Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 3: The Colour of Birds’ Eggs

Based on The Odyssey by Homer

The siege of Troy starts well enough - until the Greeks get bored and begin to quarrel.

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More episodes from this series

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All: 1: The Golden Slagheap

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All: 1: The Golden Slagheap

1986 | 14'18''

Episode 1: The Golden Slagheap - Odysseus takes a tip from both his wily grandpa and Penelope's chamber-pot. H...

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 2: The Burly Nun

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 2: The Burly Nun

1986 | 14'38''

Who is the sinister one-eyed man? Why is Achilles dressed in women's clothes? And where is Troy?

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 3: The Colour of Birds' Eggs

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 3: The Colour of Birds' Eggs

1986 | 14'42''

The siege of Troy starts well enough - until the Greeks get bored and begin to quarrel.

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 4: Achilles' Heel

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 4: Achilles' Heel

1986 | 14'20''

Achilles is niggled when Trojan spears make a six foot hedgehog out of his best chum. Odysseus persuades him to ta...

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 5: Revenge of the White Goddess

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 5: Revenge of the White Goddess

1986 | 14'34''

The Greek army chooses a new hero, and Odysseus takes Diomedes down a sewer on a secret mission.

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 6: Getting In

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 6: Getting In

1986 | 14'49''

Odysseus develops a brilliant new weapon, and the prime minister makes her last, fatal, mistake.

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 7: The Fat Batsman

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 7: The Fat Batsman

1986 | 14'17''

The Cyclops traps the Greeks in his cave and gets ready for a tasty kebab. But it's one in the eye for him when h...

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 8: The Wind and the Wallabies

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 8: The Wind and the Wallabies

1986 | 15'10''

With half their colleagues eaten by cannibals, the men decide to turn vegetarian. But they still eat l...

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 9: The Faces of the Dead

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 9: The Faces of the Dead

1986 | 14'51''

Odysseus meets old friends, and listens to the world's most dangerous music.

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 10: Meat

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 10: Meat

1986 | 14'02''

It's bad enough for the Greeks having to face the dog and frog monsters. But the final straw comes when their sandwiches ru...

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 11: The Pirate Queen

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 11: The Pirate Queen

1986 | 14'25''

On the way home Odysseus loses his clothes but finds some friends.

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 12: Beggar in the Rubbish Heap

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 12: Beggar in the Rubbish Heap

1986 | 13'59''

After 20 long years, Odysseus returns home. But no welcome awaits him…

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 13: The Showdown

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 13: The Showdown

1986 | 14'20''

If Odysseus wants to live happily ever after, one final heroic deed remains to be done.
Other Archive resources
The Odyssey | BBC Radio 4 | 2004

In Our Time | The Odyssey

Melvyn Bragg discusses Homer's Odyssey, the epic story of the Greek hero Odysseus' journey back from Troy, and its foundational position in the history of western literature and ideas.
The Odyssey | BBC One | 1986

Odysseus The Greatest Hero Of Them All | 9: The Faces of the Dead

Odysseus meets old friends, and listens to the world's most dangerous music.