Abstract
This Introduction provides readers with an overview of some of the background information and major interpretive issues that are important for approaching the Homeric Odyssey. After providing foundational information about the epic genre, the Odyssey’s relationship with mythology, history, and ancient Greek culture, the Introduction moves to a discussion of literary and textual issues, including the so-called “Homeric Question,” the transmission of the text, and ancient interpretive approaches. The Introduction closes with a survey of modern scholarly approaches to the epic (such as neoanalysis, psychology, class, gender, and ethnicity) and a brief summary of some of the poem’s prominent interpretive challenges (such as fate and free will, the importance of storytelling, partial knowledge, and the resolution of conflict in the poem).