4:27waiting for Penelope's answer, which is
109. 4:29never going to come. So, they're just in
110. 4:31the house, and they're eating up all
111. 4:34um his wealth.
112. 4:36So, he is just seeing his life wither
113. 4:39away, and there's nothing he can do
114. 4:40about it.
115. 4:42All right? So,
116. 4:44um he is just depressed as well, and
117. 4:48he's angry.
118. 4:51But, you know, all these things are the
119. 4:52same thing. It's really one of cognitive
120. 4:55dissonance. It's really one of
121. 4:57depression. It's really one of trauma.
122. 5:00All right? So,
123. 5:01there's another way we can analyze
124. 5:04what's going on, and to think about the
125. 5:05soul.
126. 5:08And the soul is something that the
127. 5:10ancients
128. 5:12were really concerned about, because it
129. 5:14was really the most fundamental issue of
130. 5:17what it means to be a human being. It's
131. 5:18something that we don't talk about
132. 5:20today. Something that we don't think
133. 5:21about today, because we live in a world
134. 5:24of material science. If you can't see
135. 5:26it, it doesn't exist.
136. 5:28But, uh for most of humanity, uh for
137. 5:31sorry, for most of human history,
138. 5:33humanity has understood the soul as very
139. 5:35present, and as very real, and the most
140. 5:38significant thing in our lives, okay?
141. 5:42So, the soul that they understood,
142. 5:44um let let's talk about their
143. 5:45understanding of the soul. And this is
144. 5:47true for a lot actually a lot of
145. 5:48cultures.
146. 5:49First of the soul
147. 5:51is a very complex thing, okay?
148. 5:54[clears throat] It has almost infinite
149. 5:55dimensions.
150. 5:57The different layers
151. 5:59to the soul. And this really a part of
152. 6:03the soul
153. 6:05that is you, okay?
154. 6:07That is you, the person.
155. 6:10But who you are as a person is
156. 6:13ultimately influenced by other
157. 6:16influences as well, by other factors as
158. 6:18well, okay? So,
159. 6:20these influences include your family,
160. 6:24okay? Your culture,
161. 6:27the history,
162. 6:29um, and maybe the gods, okay? So,
163. 6:33again, there are infinite dimensions and
164. 6:35these dimensions have an impact on you.
165. 6:39And maybe when you die, maybe there's a
166. 6:41part of you that lives on, okay? But
167. 6:43there's also parts of you that flows
168. 6:45back into these different streams
169. 6:49of the universe.
170. 6:51Okay, so it's a very complex thing.
171. 6:54Now, the soul,
172. 6:57another name for the soul that we use
173. 6:58today,
174. 7:00uh, if you go to psychology class, their
175. 7:02name for the soul is the worldview.
176. 7:05>> [snorts]
177. 7:09>> Okay? So, we have a much more simplistic
178. 7:11understanding
179. 7:12of our psychology than the ancients.
180. 7:16They didn't know the worldview is just
181. 7:17our understanding of who we are,
182. 7:20>> [snorts]
183. 7:20>> where we came from, and our place in the
184. 7:22universe.
185. 7:24Okay? It comes and we believe it comes
186. 7:26from our memories
187. 7:28and our experiences.
188. 7:34Okay?
189. 7:35And [snorts]
190. 7:36the worldview is important
191. 7:38because it allows us to understand us
192. 7:40and ourselves. This is important for
193. 7:43things such as planning.
194. 7:45Right? Only if you know who you are, can
195. 7:48you actually plan ahead?
196. 7:50Because then you know what you want to
197. 7:52do, what you want to accomplish, okay?
198. 7:54It allows for
199. 7:57empathy,
200. 7:59building relationships with others,
201. 8:01okay? It allows for judgment.
202. 8:05Basically,
203. 8:07>> [snorts]
204. 8:08>> what's good, what's bad. What do you
205. 8:09like? What don't you like, okay?
206. 8:11So, the worldview and the soul are
207. 8:13fundamental to who we are.
208. 8:17Now,
209. 8:18in psychology, what they will teach you
210. 8:21is that trauma
211. 8:25splinters the worldview,
212. 8:28okay? There's something about your
213. 8:29experience
214. 8:31that is fundamental to your identity,
215. 8:34>> [snorts]
216. 8:34>> but
217. 8:36um because it is so painful, you forget
218. 8:39about it. Or you refuse to see it. And
219. 8:42this causes a rupture
220. 8:44in your identity, in your coherent sense
221. 8:48of the world, which destroys your
222. 8:50worldview, okay? And this leads to
223. 8:52depression. What is depression?
224. 8:55Depression is the inability
225. 8:59to act and to think, okay?
226. 9:02You don't know what you want to
227. 9:04accomplish.
228. 9:05You don't trust yourself. You don't know
229. 9:08what you like. And so what what's what's
230. 9:10of depression? You sleep a lot.
231. 9:13You find no pleasure in anything.
232. 9:15You
233. 9:17feel no emotion. You feel sort of
234. 9:18numbness, okay? And that's why people
235. 9:21they tend to take drugs, or they just
236. 9:24sleep all the time, or whatever, okay?
237. 9:26All right? Because you're unable to act.
238. 9:28And that's exactly what's happening
239. 9:30to Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus.
240. 9:33All right? There's a trauma in their
241. 9:35lives, okay? And they just believe this
242. 9:37as well. Okay? There could be a trauma
243. 9:40that splits the soul.
244. 9:43Okay? And it could be a demon. It could
245. 9:45be um
246. 9:47a really painful incident. It could be
247. 9:49anything. Okay? But it splits your soul.
248. 9:52And if you are to recover, then you have
249. 9:54to repair your soul. And that's a
250. 9:57fundamental conflict and the dilemma
251. 10:00within the Odyssey. You have three
252. 10:02individuals
253. 10:04Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus. Their
254. 10:06soul has been splintered. And so when
255. 10:08they're on a journey,
256. 10:10their own Odyssey
257. 10:12to repair their soul.
258. 10:15>> [snorts]
259. 10:15>> And the answer, of course, is each
260. 10:18other. Okay? Their love for each other.
261. 10:20That's what's what That's what's going
262. 10:21to save the world. Okay? The love of
263. 10:24family.
264. 10:27And that is the fundamental message
265. 10:29of
266. 10:30the Odyssey.
267. 10:32All right? And that's why it's such a
268. 10:34powerful read.
269. 10:36Okay. So, let me give you some
270. 10:38background as to the plot.
271. 10:42So,
272. 10:43um as you know, the Odyssey begins in in
273. 10:46media in median res. Okay? In the middle
274. 10:48of things. Which is to say that a lot of
275. 10:50things have already taken place and it
276. 10:52happens just in the middle of the plot.
277. 10:56Okay? In the In the In the In the
278. 10:57beginning, Odysseus has been away for 20
279. 11:00years.
280. 11:01And he's stuck on an island with
281. 11:02Calypso. All right? Penelope is
282. 11:05depressed and sitting by herself in the
283. 11:07room. Telemachus is angry. Okay? Athena
284. 11:09comes and tells Telemachus, "Come with
285. 11:12me. I will help you find your father."
286. 11:14Okay?
287. 11:15>> [snorts]
288. 11:15>> Um
289. 11:16so
290. 11:18uh
291. 11:18>> [sighs]
292. 11:19>> The story starts with the Trojan War, of
293. 11:22course. Okay? So, remember the Tro-
294. 11:24There's the Helen has been taken to
295. 11:26Troy. She falls in love with Paris
296. 11:29because that's what Aphrodite promised
297. 11:31Paris as a prize.
298. 11:34Um and now her husband, the king of
299. 11:37Sparta, Menelaus, and uh
300. 11:40um
301. 11:40and his brother, Agamemnon, the king of
302. 11:42kings, are like, "We're going to raise
303. 11:44an army and we're going to get back
304. 11:45Helen, okay?" And this is
305. 11:48prophesized. This is This is to be the
306. 11:50greatest war in human history. It will
307. 11:53make It will make mortals into gods,
308. 11:57right? That's why Achilles enters this
309. 11:59war. Because this is the opportunity for
310. 12:02him to prove that he is the greatest
311. 12:04warrior of all in all of human history.
312. 12:07And that's why he goes to Troy.
313. 12:09Odysseus
314. 12:11is also
315. 12:13supposed to go to this war. But
316. 12:15Odysseus, he's different from Achilles.
317. 12:18Because Odysseus loves his wife,
318. 12:21Penelope.
319. 12:23And he has a new son, 6 months 6 months
320. 12:26old, Telemachus. So he's conflicted. And
321. 12:29he really doesn't want to go to war. But
322. 12:31the Greeks need him because the gods
323. 12:33have told the Greeks that it is really
324. 12:35Odysseus who will win the war. He is the
325. 12:37one who will come up with the Trojan
326. 12:38horse, the stratagem that will win this
327. 12:40war. So you need this guy. Okay? So
328. 12:43Odysseus doesn't want to go, but the
329. 12:44Greeks insist. So the Greeks send two
330. 12:46messengers to uh Ithaca,
331. 12:50um where Odysseus lives. Now Odysseus,
332. 12:55what he does is
333. 12:57he pretends to be mad. So he dresses up
334. 12:59like a beggar, okay? He's a king, but he
335. 13:01dresses up really badly. He's going
336. 13:03around the farmland and throwing salt
337. 13:07everywhere he goes. He looks crazy,
338. 13:08okay? And you throw salt in the land to
339. 13:10kill crops. So he looks kind of crazy.
340. 13:14But the But the Greeks understand that
341. 13:17this is a man of disguises. He's a man
342. 13:20of stratagems. He's very clever. So it's
343. 13:23probably a trick. So what they do is
344. 13:26they take his 6-month-old son,
345. 13:29Telemachus, okay, and put him in front
346. 13:32of Odysseus. Now, Odysseus is plowing
347. 13:34the field and salting the fields, okay?
348. 13:37And basically the task is this, if
349. 13:38you're really mad, you're going to run
350. 13:40over your son, Telemachus, and kill him.
351. 13:42If you're not mad, if you're not really
352. 13:45crazy, then you're going to stop and go
353. 13:47somewhere else and save your son. So, so
354. 13:50let's see if you're really crazy.
355. 13:51>> [snorts]
356. 13:52>> And so, Odysseus, of course,
357. 13:54uh turns away and saves his son. And the
358. 13:57Greeks are like, "Ha, you see? You're
359. 13:59tricking us all along. Come with us to
360. 14:02uh Troy." And so, Odysseus has no choice
361. 14:04but to go.
362. 14:06Okay?
363. 14:07So,
364. 14:08this is why Odysseus goes. He's forced
365. 14:10to go. But you think about it, this
366. 14:12story doesn't really make any sense,
367. 14:14right? And that's the
368. 14:16um greatness of Homer because he's
369. 14:19telling us the complexity of human
370. 14:20psychology.
371. 14:22Odysseus is really, really smart. He
372. 14:24thinks ahead, right?
373. 14:25He should know that if he were to have
374. 14:28this stratagem, the Greeks would see it
375. 14:30see through it really quickly, right?
376. 14:32So, what he should be doing is hiding
377. 14:34from the Greeks, right?
378. 14:36Or maybe um just moving away. If you
379. 14:40really, really don't want to go to this
380. 14:41war, you just run away and take your
381. 14:43family with you. Okay? Or, you know
382. 14:45what? Just kill these guys because
383. 14:47you're crazy, right?
384. 14:50All right, so
385. 14:51um what this tells us is that yes,
386. 14:56um Odysseus really loves his family and
387. 14:59he wants to be with his family because
388. 15:02he knows that if he goes to Troy, he'll
389. 15:03be gone for 20 years.
390. 15:05That's 20 years
391. 15:07um that that he won't be able to see his
392. 15:09son, Telemachus, grow up, okay?
393. 15:11But at the same time, this is the
394. 15:13greatest war in human history. Achilles
395. 15:16is going, Agamemnon is going. Does
396. 15:18Odysseus want to be really want to be
397. 15:20left out?
398. 15:21Does he really want to be the one guy uh
399. 15:25who's like a coward? Who's like, "You
400. 15:26know what? I'm just going to stay home."
401. 15:29Right? The Greeks will just laugh at him
402. 15:31for the rest of his life saying, "You're
403. 15:33just a pussy."
404. 15:34Right? You've been whipped by your
405. 15:37wife. He doesn't want to do that. So,
406. 15:38it's a conflict. Right? So, what he does
407. 15:41is he comes up with a stratagem that
408. 15:43allows the Greeks to see through it
409. 15:45really quickly and force him to go so he
410. 15:48doesn't have to be any responsibility
411. 15:50for what he does.
412. 15:52All right? And that is the complexity of
413. 15:54the human soul. That is the complexity
414. 15:56of our worldview.
415. 15:59All right?
416. 16:00So, he goes to Troy
417. 16:03and
418. 16:05he has to explain himself why he's
419. 16:07there. And he he knows he's going to be
420. 16:09away from home for 20 years, 10 years in
421. 16:11Troy, 10 years being lost at sea. All
422. 16:13right? So, his worldview is this.
423. 16:19Why am I here in Troy? Well, the first
424. 16:23reason is just justice.
425. 16:29Right? This is a just war because a
426. 16:31Trojan stole
427. 16:34Helen
428. 16:35and therefore the Greeks must
429. 16:39avenge the honor of Menelaus.
430. 16:42Okay? Second is family.
431. 16:47>> [snorts]
432. 16:47>> Helen should be with her children. Helen
433. 16:50should be with her family in Sparta. We
434. 16:54have to return her to Sparta.
435. 16:58How would I feel if Penelope was stolen
436. 17:00from me? I would everyone to go fight
437. 17:02with me to get her back as well, right?
438. 17:04About family.
439. 17:05Okay? Now, the third reason
440. 17:08is legacy.
441. 17:11Yes, he will not see
442. 17:14uh his son Telemachus for 20 years.
443. 17:17Therefore, he has to build him a legacy
444. 17:21that will carry him for the rest of his
445. 17:24life. If he is in Troy and he wins this
446. 17:27great war, he becomes this great hero,
447. 17:30then Telemachus himself will be famous
448. 17:33as the son of of Odysseus.
449. 17:37People respect Telemachus. He wants to
450. 17:39build a legacy for his son. He wants to
451. 17:41tell his son, "This is This is how you
452. 17:44should live your life. You should live a
453. 17:46life of honor, of justice, of truth."
454. 17:50Okay? So, these are the three reasons
455. 17:52why he goes to
456. 17:54um Troy.
457. 17:56And we have to remember that this is all
458. 17:58to justify his conflict, okay? There's a
459. 18:01conflict, there's a rupture in his soul,
460. 18:03and he he needs to mend it by explaining
461. 18:07why he's doing what he's doing.
462. 18:10Okay? Because again, he's abandoning his
463. 18:11family for 20 years.
464. 18:13Okay. [snorts]
465. 18:14So,
466. 18:15um
467. 18:17what's going to happen is this. This is
468. 18:19This is the worldview that Odysseus has
469. 18:22when he enters Troy.
470. 18:25The problem starts when they win the
471. 18:28war.
472. 18:29Okay? Because when they win the war,
473. 18:31then Odysseus is forced to see that all
474. 18:35of these three things
475. 18:39were wrong.
476. 18:41Okay?
477. 18:43He will discover that this war was not
478. 18:45about justice. It was just about revenge
479. 18:48and murder.
480. 18:50It isn't about family, it's about
481. 18:51destroying families. Because when you
482. 18:54win this war, you enslave the women and
483. 18:56kill the husbands.
484. 18:58Right? That's destroying families.
485. 19:01>> [snorts]
486. 19:01>> And it's not about legacy because
487. 19:04you've destroyed the Trojan civilization
488. 19:07for no particular reason. Because Helen
489. 19:10Helen doesn't even want to go back to
490. 19:11your Sparta.
491. 19:13Okay? And this causes cognitive
492. 19:14dissonance.
493. 19:18And this is what causes his PTSD.
494. 19:24Okay? Or trauma. And so for So the
495. 19:29Odyssey is his journey to repair his
496. 19:33soul so they can go home.
497. 19:36Okay? Does it Does it make sense, guys?
498. 19:37That's what the Odyssey is about. Okay.
499. 19:40So what we're going to do now is we are
500. 19:42going to
501. 19:43um
502. 19:43read certain sections. Okay? So this is
503. 19:46from the Iliad, actually. Okay? This is
504. 19:49from the Iliad.
505. 19:50And
506. 19:51And so remember in book one of the
507. 19:54Iliad, Achilles and Agamemnon have this
508. 19:56nasty fight where Achilles is like,
509. 19:58"Screw you. You're a dog. I'm not going
510. 19:59to fight for you ever again."
511. 20:00Agamemnon's like, "Screw you. I don't
512. 20:02need you." Okay? But in book two,
513. 20:04Agamemnon recognizes that, "Oh, this is
514. 20:06actually a problem because Achilles is
515. 20:08the greatest warrior that we have. And
516. 20:10if Achilles
517. 20:11doesn't want to fight, then that's bad
518. 20:13for morale."
519. 20:14Okay? We might actually even lose this
520. 20:15war. So Agamemnon, being stupid, he has
521. 20:19this stupid idea. And this stupid idea
522. 20:21is this: How can I rally my soldiers?
523. 20:25How can I galvanize them into action now
524. 20:28that Achilles has abandoned battlefield?
525. 20:31I know what I'll do.
526. 20:33I'll tell them they can go home. Ha!
527. 20:36Reverse psychology, guys, right? Reverse
528. 20:38psychology. Because when I say, "You
529. 20:40guys can go home,"
530. 20:42every Greek WILL BE LIKE, "NO! WE CAME
531. 20:46all the way to Troy to win glory for
532. 20:49you, Agamemnon.
533. 20:51We're going to fight to the death to
534. 20:53ensure that you get your glory,
535. 20:54AGAMEMNON. WE DON'T WANT TO GO HOME.
536. 20:56DON'T MAKE US GO HOME. WE WANT TO
537. 20:57FIGHT." OKAY? SO THAT'S THE PLAN.
538. 21:00And of course, it backfires.
539. 21:03And when people hear, "Oh, we go home,"
540. 21:05they all run away. And Agamemnon's like
541. 21:09He now is cognitive dissonance. He's
542. 21:10like
543. 21:11What? Uh what? He doesn't understand
544. 21:14what's going on, okay? And at this point
545. 21:17in the story, the war should be over
546. 21:20because all the Greeks just got went
547. 21:21home.
548. 21:22And again, what happens is
549. 21:25Odysseus will come and save everyone
550. 21:28because he will recognize that
551. 21:30Agamemnon's just being stupid and he
552. 21:32will force all the Greeks to
553. 21:35uh return back to their posts, okay? All
554. 21:37right. So, I Can Can you read, please?
555. 21:39Testing his men.
556. 21:41Testing his men, but he only made the
557. 21:43spirit race inside their chests. All the
558. 21:45rank and file who never heard his plan.
559. 21:48And the whole assembly surged like big
560. 21:50like big waves at sea, the Achaean sea
561. 21:53when east and south winds drive it on,
562. 21:55blasting down in force from the clouds
563. 21:57of father Zeus, or when the west wind
564. 22:00shakes the deep standing grain with her
565. 22:02with hurricane gusts that flatten down
566. 22:04the stalks.
567. 22:06So, the mass assembly of troops was was
568. 22:08shaken now.
569. 22:09They cried in alarm and charged towards
570. 22:11the ships, and the dust went whirling up
571. 22:13from under rushing feet as the men
572. 22:15jostled back and forth, shouting orders.
573. 22:19Grab all the ships. Drag them down to
574. 22:21the bright sea. Clean out the launching
575. 22:23channels.
576. 22:24Shrill shouts hitting the heavens,
577. 22:26fighters racing for home, knocking the
578. 22:28blocks out underneath the holes. Okay.
579. 22:30So, this just shows you how stupid
580. 22:32Agamemnon is because Agamemnon thinks
581. 22:33that his soldiers soldiers want to fight
582. 22:35this war. But all the soldiers are
583. 22:37homesick. They're sick of this stupid
584. 22:38war. They They don't even know why why
585. 22:41they're in this war, okay? So, the
586. 22:43moment that Agamemnon says, "You guys
587. 22:44You guys can go home." They're all like,
588. 22:46"We're We're going to get home as soon
589. 22:47as possible." Okay? They miss their
590. 22:48wives. They miss their children.
591. 22:50All right? So,
592. 22:52after they did and Hera are up up in the
593. 22:55sky, okay? Mount Olympus. And they They
594. 22:57They watch us and like, "Oh my god.
595. 23:00Agamemnon's going to lose us this war.
596. 23:02What a And Hera says to Athena,
597. 23:07oh sorry sorry sorry, it's not actually
598. 23:08Hera and Aphrodite, it's Hera and Athena
599. 23:10because they're the ones who lost the
600. 23:12contest to Aphrodite, okay? But Hera
601. 23:14says to Athena, YOU GET DOWN THERE, MAN,
602. 23:16and you stop this, okay? So Athena
603. 23:19rushes down and he talks to Odysseus,
604. 23:23okay?
605. 23:28All right, can you read?
606. 23:30And now they might have won their
607. 23:32journey home, the men of Argos fighting
608. 23:34the will of fate. Yes, if Hera had not
609. 23:37alerted Athena.
610. 23:39Inconceivable, child of Zeus whose
611. 23:41battle shield is thunder, tireless one,
612. 23:44Athena.
613. 23:45What, is this the way?
614. 23:47All the Argives flying home to their
615. 23:48fatherland, sailing over the seas broad
616. 23:51back. Leaving Priam and all the men of
617. 23:53Troy a trophy to glory over. Helen of
618. 23:56Argos, Helen for whom so many Argives
619. 23:59lost their lives in Troy, far from
620. 24:01native land.
621. 24:02Go, range the ranks of Achaeans arms in
622. 24:05bronze.
623. 24:06With your winning words, hold back each
624. 24:08man you find. Don't let them haul their
625. 24:11rolling ships to sea.
626. 24:13Good.
627. 24:14Keep on reading.
628. 24:17The bright-eyed goddess Pallas lost no
629. 24:20time.
630. 24:21Down she flashed from the peaks of Mount
631. 24:23Olympus, quickly reached the ships and
632. 24:25found Odysseus first, a mastermind like
633. 24:28Zeus, still standing fast.
634. 24:30He had not laid a hand in his back
635. 24:32black-benched hole, such anguish racked
636. 24:35from his heart and fighting spirit.
637. 24:37Now close beside him the bright-eyed
638. 24:39goddess stood and urged him on.
639. 24:41Royal son of
640. 24:43Laertes. Laertes, Odysseus, great
641. 24:45tactician.
642. 24:47What, is this the way?
643. 24:48>> Okay, so um so everyone's going to go
644. 24:51home and you would think that Odysseus
645. 24:53would be the first person to get on a
646. 24:55ship to go back to see his son and his
647. 24:57wife, okay? But he's he's
648. 25:00um standing there. He's kind of
649. 25:01confused.
650. 25:03All right? So, he's like, "This doesn't
651. 25:04make any sense to me. Why would
652. 25:06Agamemnon do this?" But at the same
653. 25:07time, he sort of shows you that he
654. 25:09actually doesn't really want to go home.
655. 25:11Right? Because if he really wanted to go
656. 25:12home, he'd be home by now. Turn on
657. 25:14going.
658. 25:16All you Argives flying home to your
659. 25:17fatherland, tumbling into your war-swept
660. 25:20ships, leaving Priam and old men of Troy
661. 25:23a trophy to glory over.
662. 25:27Helen of Argos. Helen of Argos, Helen
663. 25:30for whom so many Argives lost their
664. 25:31lives in Troy, far from native land.
665. 25:34No, don't give up now. Range the aching
666. 25:37ranks with your winning words, hold back
667. 25:39each man you find. Don't let them haul
668. 25:41their rolling ships to sea.
669. 25:44He knew the goddess's voice. He [snorts]
670. 25:45went on the run, flinging off his cape
671. 25:47as Eurybates picked it up. The herald of
672. 25:50of Ithaca always at his side.
673. 25:54Coming face to face with Atreides
674. 25:56Agamemnon, he relieved him of his
675. 25:58father's royal scepter. Its power can
676. 26:00never die, and grasping it tightly, off
677. 26:03he strode to the ships of Argives armed
678. 26:06in bronze. Okay. So, he's not going to
679. 26:08single-handedly save the Greeks from
680. 26:11losing this war, okay? So, um
681. 26:15Athena, right? Athena is always part of
682. 26:21Odysseus. It's part of his soul, right?
683. 26:23The intuition. And his intuition tells
684. 26:25him
685. 26:26something is something wrong here. I
686. 26:27need to stop this, okay?
687. 26:29Also, [snorts] what Look at Agamemnon.
688. 26:32Agamemnon is frozen. He He is so
689. 26:36distraught.
690. 26:37He's shut down, okay? His brain has
691. 26:39stopped working. It's frozen because
692. 26:42this is not supposed to happen, right?
693. 26:43When he says that you guys can go home,
694. 26:45he wanted everyone to say, "No, we're
695. 26:47going to stay and fight for you,
696. 26:48Agamemnon." All right? So, it's
697. 26:50cognitive cognitive dissonance.
698. 26:52It's so much cognitive dissonance that
699. 26:53when
700. 26:54um Odysseus takes the royal scepter,
701. 26:58everyone doesn't even notice. The royal
702. 26:59scepter is part of his soul, right? It's
703. 27:02his legacy. It's what gives him
704. 27:03authority. He's the king of kings. And
705. 27:05Odysseus just takes takes the crown from
706. 27:08him and says like, "No, I'm the king for
707. 27:10now to save this war."
708. 27:12Okay? And it just shows you how
709. 27:14committed Odysseus is to winning this
710. 27:17war. He really believes that this war is
711. 27:20about justice,
712. 27:22about family, about building a legacy
713. 27:24for his son. So, he refuses to lose this
714. 27:27war.
715. 27:28All right?
716. 27:29Keep on going?
717. 27:31I I thought I
718. 27:32>> Oh, sorry. Sorry. Uh yeah.
719. 27:35All right.
720. 27:36All right. So,
721. 27:38um
722. 27:40But, that's the Iliad, okay? And again,
723. 27:43what will happen is that Odysseus will
724. 27:45win this war and he'll win eternal glory
725. 27:47for himself with the stratagem of the
726. 27:49Trojan horse. All right?
727. 27:51Now, [snorts] we go
728. 27:53to the Odyssey. And in the Odyssey,
729. 27:57we don't actually meet Odysseus for many
730. 28:00many books, okay? It's only towards the
731. 28:03middle that we meet Odysseus. In the
732. 28:05first few books, it's it's a story of
733. 28:07Telemachus and his journey to find his
734. 28:09father, okay?
735. 28:10And when we meet Odysseus, he's a very
736. 28:13different person
737. 28:14from
738. 28:16when from the Iliad. Remember in the
739. 28:18Iliad, he is trying to win this war.
740. 28:20He's very energetic. He's galvanized.
741. 28:22He's very heroic.
742. 28:24Okay, but when we see him in the
743. 28:26Odyssey, he's a changed person. In fact,
744. 28:29he's a broken person. So, what's
745. 28:31happening is that um
746. 28:33Odysseus Odysseus and his crew try to go
747. 28:35home and get lost at sea. They have many
748. 28:37adventures. They get shipwrecked on an
749. 28:39island.
750. 28:41Um and he's and he becomes the sex toy,
751. 28:44okay, literally a sex toy of a goddess
752. 28:46named Calypso. All right? So, basically
753. 28:48he's getting whipped every day uh at
754. 28:51night
755. 28:52and then
756. 28:53uh he goes to the beach and he cries.
757. 28:56Okay? So,
758. 28:58uh
759. 28:59And so so so he's he he he's he's a
760. 29:00prisoner of Calypso for many years, and
761. 29:02the gods, Zeus, Athena, they get
762. 29:05together and and and say, "You know
763. 29:07what? We can't have this happen anymore,
764. 29:09okay? Uh this is needs to go home." So,
765. 29:11they send Hermes to tell Calypso, "You
766. 29:13have to send Odysseus home. The gods
767. 29:16will it." And Calypso says, "Sure, why
768. 29:18not?" Okay? So, can you read?
769. 29:21With that, the powerful giant killer
770. 29:23sped away.
771. 29:23>> it's Hermes, okay? So, Hermes has told
772. 29:25Calypso, "You have to let this guy go."
773. 29:28The queenly nymph sought out the great
774. 29:29Odysseus. The commands of Zeus still
775. 29:32rang in her ears, and found him there on
776. 29:34the headland, sitting still, weeping,
777. 29:37his eyes never dry, his sweet life
778. 29:40flowing away with the tears he wept for
779. 29:42his foiled journey home, since the nymph
780. 29:44no longer pleased. So, he's sitting,
781. 29:46he's still,
782. 29:48he's weeping, his eyes never dry,
783. 29:51and all he's thinking about is
784. 29:53the past, okay? This is clear signs of
785. 29:56depression.
786. 29:57PDST, okay?
787. 29:59Keep on going.
788. 30:01In the night, true, he'd sleep with her
789. 30:03in the in the arching cave. He had no
790. 30:06choice, unwilling lover alongside lover
791. 30:09all too willing. But all his days he sat
792. 30:12on rocks and beaches, wrenching his
793. 30:14heart with sobs and groans and anguish,
794. 30:16gazing out over the barren sea through
795. 30:18blinding tears.
796. 30:19>> Okay, so he's a broken man. As he's a
797. 30:21very different person from the Iliad,
798. 30:25okay? So, now the question then is, why?
799. 30:27What happened to him?
800. 30:30All right?
801. 30:31So, um Calypso says to Odysseus, "You
802. 30:33know what?
803. 30:34It's been great having a sex toy,
804. 30:37but the gods insist that you have to go
805. 30:40home. But you know what? You can all you
806. 30:42can choose to be my sex toy for all
807. 30:45eternity. I can make you immortal,
808. 30:47right? You can go home, but I can make
809. 30:48you immortal and you'll be my sex toy
810. 30:49for all eternity. Now, this is is like,
811. 30:52that's a really nice offer. I I really
812. 30:55want to do this, but I need to go to
813. 30:56home, okay? So, he leaves and he gets an
814. 31:00island.
815. 31:01And on this island, he's given a ship to
816. 31:04go home. Okay? But, before he goes home,
817. 31:08as the custom, they hold a banquet for
818. 31:11him.
819. 31:12Okay? And they really don't know who he
820. 31:14is. He
821. 31:15they don't really know he's Odysseus.
822. 31:18All right. So,
823. 31:20during the banquet,
824. 31:22um
825. 31:23what's the tradition is to have a bard
826. 31:26sing a great story. Okay? To sing a
827. 31:29story of great deeds. And of course, he
828. 31:32sings about the Trojan War, okay? So, so
829. 31:34can you read um
830. 31:36I I read. Yeah.
831. 31:38The strife between Odysseus and
832. 31:40Achilles, Peleus' son.
833. 31:41>> Okay. So, so the bard is singing about
834. 31:43the Trojan War, okay? Mhm.
835. 31:45How once at the gods' flowing feast, the
836. 31:47captains clash in the savage war of
837. 31:49words, while Agamemnon, lord of armies,
838. 31:52rejoiced at heart that Achaeus' bravest
839. 31:55men were battling so.
840. 31:57For this was the victory sign that
841. 31:58Apollo prophecies at shrine in Pytho
842. 32:01when Agamemnon strode across the rocky
843. 32:03threshold, asking the oracle for advice.
844. 32:06The start of the tidal waves of ruin
845. 32:08tumbling down on Troy's and Achaeus'
846. 32:10forces both at once, thanks to the will
847. 32:13of Zeus, who rules the world.
848. 32:15That was the song the famous harper
849. 32:17sang, but but Odysseus, clutching his
850. 32:20flaring sea-blue cape in both powerful
851. 32:22hands, drew it over his head and buried
852. 32:24his handsome face, ashamed his host
853. 32:27might see him shedding tears.
854. 32:30Whenever the rapt bard would pause in
855. 32:31the song, he'd lift the cape from his
856. 32:34head, wipe off his tears, and hoisting
857. 32:37his double-handed cup, poured out to the
858. 32:39gods.
859. 32:40But as But soon as the bard would start
860. 32:42again, impelled to sing by Phemius'
861. 32:45words, who reveled in the tale, again
862. 32:48Odysseus hid his hid his face and wept.
863. 32:51>> Okay, so this is great banquet. And uh
864. 32:54the bard sing about the Trojan War. And
865. 32:57at this point you think that Odysseus
866. 32:58would like, "Hey, that's me, man." He'd
867. 32:59be very proud. But instead he cries and
868. 33:02he cries, okay? This again is trauma.
869. 33:05Where
870. 33:07the memories are storing pain in him. So
871. 33:10clearly something happened
872. 33:12during the Trojan War that made him want
873. 33:15to forget about it. That made him resent
874. 33:18himself. Okay? That caused his soul to
875. 33:20be ruptured.
876. 33:22All right? All right. So
877. 33:25um
878. 33:28Keep on going?
879. 33:30Odysseus, master of many exploits,
880. 33:32praised the singer.
881. 33:34I respect you, Demodocus, more than any
882. 33:37man alive. Surely the Muse has taught
883. 33:40you, Zeus' daughter, or god Apollo
884. 33:42himself, how true to life, all too true,
885. 33:46you sing the Achaeans' fate, all they
886. 33:48did and suffered, all they soldiered
887. 33:50through, as if you were the as if you
888. 33:52were there yourself or heard from one
889. 33:54who was.
890. 33:55But come now, shift your ground. Sing of
891. 33:58the wooden horse Epeius built with
892. 34:01Athena's help, the cunning trap that
893. 34:03good Odysseus that good Odysseus brought
894. 34:06one day to the heights of Troy, filled
895. 34:08with fighting men who laid the city
896. 34:10waste. Sing that for me, true to life as
897. 34:13it deserves, and I will tell the world
898. 34:16at once how freely the Muse gave you the
899. 34:18gods' own gift of song.
900. 34:20>> Okay.
901. 34:21So he's feeling all this pain
902. 34:24because of memories of the Trojan War.
903. 34:26But he recognizes that if he's willing
904. 34:27to go home, because remember he's on his
905. 34:29journey home, he needs to confront his
906. 34:31pain. He needs to admit his pain.
907. 34:34Okay? So now he's going to ask the bard
908. 34:36to sing the memory that he's most trying
909. 34:39to repress. He's trying to He He wants
910. 34:41to now focus on the Trojan War and
911. 34:43really come to terms with his own
912. 34:45trauma. Okay?
913. 34:47All right. So this So So let's let Let's
914. 34:50see what happens.
915. 34:52Sorry.
916. 34:53Stirred now by the muse, the bard
917. 34:55launched out in the fine blaze of song,
918. 34:57starting at just the point where the
919. 34:59main Achaean force, setting their camps
920. 35:01a fire, had boarded the oar-swept ships
921. 35:04and sailed for home.
922. 35:06But famed Odysseus's men already
923. 35:07crouched in hiding in the heart of
924. 35:09Troy's assembly, darkened that horse the
925. 35:12Trojans dragged themselves to the city
926. 35:14heights.
927. 35:15Now it stood there, looming,
928. 35:18and round its bulk the Trojans sat
929. 35:19debating, clashing days on [music] end.
930. 35:22Three plans split ranks, either to hack
931. 35:25open the hollow vault with ruthless
932. 35:26bronze, or haul it up to the highest
933. 35:29ridge and pitch it down the cliffs, or
934. 35:31let it stand, a glorious offering made
935. 35:33to pacify the gods.
936. 35:35And that That final plan was bound to
937. 35:37win the day.
938. 35:39For Troy was fated to perish once the
939. 35:41city lodged inside her walls the
940. 35:43monstrous wooden horse, where the prime
941. 35:45of Argive power lay in wait with death
942. 35:48and slaughter bearing down on Troy.
943. 35:51Okay.
944. 35:54All right. And he's saying how Troops of
945. 35:56Achaeans
946. 35:57Achaeans broke from cover, streaming out
947. 35:59of the horse's hollow flanks to plunder
948. 36:01Troy.
949. 36:02He's saying how left and right they
950. 36:04ravaged the steep city,
951. 36:06saying how Odysseus marched right up to
952. 36:09Deiphobus's house, like the god of war
953. 36:13on attack with thy hard Menelaus. But
954. 36:15Deiphobus is a name for Priam, okay?
955. 36:17They They They want to go kill the king.
956. 36:18You know what I'm saying?
957. 36:20There, he's saying, Odysseus fought the
958. 36:22grimmest fight he had ever braved, but
959. 36:24he won through at last, thanks to
960. 36:26Athena's superhuman power.
961. 36:29That was the song the famous harper
962. 36:31sang. The great Odysseus melted into
963. 36:33tears running down from his eyes to wet
964. 36:36his cheeks.
965. 36:37As a woman weeps, her arms flung round
966. 36:39her darling husband, a man who fell in
967. 36:42battle fighting for town and townsmen
968. 36:44trying to beat the day of doom from home
969. 36:46and children.
970. 36:48Seeing the man go down, dying, gasping
971. 36:50for for breath, she clings for dear
972. 36:52life, screams and shrills. But the
973. 36:55victors just behind her digging spear
974. 36:57butts into her back and shoulders drag
975. 37:00her off in bondage, yoked to hard labor,
976. 37:02pain, and the most heartbreaking torment
977. 37:05waste her cheeks.
978. 37:06So, from Odysseus's eyes ran tears of
979. 37:08heartbreak. Okay, so now we know what
980. 37:10happened, okay?
981. 37:12All right, so what happened was this.
982. 37:14For 10 years, Odysseus and the Greeks
983. 37:16were trying to defeat the Trojans, and
984. 37:18they could not do it because the Trojans
985. 37:20were behind a walled city. So, Odysseus
986. 37:23prayed and prayed to Athena for
987. 37:24inspiration, and then one day, he had
988. 37:27it, the Trojan horse, okay? So, he
989. 37:29sneaks in So, he gets in into the
990. 37:31underbelly of the Trojan horse along
991. 37:33with other soldiers,
992. 37:34and then they get into the city, and
993. 37:36like, you know, they're really scared,
994. 37:38they're really excited.
995. 37:39Then they're able at night to
996. 37:43uh leave the Trojan horse and then open
997. 37:44the gates of Troy, and the Greeks stream
998. 37:46in, and they start to conquer the city.
999. 37:50And then Odysseus, you know, he is
1000. 37:52killing, okay? Because it's war, and
1001. 37:55he's full of adrenaline.
1002. 37:57But then something catches his eye.
1003. 38:00All right? He strikes down a soldier,
1004. 38:04and then the a woman comes crying.
1005. 38:09And
1006. 38:11she's
1007. 38:12traumatized at the sight of the death of
1008. 38:15her husband.
1009. 38:17And he's And Odysseus is traumatized by
1010. 38:19this woman being traumatized. Because he
1011. 38:21came to Troy
1012. 38:24to save
1013. 38:27the woman, right?
1014. 38:28He sees Penelope in this woman. He says,
1015. 38:31"I came all this way to make sure that
1016. 38:34Helen could be safe with her husband."
1017. 38:36And now he just recognized that I just
1018. 38:39killed someone's husband.
1019. 38:42But only that,
1020. 38:44but
1021. 38:47the Greeks come and they take her off to
1022. 38:52be enslaved.
1023. 38:54So, he
1024. 38:56by winning this war has to has destroyed
1025. 39:00every single family in Troy.
1026. 39:03He's caused the suffering of thousands
1027. 39:05and thousands of
1028. 39:07women and children.
1029. 39:10And that is what he sees for the first
1030. 39:12time, okay? For the longest time he
1031. 39:15believed that he was here to fight for
1032. 39:18justice, to save families, to leave a
1033. 39:21legacy for his son Telemachus. And now
1034. 39:25he recognizes, "No.
1035. 39:28This is not a just war.
1036. 39:30I'm destroying
1037. 39:31a civilization. This is not a war about
1038. 39:33family. This is This is a war about
1039. 39:35destroying families. And what am I What
1040. 39:37legacy am I leaving my son?
1041. 39:40How will my son feel if he knows how I
1042. 39:43destroyed families like ours?
1043. 39:47And this causes trauma in him. It splits
1044. 39:50his soul.
1045. 39:52And it drives him crazy, basically. And
1046. 39:56that's the conflict, the central
1047. 39:58conflict in the Odyssey.
1048. 40:02Having
1049. 40:03done so much evil, how can you go home?
1050. 40:06How can you repair yourself?
1051. 40:09How can you mend your soul and repair
1052. 40:12your worldview so that you can live for
1053. 40:14your family?
1054. 40:16Okay?