概要

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CostasNarrativeXP 2026 July feature
"The Odyssey" by Homer
Published in 700-800 BCE

Translated by Robert Fagles

A profound exploration of human identity and resilience. True homecoming is not a matter of geographic travel, but a grueling psychological journey to reclaim one’s self and humanity through the restoration of vital relationships.

Book XI-XII
00:29 XI The Kingdom of the Dead
44:11 XII The Cattle of the Sun

Characters
Odysseus - The battle-hardened and incredibly cunning king of Ithaca whose twenty-year struggle to return home serves as the ultimate test of human resilience and identity.

Telemachus - Odysseus's coming-of-age son who transforms from a passive, fatherless prince into a courageous and essential brother-in-arms to reclaim his household.

Penelope - Odysseus’s brilliant and fiercely loyal queen who uses her exceptional wit and psychological grit to stall a hundred aggressive suitors for years.

Athena - The goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare who acts as the divine architect of the entire story, constantly orchestrating and protecting the family's survival.

Antinous - The cruel, arrogant, and politically ambitious leader of the suitors who serves as the primary antagonist by plotting to murder Telemachus and usurp the throne.

Costa's Wordbook
Cimmerian - ancient nomadic horse-riding people, a mythical land of darkness, modern day caucasian

Perimedes - loyal crew member of Odysseus, who helps with vital ship tasks and underworld rituals

Anticleia - mother of Odysseus, queen of Ithaca, and daughter of the thief Autolycus

Theban n person from the ancient Greek or Egyptian city of Thebes

Tyro - famous mortal woman whose ghost Odysseus meets in the Underworld, the daughter of King Salmoneus and the wife of King Cretheus

Cretheus - son of Aeolus and the founder and king of the city of Iolcus

Enipeus - divine river god of Thessaly whom the mortal princess Tyro fell in love with, prompting the god Poseidon to disguise himself as Enipeus to win her affections

Pelias - famous King of Iolcus from the myth of Jason and the Argonauts who sent Jason for the Golden Fleece

Aeson - son of Cretheus and Tyro, and the father of the hero Jason

Antiope - daughter of Asopus who bore twin sons, Amphion and Zethus, to Zeus. These two sons built the walls of the seven-gated city of Thebes

Amphitryon - famous mortal hero, husband of Alcmene and human foster father of Heracles

Megara - daughter of King Creon of Thebes and the first wife of Heracles

Oedipus - a legendary Greek king destined by a horrific prophecy to unknowingly murder his biological father and marry his biological mother, whose brilliant intellect saves his city from a monster but ultimately fails to escape his own tragic doom

Epicaste - alternate name for Jocasta, the tragic Queen of Thebes who unknowingly married her own son, Oedipus

Chloris - daughter of King Amphion of Orchomenus and the wife of Neleus, the King of Pylos

Minyan - ancient Greek people and kingdom of Orchomenus in Boeotia

Iphiclus - legendary king of Phylace, central to a backstory about the prized cattle herd he guarded

Melampus - legendary prophet and healer whose famous ancestral lineage is introduced during a story about his descendant, the seer Theoclymenus

Leda - wife of Tyndareus and the mother of famous heroic twins, Castor, the horse-tamer, and Polydeuces (Pollux), the expert boxer

Tyndareus - king of Sparta and husband of Leda, his daughter Clytemnestra

Iphimedeia - mortal princess, the wife of Aloeus and the mother of the giant twin brothers, Otus and Ephialtes (the Aloadae), whom she bore by the sea god Poseidon

Phaedra - Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae, who married the Athenian hero Theseus. Her tale is defined by divine manipulation and forbidden lust

Procris - Daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens. Wife to Cephalus, whom she loved deeply. Consumed by mutual jealousy and suspicion, Procris spied on her husband during a hunt after hearing him call out lovingly to Zephyrus (the cool morning breeze). Mistaking the rustling bushes for a wild animal, Cephalus hurled his unerring magic javelin, accidentally killing his wife

Dia - sea-girt island where the goddess Artemis killed Ariadne (daughter of King Minos) on the testimony of Dionysus

Clymene - ancient heroine or nymph, associated with the lineage of Minyas or as an Oceanid;

Maera - daughter of Proetus (or associated with Argos/Tegea) who died young as a maiden

Eriphyle - wife of Amphiaraus labeled "loathsome" because she accepted a golden necklace of Harmonia to betray her husband and send him to his death at Thebes

Phthia - legendary region and city-state in ancient Thessaly, homeland of Achilles and his father Peleus

Neoptolemus - son of Achilles, who slew Priam at the fall of Troy

Eurypylus - son of Telephus, leading a force of Mysians and Ceteians to aid Troy, very handsome

Telephus - king of Mysia, son of Heracles

Aeacus - Grandfather of Achilles, father of Peleus

Panopeus - prominent, ancient Greek city located in the region of Phocis

Sisyphus - legendary king of Corinth condemned eternally to repeatedly roll a heavy rock up a hill in hell only to have it roll down again as it nears the top

Hebe - divine wife of Heracles in the realm of the dead, the ancient Greek goddess of youth and the daughter of Zeus and Hera
Theseus - Athenian prince who slayed the Minotaur

Pirithous - legendary King of the Lapiths, famous for his friendship with Theseus and disastrous brawl with the Centaurs

Scylla - a legendary, man-eating monster that lives on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite her counterpart, the sea-swallowing monster Charybdis

Charybdis - massive sea monster

Phaethousa, Lampetie - divine nymphs and daughters of the sun god Helios and the ocean nymph Neaera. The sisters guard their father's sacred, immortal herds of cattle and sheep on the island Thrinacia

Yaw v move side to side, deviate erratically from a course (as when struck by a heavy sea)

Lowing n deep, long, mooing sound made by cattle

Forestay n a strong wire, rod, or cable on a sailing ship that supports the mast, stops it from falling backward, and holds the front sail

Hyperion - Titan god of heavenly light and the father of the sun god Helios

Selections of 2026
Brave New World, The Little Prince, Songs of a Dead Dreamer, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Anne of Green Gables, Wuthering Heights, East of Eden, The Stranger, The Godfather, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Odyssey, Inferno, The Two Towers, Den of Thieves, Winnie the Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner.

Milestones
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI voice + thumbnail, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content
2026: 2.3 Gemini definition, JP, CN, PT subtitles on selected YouTube videos

Platforms
YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Castbox, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn, Castro, Player FM

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