An Odyssey: A Father, A Son and an Epic

by Daniel Mendelsohn

As we discussed Books 5 and 6 and pondered the Odyssey’s troubled pairings, we talked about homophrosynê. I pronounced it aloud for them: ho-mo-fro-SOO-nay.

Think, I said to them. Why do you think a perfect like-mindedness is the most important thing a couple can have between them, according to Odysseus in Book 6?

My father broke in and exclaimed, It’s like that line in “That Old Black Magic”! Suddenly, to everyone’s astonishment, he started singing, his gravelly high baritone floating into the dull morning air. For you’re the lover I hav...