Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
August, sometime in the 500s BCE. In Athens, the Great Panathenaia is in full swing: chariot races, boat races, a hundred cattle slaughtered for the feast. And at the center of it, a competition in which performers recite the work of one poet, and one poet only: Homer. But nobody recites the Odyssey alone. It takes some eighteen hours. So the performers hand it off in relay, each one picking up exactly where the last man stopped.
That relay may be the closest thing we have to the truth about Homer. Almost no scholar today believes a single blind bard composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. So who made them? And what happens to a masterpiece when you accept that it never had an author?
Special thanks to our guests: Mary Ebbott, professor of classics at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts; and Casey Dué, professor of classical studies at the University of Houston. They are the editors of the Homer Multitext Project, which you can find at homermultitext.org.
To stay updated on all things HISTORY This Week, sign up at historythisweekpodcast.com. Have thoughts or questions? Email us at historythisweek@history.com.
Sign up for ad-free listening and bonus episodes at htwpod.com.
Credits:
Sally Helm | Host/Producer
Ben Dickstein | EP/Sound Design
Eli Lehrer | Executive Producer
Liv Fidler | Executive Producer
Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com
Follow on Instagram: @historythisweekpodcast
Follow on Facebook: HISTORY This Week Podcast
To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-this-week/id1493453604
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2YFm0ezrXmMqLXbxgZpkmd?si=9a84fadee11447d4
Audacy: audacy.com/podcast/history-this-week-71b4d
Subscribe for more HISTORY:
histv.co/SubscribeHistoryYT
Check out exclusive HISTORY content:
History Newsletter - histv.co/newsletter
Website - histv.co/History
Facebook - histv.co/Facebook
TikTok - bit.ly/4kZKjXi
HISTORY® is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network’s all-original programming slate features a roster of hit series, premium documentaries, and scripted event programming.
August, sometime in the 500s BCE. In Athens, the Great Panathenaia is in full swing: chariot races, boat races, a hundred cattle slaughtered for the feast. And at the center of it, a competition in which performers recite the work of one poet, and one poet only: Homer. But nobody recites the Odyssey alone. It takes some eighteen hours. So the performers hand it off in relay, each one picking up exactly where the last man stopped.
That relay may be the closest thing we have to the truth about Homer. Almost no scholar today believes a single blind bard composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. So who made them? And what happens to a masterpiece when you accept that it never had an author?
Special thanks to our guests: Mary Ebbott, professor of classics at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts; and Casey Dué, professor of classical studies at the University of Houston. They are the editors of the Homer Multitext Project, which you can find at homermultitext.org.
To stay updated on all things HISTORY This Week, sign up at historythisweekpodcast.com. Have thoughts or questions? Email us at historythisweek@history.com.
Sign up for ad-free listening and bonus episodes at htwpod.com.
Credits:
Sally Helm | Host/Producer
Ben Dickstein | EP/Sound Design
Eli Lehrer | Executive Producer
Liv Fidler | Executive Producer
Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com
Follow on Instagram: @historythisweekpodcast
Follow on Facebook: HISTORY This Week Podcast
To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-this-week/id1493453604
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2YFm0ezrXmMqLXbxgZpkmd?si=9a84fadee11447d4
Audacy: audacy.com/podcast/history-this-week-71b4d
Subscribe for more HISTORY:
histv.co/SubscribeHistoryYT
Check out exclusive HISTORY content:
History Newsletter - histv.co/newsletter
Website - histv.co/History
Facebook - histv.co/Facebook
TikTok - bit.ly/4kZKjXi
HISTORY® is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network’s all-original programming slate features a roster of hit series, premium documentaries, and scripted event programming.
