Two hundred sets of eyes are now off their phones and on me. The laughter and talking stop, the room is silent. I have the audience’s complete attention as they listen to … my 35-minute, 24-song retelling of Homer’s “The Odyssey.”

It’s not as far-fetched as it seems. In fact, I’ve done my “Odyssey” performance almost 400 times in all 50 U.S. states and abroad in Greece, Italy, the U.K. and elsewhere. 

I call myself a “modern Homeric bard.”

I studied classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and for over 20 years I’ve helped high school students consider Odysseus by singing his song to them just as was done by bards predating even Homer’s time. It is commonly one of the first texts taught to freshmen and comes with a number of challenges, among them how to guide students through a 12,000-line poem with unfamiliar names and strange customs and how to contextualize an ancient society with brutal practices that marginalized women and the enslaved. 

But with the proper introduction, nothing is more relevant to our current cultural moment than the epic’s complicated hero who does not behave in ways that conform with our modern understanding of heroism. 

With Homer’s epic in this summer, the coming school year is an ideal time to introduce students to this foundational text. Here are five strategies I’ve learned for teaching Homer’s complex hero:

1. Find a translation that resonates. There have never been more great translations with varied approaches available. The newest high-profile translation by Daniel Mendelsohn puts poetic meter and language at the forefront. Emily Wilson’s highly regarded translation (the first by a woman published in English) uses a lean rhythm and highlights issues of gender and power. Translations by Barry Powell, Stanley Lombardo, Robert Fagles, Robert Fitzgerald and Richmond Lattimore each offer a different mix of language, poetry and narrative, all with excellent introductions and insightful endnotes. You might even have different groups of students read different translations and compare approaches.
   
2. Highlight the universal. It’s easy for students to get weighed down by unfamiliar names and archaic (well, Bronze Age) behaviors and rituals. I’ve had success framing “The Odyssey” first as a human story and then as an Ancient Greek story. Universal themes like Telemachus’ coming of age, Penelope’s motherly concern for her son, the impact of war on a soldier’s return home, and Odysseus’ complicated relationship with the truth connect more easily than how many hecatombs of cattle one should sacrifice to Zeus (generally, a lot) or whose father was Nausithous (Alcinous).
   
3. Include modern adaptations in other media. With the release of Christopher Nolan’s movie, it is a boom time for modern retellings of Homer and these can be great tools for helping students find ways into the story. In fact, my initial motivation for my one-person was to provide emotional context for the characters. Other examples are the movies “O Brother Where Art Thou?” and “The Return,” the novel “Circe” by Madeline Miller, the viral TikTok sensation “Epic the Musical,” and the Gareth Hinds’ graphic-novel retelling. All these versions complement Homer’s text and replicate the malleability of the oral tradition that created the epic we read today.
   
4. Teach an “angle.” Unsurprisingly, “The Odyssey” is really long! Especially if you find you are limited in the amount of time you can dedicate to the text, pick one or two themes and go deeper into those aspects rather than trying to get through the whole poem. Some approaches that I’ve found resonate with high students in particular: Focus on the theme of home and what it means to the concept of identity. Read books 9 through 12 (the “monster” books) and dive into the physical adventure world of the poem. Read selections that consider the female characters of the story and how they do and don’t express agency. Examine the role of divine influence and free will. Read other warrior homecoming stories and consider how Odysseus’ experience fits into our modern relationship with war and veterans.
   
5. Encourage creative engagement. One of the best ways to have students explore the poem and then demonstrate what they have discovered is by having them create their own versions of the story in other media. A song (or 24) inspired by a character. A drawing or painting of an episode. A podcast. A short video piece. Acting out a scene. The story can be told from any perspective in multiple formats.

I believe Homeric epic is perennially relevant and moving. It shows us what it means to be human. It considers identity, family, adventure, gender, leadership, failure, glory, and perseverance: It’s all there in “The Odyssey” (and “The Iliad”). “The Odyssey” has survived for 3,000 years because it encourages and inspires people to tell and retell it in their own times, and I have seen students tap into this legacy and in doing so both enlighten and be enlightened by Homer’s amazing poem.