July 9, 2026
Contact: Cary Littlejohn, carylittlejohn@missouri.edu
Photo courtesy of Robert Carpenter
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey” is widely considered the most anticipated film of the year, as fans are expected to rush in droves to theaters this summer to see how the Academy Award-winning director breathes new life into one of our oldest stories.
But one University of Missouri alumnus is betting that a big-screen spectacle isn’t the only way to get people interested in the classics. Robert Carpenter, MA ’18, PhD ’24, is building a business that offers those timeless stories to babies, toddlers and children through books, matching games, puzzles and downloadable coloring sheets.
The company, The Classical Workshop, is perfectly positioned to turn young audiences into lifelong learners through Greek and Roman literature.
“There’s this thought that kids can’t handle it,” Carpenter said. “But we underestimate them. They’re clever little things. And when you give them a little bit of a chance, they can learn things that seem way out of their league.”
Thanks to Carpenter — and a classics education powered by Mizzou’s College of Arts and Science — now the entire family can enjoy one of the most foundational stories in the literary canon.
“While their parents, older brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles are tossing around names like Odysseus, Athena and Zeus this summer, kids can be soaking it all up,” he said.
Big stories for little learners
Carpenter’s obsession with the classics began with a dream.
As an undergraduate student majoring in history, he was struck by the modernity of a scene from “The Iliad,” which recounts events that precede those of “The Odyssey.” In the epic story about the Trojan War, the tragic hero Achilles pursues the crown prince of Troy to no avail.
“As Achilles chases Hector, Homer says that it’s like in a dream, where you run from somebody who chases you, and they can’t catch you,” Carpenter said. “But neither can you get away from them. It was in that moment that I realized, ‘I’ve had that dream.’ I feel like many people have. There’s this direct line between all of us today and somebody 2,700 years ago who’s had the same dream. And to me, that was the most amazing moment.”
He promptly set his sights on becoming a classics scholar. During his studies at Mizzou’s Graduate School, Carpenter realized, thanks to his own children, that the appeal of these timeless stories can grip us when we’re young.
“My kids were born while I was a graduate student, and there I was, in my little closet office with a baby, trying to plan classes and make PowerPoints,” Carpenter said. “As I watched them grow up, I saw how well they reacted to the material I was working on. My little girl would love to hear stories about mythology. She loved to look through the art books I was using. She loved the pictures.”
But when he went in search of classics materials he could purchase specifically for his children, he found the options to be lacking.
“It just wasn’t out there,” he said.
So, Carpenter launched his own company to share the expertise he’d developed at Mizzou with a whole new audience.
Unforgettable characters
Director Christopher Nolan delivers big-budget, blockbuster films that people want to see in theaters. His fame grew exponentially when he tackled one of pop culture’s greatest characters: Batman. With “The Odyssey,” he’s returning to Greek mythological figures that he’s described as “the original superheroes.”
Characters, Carpenter said, are what resonate most with children.
“When I drop my little girl off at school, her classmates are all walking in with Super Mario backpacks and Pokémon backpacks,” he said. “They love a good character.”
With the help of artist Ally Frame, The Classical Workshop leans into children’s love for characters to help make myths come alive. Mythology Match, the company’s take on the classic memory game, features numerous characters from “The Odyssey,” including Odysseus, Penelope, Athena and Polyphemus. They’re lovingly hand-drawn by Frame, who’s created all of the art for The Classical Workshop’s products. She prioritizes memorable, child-friendly depictions that make them seem as exciting as modern characters on schoolchildren’s backpacks.
“The idea is that when you’re playing with your kids, you flip the cards over and it’s easy to tell a little bite-sized piece of the Homer story,” Carpenter said.
Mizzou mythology
Carpenter attributes The Classical Workshop’s first book directly to a class he took at Mizzou. It was a Greek lyric poetry class during which he read a poem by Alcman, who described the world at night.
“Even though I took this class before my kids were born, my first thought was, ‘This is a poem that’s meant to be a kid’s bedtime story.’” Carpenter said. “‘The Mountains Are Sleeping’ is our little baby board book.”
Carpenter speaks passionately about how an education in the classics can benefit any student, regardless of their interests or long-term goals. But the real benefit of his classics education at Mizzou is more fundamental.
“Classics is a research field,” he said. “You learn the languages, but then you have to study primary texts to draw conclusions and make arguments. So, when it came time to start a business, I had to research how to do that. Mizzou had already prepared me to get out there, put in the work, read some books and craft a plan. I was set up to do just about anything because it was at Mizzou, in a classics program, that I really learned how to learn.”
Both Mythology Match and the baby board book, "The Mountains are Sleeping," are available at the Mizzou Museum of Art and Archaeology Museum Store.
