View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/everythingyouneedtoknowtoreadhomersodysseyjilldash

An encounter with a maneating giant. A sorceress who turns men into pigs. A longlost king taking back his throne. On their own, any of these make great stories. But each is just one episode in the "Odyssey," a 12,000line poem spanning years of ancient Greek history and legend. So how do we make sense of this massive text? Jill Dash shares everything you need to know to read Homer's "Odyssey.”

Lesson by Jill Dash, animation by David Price.