Homesick for Homer?

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” it’s an hour of high adventure and satisfied bloodlust, as we listen to musical evocations of Odysseus’ homeward journey.

We’ll hear Ernst Boehe’s symphonic poem “Departure and Shipwreck,” from his cycle “From Odysseus’ Voyages” (1903-05), and Benjamin Britten’s radio play “The Rescue of Penelope” (1943), narrated by Dame Janet Baker.

Odysseus, of course, is one of the heroes of the Trojan War, waylaid time and again, on his return, by Poseidon and the frailties of his own men. It takes him ten years to find his way back to Ithaca. When he gets there, he finds his wife beset by boorish suitors all vying for her hand and his throne.

What happens next pushes all the same buttons that are still pushed whenever Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger apply the camouflage, strap on the bandoliers, and sheathe the big knives. Along the way, there’s also some meaningful father-son bonding. Leave it to Homer, who always knew how to lend a little class to the classics.

Odysseus strings his bow, for “Home Sweet Homer,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.

“The Slaughter of the Suitors by Odysseus and Telemachus” (1812), by Louis-Vincent-Léon Pallière