Homer
Ancient Greek
The legendary Ancient Greek poet traditionally credited with the Iliad and the Odyssey, the two foundational epics of Western literature. Whether Homer was a single historical author, multiple poets, or a name attached to a long oral tradition is contested by scholars (the "Homeric question"). The epics are written in dactylic hexameter and were composed sometime in the 8th or 7th century BCE, drawing on earlier oral traditions about the Bronze Age Mycenaean world and the Trojan War.
Books
Episodes
- 56. Moby Dick, part 2: A conceptual analysis of Whiteness
- 55. Moby Dick, part 1: My name is Ishmael and my special interest is whales
- 53. DYEL wrapped: Most beloved and hated books of 2025
- 37. The Odyssey, part 2: Failsons and deadbeat dads
- 36. Emily Wilson's The Odyssey, part 1: Bronze age perversion
- 33. Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, part 1: A legion of horribles
Fleeting mentions
- 49. C.P. Snow's The Two Cultures: the original stemcels vs shape rotators beef
- 40. The Dispossessed part 2: Why would capitalism make me do this?
- 34. Blood Meridian, part 2: It's time for some game theory
- 32. DYEL Christmas party: The most beloved and hated books of 2024
- 28. Ted Chiang's Understand: Intelligence explosions and AI doom
- 24. Crime and Punishment, part 2: Three extraordinary men
- 21. The Tragedy of Hamlet: The O.G. annoying theatre kid
- 6. Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse, part 1: Skill issue