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Classical Reference Library

Background & Context

Resources related to The Odyssey Abridged.

HOMER'S ENDURING LEGACY

Homer in the News

Recent articles, reviews, discoveries and cultural conversations surrounding Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey

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THE WORLD OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS

Introduction to Ancient Greece

A concise guide to the geography, history, political life, and cultural development of ancient Greece, from the Bronze Age civilizations of Crete and Mycenae through the rise of the city-states, Classical Athens and Sparta, and the age of Alexander the Great.

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THE ODYSSEY • MAP

Map of Odysseus’s Journey

A classroom-ready map tracing one possible route of Odysseus’s travels through the Mediterranean, from Troy to Ithaca, with 14 numbered stops and book references. Includes a free printable PDF for classroom use.

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The Trojan War

Who Really Won the Trojan War?

The Greeks destroyed Troy—but victory proved far more complicated. Achilles was dead, Agamemnon returned home only to be murdered, Odysseus wandered for another ten years, and the defeated Trojans lived on in legend. The ancient stories leave us with a surprisingly modern question: if war devastates victors and vanquished alike, what does it really mean to win?

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THE ODYSSEY

You Speak More Homer Than You Think

You may never have sailed past the Sirens or faced a Cyclops, but you probably speak Homer's language more often than you realize. From odyssey and mentor to siren song, lotus-eater, and between Scylla and Charybdis, discover how a 3,000-year-old poem still lives on in the words and expressions we use today.

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