May 18, 2026
When, in one of Jesus’ most well-known
parables, the “prodigal son” returns, his older brother feels
wronged by the warm reception accorded by their father. The charges
he lays against his younger brother may be even stronger than often
realized if we perceive echoes of a key scene in
Homer’s Odyssey. Dr.
Alexander Loney is Associate Professor of Classical
Languages and the Coordinator of the Classical
Languages program at Wheaton College. His publications
include The
Ethics of Revenge and the Meanings of the Odyssey and
(co-editor) The
Oxford Handbook of Hesiod. He has contributed several
episodes to our podcast.
Check out related
programs at Wheaton College:
B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/4er2T9Y
M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/4d1iSJD