BROADCASTS.com

Even though the legendary poet Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey thousands of years ago, my guest would say that these epic poems are just as relevant and significant today, and even represent a kind of scripture.\n\nHis name is Adam Nicolson, and he\u2019s the author of Why Homer Matters. Today on the show, Adam makes the case that the Iliad is really the story of a collision between a more rooted, civilized way of life, represented by the character of Hector, and a nomadic, honor-bound gang ethos, represented by Achilles. We talk about how this collision birthed the character of Odysseus \u2014 who was both great warrior and subtle diplomat \u2014 and the whole Greek consciousness. And we discuss how that consciousness is also our consciousness, as we\u2019re still wrestling with the warring impulses, dramas and dilemmas, and big questions of human experience Homer gave life.