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A public space for ideas

Athenae Initiative — two birds in flight within an oval

Athenae Initiative

A nonprofit organization dedicated to making a humanities education more approachable, accessible and engaging.

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Gatherings for thinking together.

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Oct 28, 2026

Speaker Series: Homeric Storytelling & The Odyssey

Prof. Freedman will explore The Odyssey through the relationship between the epic, its storytellers, and its audiences: Who are the storytellers in The Odyssey? And who is the audience? From Travis Scott's role as bard in Christopher Nolan's adaptation, to the seductive promise of the sirens to "sing of everything that has happened," this presentation explores the Odyssey through the roles of bards, storytellers, and listeners. What is the power--and what are the dangers--of the story? Why and how does this epic still seduce contemporary audiences?

5:00PM-7:00PM Café SoLIT
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Athenae Publications

Fig. 1. John William Waterhouse, Penelope and the Suitors, 1912. Oil on canvas, 129.8 × 188 cm.

Sep 27, 2026

"Borrowed Faces: A Close Reading Essay on Dispossession" by Emma Quỳnh Liên Wong

Through a close reading of Homer's Odyssey, the essay explores transformation, identity, and the unsettling loss of humanity that follows when we are made into something other than ourselves.

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