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Beyond the podcast: the Odyssey

Beyond the podcast: the Odyssey

To coincide with the release of our podcast series on the the Odyssey, HistoryExtra's Kev Lochun rounds up some essential reads to help you understand more about the ancient Greek world

Kev Lochun

Published: July 16, 2026 at 4:29 PM

9 items

The Odyssey is one of the most celebrated stories ever told, recounting the tale Greek hero Odysseus’s journey home from the Trojan War. It should have taken him weeks – and it would have done, had he not angered Poseidon. Instead it took him 10 years, an adventure spanning impossible monsters, angsty gods and the unquiet dead.

In this podcast series, Kev Lochun and classicist Daisy Dunn explore the background, hidden meanings and real history within the Odyssey. Over the course of four episodes, discover why we can't say for sure who wrote the poem, his encounter with the one-eyed Cyclops and the so-called witch Circe, and the real Bronze Age world of feasting kings and heroic warriors that inspired Homer's epic poem.

Below, I’ve selected some essential further reading, listening and viewing from our archives to broaden your knowledge of the ancient Greek world.

Showing 1 to 9 of 9 results

Ancient Greece

Is The Odyssey based on a true story? The movie's historical accuracy explained

Homer’s tale of Odysseus and his gruelling journey home has echoed down the ages, and now forms the basis of a cinematic spectacle from director Christopher Nolan. But when was the poem originally written, and were any of its characters based on real people?
Ancient Greece

Did the Trojan War really happen? Here's why even Odyssey experts can't agree

For more than 2,500 years, readers have been transported to the Trojan War by Homer. Did it really happen?
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Historian reacts to the most painful part of The Odyssey trailer. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Classicist and author Daisy Dunn reacts to the latest trailer for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, exploring the gods, monsters and the surprising details that show faithfulness to Homer's world
Ancient Greece

Your guide to Ancient Greece: everything you wanted to know

There is much to fascinate in the stories of the ancient Greeks. Here, classicist and expert Professor Paul Cartledge answers key questions about one of the world’s greatest civilisations, and gives an overview of the key events that shaped the civilisation’s existence. Elsewhere, Paul Chrystal considers six facts about the societies of ancient Greece – from the position of women in society to the belief in gods and goddesses that regulated daily life…
Ancient Greece

Greek gods and goddesses: 15 of the most important deities of ancient Greece

Ancient Greece had a rich panoply of deities and making sense of the web of family trees can be challenging. Matt Doherty offers a guide to the most famous gods and goddesses of the Greek world – their origins, powers, passions, and how they were worshipped
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Was Homer a real person? Michael Wood on the surprising origins of The Iliad. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

" Scholars have applied models used in genetic research to Homer’s Iliad", writes Michael Wood
Ancient Greece

Hippocrates and humours: medicine in ancient Greece

Modern medicine was born in ancient Greece as physicians like Hippocrates began to seek a more scientific approach. Writing for BBC History Revealed, Emma Slattery Williams gives her diagnosis on the developments and some of the Greeks' more unusual beliefs
Ancient Greece

Women in ancient Greece: what were their lives like?

Some city-states were worlds apart when it came to female emancipation, but Greek society still very much revolved around men…
Ancient Greece

A brief history of sex and sexuality in Ancient Greece

Historian Paul Chrystal explores the many layers of sex and sexuality in various Greek societies – from the Minoan civilisation through to Sparta and Hellenistic Greece, and across examines homosexuality, pederasty, mythological sex and sex in Greek philosophy and religion…