The Odyssey, Books 15 & 16

A turning of the tide in Ithaca. In these gripping, pivotal books of Homer’s Odyssey, Athena sends Telemachus racing home from Sparta as dark omens gather and the seer Theoclymenus joins his voyage. Back on Ithaca, the loyal swineherd Eumaeus shelters a ragged stranger—Odysseus himself—until father and son finally recognize one another in a heart-stirring scene that sets their daring plan in motion. Together, they steel themselves to face the ravenous suitors, while Penelope confronts the men who devour her household and plot against her heir. Rendered in Samuel Butler’s lucid, fast-moving prose and performed by William Johnston with clarity, warmth, and tensile suspense, this standalone installment delivers swift action, intimate emotion, and the gathering thunder of justice. Perfect for first-time listeners and lifelong lovers of Homer alike, Books 15 & 16 marry timeless adventure with a profoundly human story of homecoming, loyalty, and resolve.