In this lecture we discuss Homer's "Odyssey" Books 3 and 4. First (a) Telemachos visits Pylos and learn of the fates of several Achaians, including poor Agamemnon, but receives no word on Odysseus; (b) Telemachos and Peisistratos then visit Sparta, and observe (1) Menelaos and Helen's tense interactions, (2) hear Menelaos' epic story of catching a god, Proteus, and (3) finally news that Odysseus is still alive, though captive and far from home! (c) The lecture concludes with a look back to Ithaka and the machinations of the suitors and sorrow of Penelope.