Trojan War: The Podcast

ODYSSEY: THE PODCAST - my 14 episode, 24 hour sequel to Trojan War: The Podcast - is now recorded and waiting for you. Subscribe through your usual podcast provider, or go to odysseythepodcast.com! THE STORY: (40 minutes)  Zeus, King of the Gods, hosts a wedding.  An uninvited guest crashes, bringing an unwelcome gift.  In mere moments, all Hades breaks loose.  And the wheels of Western culture’s most awesome epic - the Trojan War - are set in motion. THE COMMENTARY:  DID THE TROJAN WAR REALLY "HAPPEN"?  (9 minutes; begins at 40:00)  In this episode of post-story commentary I spend some time talking about how the Trojan War epic, though over three thousand years old, remains deeply embedded in contemporary culture. I note how we are all familiar with the names (Achilles, Helen of Troy, Hector), the images (The Trojan Horse), and the concepts (“the face that launched a thousand ships”; “beware of Greeks bearing gifts”; “his Achilles’ Heel”) that originate in this epic.  Then I review the “history” of the stor

THE STORY:  (54 minutes) A queen is visited by a terrifying nightmare. Priests discern what the nightmare means. And a king is faced with a soul-wrenching dilemma: “do I kill my child, or allow my city to burn?” And the king’s decision …? Well, you’ll have to listen in to see how that turns out. THE COMMENTARY:  FATE VS. FREE WILL (16 minutes; begins at 54:00) In this episode of post-story commentary I explore the role of “Fate” in the Trojan War epic. I observe that most of us listening to this podcast (in the 21st century) like to believe that we have some sort of control or agency over our lives. We like to believe that we each have, to a large degree, freedom to choose how our lives will transpire – sort of like being the authors of our own “choose your own adventure” lives. I contrast this belief with the understanding of Bronze Age Greek culture (where our epic story takes place). These people did not believe in agency or free will (except in minor day to day questions, like “will I have fish or lamb f

THE STORY:  (38 minutes)  A miraculous child survives not only the homicidal raging of an angry demi-god, but also an icy immersion in a magic river and the venomous bite of a deadly snake. Then the child turns two, and his real adventures begin. THE COMMENTARY:  THE ACHILLES STORIES THAT I DID NOT TELL YOU  (16 minutes; begins at 38:00) I begin this episode of post-story commentary by discussing the reasons for the popularity of “Achilles stories” in the Bronze Age and Classical Greek world. I then briefly review some of the "birth of Achilles" stories that I chose to leave out of my account of Achilles’ early life. Following that, I review one particular major point of difference between Achilles as I present him in my story, versus Achilles as Homer chooses to portray him in The Iliad. This leads to a discussion of what “Achilles stories” were actually available and known to Homer when he wrote his epic, circa 700 BCE.. Have fun! Jeff RELATED IMAGES

THE STORY:  (30 minutes)  Hermes, the messenger god, locates a “highly qualified” judge for a beauty contest between three powerful, vain and vindictive goddesses.  One of the goddesses is cruising to what appears to be certain victory, until her competitors propose a “twist” on the contest rules.  And our judge – a boy you already know – is suddenly confronted with a choice:  political power, military glory, or some smokin' hot  …   But you'll have to tune in, if you want to find out exactly what happens.  THE COMMENTARY:  (14 minutes; begins at 30:00)  I begin the post-story commentary by acknowledging some of the “time line inconsistencies” inherent in this episode.  Has it really taken Zeus eighteen years to find a judge for a beauty contest?  I explore some of possible solutions to the time line problem, including: “look the other way and pretend it isn’t there”, and “employ Einstein’s theory of relativity to reason the problem away".  Eventually I give up and simply acknowledge that timeline problems

THE STORY:  (30 minutes)  The transition from shepherd to Crown Prince of Troy isn’t easy, but with some help from Aphrodite (and from the royal harem), Paris manages to settle in to Troy quite nicely.  A road trip to the the Greek kingdom of Sparta follows, during which Paris discovers that Aphrodite keeps all of her promises. THE COMMENTARY:  DID SPARTA REALLY THROW BABIES OFF OF CLIFFS?  (14 minutes; begins at 30:00)  I spend the entire post-story commentary of this episode talking about Sparta. Most of us, when we hear the word “Sparta”, immediately conjure up the image of bad-ass Spartan warriors, and the recent Hollywood blockbuster “The 300”.   I note that this particular Sparta – the Sparta of popular consciousness – existed circa 480 B.C.E.; whereas the Sparta of the Trojan War existed circa 1250 B.C.E.  After a quick review of the social and military practices of the 480 B.C.E. Sparta – killing unfit babies; raising boys in military barracks; murderous initiation rites into manhood; selective breed

THE STORY:  (37 minutes)   This episode has it all!  A kinky story about an amorous swan, a disturbing story about a butchered horse, a cautionary story about a foolish husband, and a too-familiar story about a corrupt politician.  And in the midst of all the stories, well, Helen of Sparta moves to Troy. THE COMMENTARY:  HELEN OF TROY - DAMSEL IN DISTRESS or FEMME FATALE?  (26 minutes; begins at 37:00)   Helen of Troy is one of the most complex and enigmatic characters in all of fiction (or in all of fact - which just adds to the complexity!).  As you know, Helen left her life in Sparta to travel to the city of Troy with Paris.  But what caused Helen to leave?  Well, that continues to be the subject of considerable debate.  In this episode of post-story commentary I review five conflicting “takes” on Helen’s motivations.  I note that each culture down through the ages has ascribed to Helen motivations which are deeply reflective of that particular culture’s attitudes towards women, the family, and sexuality.

THE STORY:  (43 minutes)   Operation Trojan Storm needs the craft and cunning of Odysseus, Greece’s most clever man.  But Odysseus has mysteriously vanished.  Agamemnon puts his best man, Palamedes, on the case.  “Find Odysseus; bring him to me, one way or another”, Agamemnon commands.  But what Palamedes discovers when he finally locates Odysseus ….!  Tune in to the podcast to learn the whole, horrifying truth! THE COMMENTARY:  GREEK PIRATES vs. TROJAN MERCHANTS (17 minutes; begins at 43:00)   I shamelessly spend this entire post-story commentary geeking-out on Greek naval technology and tactics.  First I paint a quick picture of sort of ships that Agamemnon was building in order to launch his amphibious invasion of Troy.  Then I review Greek naval tactics, explaining how Agamemnon’s fast, nimble and highly mobile  ships managed to terrorize the towns and cities of the Mediterranean world.  Then I explain how the Greeks of 1250 B.C.E. “looked outward” for economic opportunity:  how they proudly sacked, pill

THE STORY:  (49 minutes)   Agamemnon doesn’t dare launch his invasion of Troy until Achilles - Greece’s very own “weapon of mass destruction” – is part of the operation.  So Odysseus, the cleverest of the warlords, is dispatched to find the elusive Achilles.  Act One of today’s episode is a cleverly constructed mystery.  And Act Two?  Well, let’s just say that Act Two is more than a bit of a drag. THE COMMENTARY: ACHILLES, THE OPERA!  (15 minutes; begins at 49:00)   Stories, myths and legends are like any other element of fashion; they wax and wane in popularity over the decades and centuries.  In this episode of post-story commentary I explore the “Achilles on Skyros” story.  The story, ancient enough that Homer makes passing mention of it in The Iliad (c. 700 B.C.E.) is a wonderfully light and inconsequential moment of candyfloss inside the massive story arc that is the Trojan War Epic.  And the story, as a consequence, has been largely ignored by artists.  Except for a hundred year span in the 18th centur

THE STORY: (45 minutes) In this horrifying episode Agamemnon, Commander in Chief of the Greek’s Operation Trojan Storm, is confronted with an existential question. How badly does he want to invade Troy, and who or what is he willing to sacrifice in order to realize his plans? THE COMMENTARY: MURDER, INCEST, INFIDELITY & CANNIBALISM – AGAMEMNON’S INTERESTING FAMILY! (16 minutes; begins at 45:00) This deeply troubling episode is based on the story of the sacrifice of Iphigenia – Agamemnon’s teenage daughter. In the post-story commentary I explore how two different Athenian dramatists used the broad outlines of the well-known “Iphigenia story” to craft their own unique plays. I first look at Aeschylus’ Agamemnon (458 B.C.E.), and explain why I chose to follow his general plot outline in narrating my own account of the story. Then I turn to Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis (405 B.C.E.), seeking (and finding) a much happier and less horrifying account of the story I have just told. I leave you the listener to decide

THE STORY:  (53 minutes)   Agamemnon’s 100,000-strong army finally makes it to the beaches of Troy, and readies itself for one day of glorious, decisive, "winner-take-all" battle against Hector’s Trojan army.  But the Trojans appear to have other plans.  And it soon becomes clear that the Greek troops will not be making it home for Christmas – at least not for any Christmas in this decade. THE COMMENTARY:  WEAPONS, ARMOUR & BATTLEFIELD REALITIES c. 1250 B.C.E.  (30 minutes; begins at 53:00)   Some episodes ago I spent the post-story commentary shamelessly geeking out on Greek vs. Trojan warships and naval tactics.  In this episode I turn my equally geeky attention to Bronze Age weapons, armour and military tactics.  But rather than contrasting Greeks vs. Trojans, I instead contrast “warlord heroes” vs “cannon-fodder grunts”.  First I discuss the “warlord heroes” as presented by Homer and his contemporaries:  heroes like Achilles, Ajax, Hector, Odysseus and Agamemnon.  I review the sort of armour that they wo

THE STORY:  (46 minutes)   Ten years into the siege of Troy a priest of Apollo arrives at the command tent of Agamemnon, Commander in Chief of the Greeks.  The priest makes a simple request of Agamemnon. Agamemnon refuses, and Greek soldiers die in the thousands.  And then things turn truly ugly… THE COMMENTARY:  DID A GUY NAMED HOMER EXIST, & DID HE WRITE THE ILIAD?  (16 minutes; begins at 46:00)  This particular episode of Trojan War: The Podcast brings our story arc into Homer’s Iliad itself.  I use the post-story commentary to discuss “all things Iliad” including:  who was/was there a Homer; how was the Iliad composed; and why do we have copies of the Iliad today?  I begin by reminding listeners that the first ten episodes of Trojan War: The Podcast are not found in Homer’s Iliad.  Rather, they are part of what scholars refer to as the Trojan War Epic Cycle:  a jambalaya of stories, bits of stories, accounts of bits of stories, and references to accounts of bits of stories, that have managed to survive,

THE STORY:  (58 minutes)   Hector proposes an audacious “exit strategy” to Agamemnon: a deal to end the war with just one man dead.  Intense diplomatic negotiations follow.  And just when it appears that Greek and Trojan have agreed to terms, a third, more powerful party, enters the conversation. THE COMMENTARY:  EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OLYMPIAN GODS, IN UNDER 13 MINUTES!  (12 minutes; begins at 58:00) I dedicate all of this post-story commentary to the Olympian Gods:  Zeus, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo and the lot.  The gods require our consideration because, though they have clearly been players since Episode One: The Apple of Discord, they now begin to aggressively assert themselves into the plot.  I start with a reminder that the Olympian gods are a fundamentally different sort of deity than are the god(s) worshipped in the 21st century.  The Olympian deities are not the authors of creation, but are instead - like humans, animals, and plants - just another sort of life inside of creation.  T

THE STORY:  (56 minutes)   As Greek and Trojan forces openly clash on the plains of Troy the goddess Athena imbues a Greek warlord – Diomedes – with fearsome, godlike powers of combat.  So with the Trojan forces in disarray and on the verge of wholescale panic, Hector decides on an audacious plan to save his army.  But can Hector survive his own plan? THE COMMENTARY:  CAN WAR BE BOTH TERRIBLE and GLORIOUS?  (17 minutes; begins at 56:00) This post-story commentary examines both the “glorious” and the “terrible” faces of the Trojan War.  I first review the arestia of Diomedes, which dominates much of the story in this podcast episode.  I point out that Diomedes’ arestia (or moment of supreme excellence in battle) follows the usual arestia pattern found in Homer's Iliad.  The hero is first imbued with god-like powers; the hero’s armour and weapons are then imbued with god-like radiance (the helmet “burns like a fire”; the bronze spear tip “is like a gleaming star”); the hero racks up an impressive kill count ag

THE STORY: (57 minutes) This episode, pivotal to the entire Trojan War Epic, features philosophy, bedroom farce, and genuine tragedy -- all in equal measure.  Temptation plays the lead:  Agamemnon tempts Achilles; Hera tempts Zeus; and Patroclus tempts Deadly Destiny. THE COMMENTARY:  WERE ACHILLES & PATROCLUS LOVERS? (20 minutes; begins at 57:00) I dedicate this entire post-story commentary to the Achilles/Patroclus relationship:  a relationship which has confounded scholars, storytellers, and listeners for the past 3500 years.  The central question up for debate is whether the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus had a sexual component. I begin my conversation by stating the fact that all scholars, tellers and listeners agree on: Achilles and Patroclus were exceedingly close - best friends, dearest of companions, soul mates, brothers in arms – use what terms you will.  Of that there is no doubt.  And when Patroclus is killed by Hector, everybody agrees that Achilles’ response to that death is the pi

THE STORY  (65 minutes)   Homer’s Iliad opens with the storyteller’s invocation to the Muse: “The wrath of Achilles – sing it now, goddess, sing through me ….”  When Achilles learns that his beloved Patroclus is dead – at the hands of Hector –Achilles “snaps”.  What follows is a powerful, disturbing and truly horrifying podcast episode. THE COMMENTARY:  WHAT HAPPENS TO US AFTER WE DIE?  (25 minutes; begins at 1:05) This post story commentary is dedicated to Bronze Age beliefs about death and the afterlife.  I explore what warlords like Hector, Achilles, Agamemnon and Odysseus would have believed about death, about funeral rites and burial, and about what was waiting for them “on the other side”.  To do so I follow the psyche (soul, spirit) of a man from the moment of imminent death (when the living man gains the gift of prophesy), through the dying man’s final breath (when the psyche is exhaled through the mouth), and then on to the psyche’s journey to the entrance to Hades – the land of the dead.  I provide

THE STORY (50 minutes)   This episode traces the personal griefs of two bitter enemies:  Achilles, who has lost his best friend and soul mate, Patroclus; and King Priam, who has lost his son and his heir, Hector.  Both Achilles and Priam are inconsolable, until Zeus and Deadly Destiny unite them, under the roof of one tent. What transpires in that tent is truly remarkable. THE COMMENTARY:  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT & WHY DOES HOMER END THE ILIAD HERE? (19 minutes; begins at 50:00)   With this podcast episode I conclude telling those episodes of the Trojan War Epic which are found in Homer’s Iliad.  Trojan War: The Podcast will continue, of course, but without benefit of Homer’s remarkable text.  In this post story commentary I pause to address a question commonly asked by first-time readers through Homer’s Iliad:  why does Homer end his story with the funeral of Hector, when there are clearly so many “what happens next?” questions left to answer?  To wit:  what happens to Paris; to Helen; to Achilles; to the Greek a

THE STORY  (59 minutes)   With Hector dead, the desperate Trojans grasp on to increasingly ridiculous deus ex machina solutions to save their city from the Greeks.  And then old King Priam hatches the most hair-brained (or brilliant) scheme of them all….. THE COMMENTARY  HOW DID ACHILLES DIE and WHO KILLED HIM? (15 minutes; begins at 59:00)   With this podcast episode we leave behind Homer`s account of the Trojan War, and once again delve into that jambalaya of accounts, fragments, partial references and contradictory content that served as our source materials in Episodes One through Ten.   I remind listeners that the death of Achilles does not appear in Homer – though Homer clearly predicts it and even tells us who will kill Achilles (Paris), and even where Achilles will die (on the Trojan Plain).  I then raise the perennial and frustrating debate on whether or not Achilles was immune from physical injury.  I note that Homer’s Achilles is vulnerable to injury (a Trojan arrow draws blood in Book 21 of Iliad

THE STORY  (50:00 minutes)   A dispute over honour leads to a leadership shift (and a profound tragedy) in the Greek army.  Meanwhile, Paris Prince of Troy discovers that “nemesis” is a word of particularly Greek origin. THE COMMENTARY    THE OENONE STORY:  A PATRIARCHAL MARRIAGE PRIMER   (20 minutes; begins at 50:00)   I devote this post-story commentary to an exploration of the “Paris and Oenone” story.  I begin by reviewing the basic details of the story that seems to be agreed upon by all tellers down through the ages.  In short:  Paris is hit by Philoctetes’ poison arrow.  The Trojan priests discover that only the healing arts of a particular forest nymph can save Paris from painful and certain death.  Paris realizes that the nymph in question is Oenone, his former wife, who he abandoned some twelve or so years ago, having been promised (by Aphrodite) a much hotter and sexually obliging woman (Menelaus of Sparta’s wife Helen). At the time, Oenone had uttered some appropriately “fore shadowy” words: “Som

ODYSSEY: THE PODCAST - my 14 episode, 24 hour sequel to Trojan War: The Podcast - is now recorded and waiting for you. Subscribe through your usual podcast provider, or go to odysseythepodcast.com! THE STORY   (60 minutes) Odysseus finally decodes the cryptic prophecy that “Troy’s walls will never be destroyed by an enemy force”, then sets to work on implementing the most audacious - and famous - “con” in the history of war. THE COMMENTARY     WAS THERE EVER REALLY A TROJAN HORSE?  (20 minutes; begins at 1:00:06) I begin this post-story commentary with a definitive:  “Yes, there really was a Trojan Horse”.  Homer’s Odyssey (c. 750 BCE) and Virgil’s Aeneid (c. 20 BCE) both tell us that there really was a giant wooden horse, and that is good enough for me.  Both Homer and Virgil employ “eye-witness” accounts of the famous horse; Homer’s witnesses were men hidden in the horse’s hollow belly, while Virgil’s witnesses were Trojans on the ground.  I note that the “canonical” version of the Trojan Horse story come

ODYSSEY: THE PODCAST - my 14 episode, 24 hour sequel to Trojan War: The Podcast - is now recorded and waiting for you. Subscribe through your usual podcast provider, or go to odysseythepodcast.com! THE STORY and A MESSAGE FROM JEFF WRIGHT  (1:39:53)   Odysseus confronts Priam, Menelaus confronts Helen, and Agamemnon confronts Fate and Deadly Destiny …. all on the night when the mighty city of Troy finally falls. And so, with the city of Troy in flames and the Greek fleet set sail across the wine dark seas for home, history’s most awesome epic  - the Trojan War Epic - comes to a close.  We have travelled a long way together in twenty episodes, from Episode One: The Apple of Discord to Episode Twenty: The Sack of Troy.   It has been my pleasure and privilege to be your storyteller and guide on that journey.  I have enjoyed sharing every wonderful moment with you.  And I have taken constant delight in (and energy from) your generous enthusiasm and support. Of course a story this awesome generates its own “what