Historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes is ready to set off on her 1,700-mile voyage, tracing Odysseus's winding path home in Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. She has left the Turkish coast, where the Trojan War took place, to sail the hostile waters of the Aegean Sea, zigzagging to the Greek islands of Fourni, Chios, Lesbos, and Samos. Along the way, she'll battle storms, check out a 1,500-year-old shipwreck, and explore the rich cultures, traditions, and histories of the islands, enjoying great food, drink, and company along the way.

Inspired by The Odyssey, Bettany Hughes is following Odysseus's journey from the battlefields of Troy back home to Ithaca in the far west of Greece. Her mission is to better understand history and myth by living the experiences of the past, and in this episode, she gets a bit more than she bargained for. Follow her as she visits one of the most sacred places in history: Delos, drinks (and helps make) ancient wine on the enchanted island of Ikaria, and battles through the most violent sea storm she's ever encountered en route to Mykonos.

Historian Bettany Hughes sets off on the next leg of her epic voyage to discover the truth behind the legend of Odysseus. First she visits Santorini and encounters a geological monster more ferocious than any mythological beast--a massive active volcano that rocked the world over 3,000 years ago. Next Bettany heeds the sirens' call and gives into the temptations of Naxos, an island of treasures and pleasures. Lastly, she hunts for ancient riches--and the beginnings of civilization as we know it--on the island of Siphnos.

Bettany Hughes' personal odyssey through the Greek islands takes her to Crete, home of legendary heroes and villains, powerful ancient civilizations, and macabre history. Follow her to Chania, Knossos, and Eleutherna, where she explores a replica boat built from the age of Odysseus and recounts the stories of the Minotaur and Achilles. Then discover a more recent, dramatic chapter in Crete's history as we investigate Germany's occupation of the island in World War II and meet a 95-year-old who narrowly escaped a Nazi firing squad as a teenager.

Bettany Hughes is nearing the end of her personal odyssey from the battlegrounds of ancient Troy to Odysseus's home in Ithaca. This leg of the voyage finds her in the Peloponnese, home to one of the greatest Bronze Age civilizations--the Mycenaeans--as well as the mythic heroes Helen of Troy, Agamemnon, and Odysseus himself. Bettany explores this peninsula's prosperous and violent past and discovers, through its human remains and golden treasures, just how much the ancient Greek's legendary tales are rooted in fact.

Historian Bettany Hughes is on the final leg of her Odyssey-inspired voyage and heading to the beautiful western islands that will lead her to Ithaca. Follow her from the Peloponnesian city of Corinth, once a recruiting ground for Greek soldiers to fight in the Trojan War, then to Corfu, the "paradise on Earth" where Odysseus found salvation and a way to get back home. Finally, witness the last stop of the journey, Ithaca, where, like the Homeric hero she's been tracing, she encounters unsettling events that are, quite literally, earth-shaking.