Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. The Making of the Odyssey: 1. The background of the Odyssey; 2. The date of the Odyssey; 3. Bards and oral poetry; 4. The language of the Odyssey and the 'formulaic system'; 5. Is the Odyssey an oral poem?; 6. Alternative Odysseys?; 7. How the poem comes down to us; Part II. The Poem: 8. Summary; 9. Translating Homer; 10. Shape and unity; 11. The epic style: grandeur and realism; 12. The epic: technique and variety; 13. The Odyssey and the Iliad; 14. Myth and folklore; 15. Some problems; 16. Men and gods; 17. Men and women; 18. Society and geography; 19. The values of the Odyssey; Part III. The Odyssey and After: 20. The after-life of the Odyssey; Guide to further reading.