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IN WHICH: We consider the implications of windbags, pompous and otherwise, as our hero begins to feel the full effects of the parting curse of the Cyclops.

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IN WHICH: Our hero seeks hospitality in The Wrong Cave. We meet everyone's favorite mythological monster: Polyphemus the Cyclops, whose appetites are as shocking as his social skills.

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IN WHICH: We hear the complete poem "The Lotos-eaters" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

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IN WHICH: Odysseus himself takes over the narrative and decides to begin at the beginning. He recounts the departure of his twelve ships with 600 men from the ruins of Troy to an audience that knows the ending: only one of them will survive.

A raid on the Cicones goes horribly wrong, and our hero and his trusted companions are blown wildly off course - almost as if they had gone up in a cyclone.

FOOTNOTES FOR THIS EPISODE ARE HERE

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IN WHICH: we delve into the life and stories of Hephaestus, the god of fire, bearer of culture, architect and blacksmith to the gods. The child of dysfunctional immortals, he struggles to find a home and a family.

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IN WHICH: Odysseus is entertained by the rhapsode Demodacus, who is inspired to tell our hero his own story. An athletic competition gives rise to tension, which another story dispels. The entertainment continues over roasted boar, where art and life collide in a third and final story.

FOOTNOTES: More about this episode.

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IN WHICH: Odysseus casts an epic gaze over the palace of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, who demonstrate their hospitality and provide our hero with hope.

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IN WHICH: We explore the lineage of King Alcinous, Odysseus's host, tracing his family line back to the notorious and ill-fated race of Giants.