This book makes the case that the plot of the Odyssey is represented within the narrative as a plan of Zeus, Dios boulē, that serves as a guide for the performing poet and as a hermeneutic for the audience. Through occasional participation in events and pervasive influence, the character of Zeus maintains thematic unity as the narrative moves through a mass of potential narrative paths for Odysseus that was already dense and conflicting at the time the Odyssey was taking shape. The “Zeus-centric” reading proposed here offers fresh perspectives on the tenor of interactions among the Odyssey’s characters, on the relationships among traditional accounts of Odysseus’s return, and on long-standing problems of interpretation.

Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Oresteia and Odyssey
Chapter 2: Ogygie to Ithake 
Chapter 3: The End(s) of the Odyssey
Chapter 4: After the Odyssey 
Chapter 5: Nestor's Nostoi
Chapter 6: Divine Plan and Narrative Plan
Appendix 1: Homeric Scenes in which Zeus appears and references to his actions 
Appendix 2: Typology of Divine Councils in the Odyssey
Bibliography