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Widely regarded as one of the finest works of literature in the Western canon, Homer's Odyssey is a masterpiece of classical epic poetry. The tale follows the travels of the Greek hero Odysseus as he strives to return to his homeland after waging battle in the Trojan War. Long presumed dead after a 20-year absence, Odysseus finally returns to his native Ithaca and is forced to fight to resume his long-lost life and save his family from ruin. The Odyssey is a can't-miss experience for cultured readers.
MarcusBrutus: Robert Graves took the story of "The Odyssey's" authorship and expounds on the theory that it was written by a woman. This is a novel based on that idea.
BookWallah: Odysseus & Shackleton both had travails getting home from their epic voyages. Differences in their stories: The former’s took 17 years, lost all his men, & was told as epic poetry. The latter’s took 16 months, saved all his men, & is told as gripping biography.… (more)
Jitsusama: An ancient classic revolving around Greek Myth. A great help to better understand the mythology of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
After reading several translations of The Odyssey (Butcher, Murray, Rieu, Fagles, Lattimore etc…) over the years, I was curious to experience a more contemporary treatment, hence picking up this one.
Wilson’s translation is clear and easy to comprehend. I found it a much faster read than previous translations, although admittedly I was poring over those ones for a dissertation. (I forget which one(s) came in rhyming couplets, but ohboy!) If you’ve read my other reviews, you’ll know I tend to prefer prose that isn’t too ornate, but I wouldn’t have minded a touch more richness here. While I generally liked the straightforward language, sometimes the wily Odysseus seemed to express himself more honestly and self-critically than I’d expect. Additionally, I didn’t often feel inclined to linger over particular passages.
As a bonus, I did notice descriptive details that I hadn’t previously paid much attention to (such as the storeroom Penelope retrieves the bow from, and the bow’s somewhat ominous history).
Overall, a very accessible translation that may well appeal if you’ve struggled with earlier florid offerings.
Also part of this semester's reading list. I didn't enjoy it as much as The Iliad but I'm glad I read it. Above and beyond having to read it for school. ;) ( )
A really good read, though between this and the Iliad, I actually found the Iliad more engaging. The journey of Odysseus was over too quickly and the revenge too long. Still a great tale. Never did find the noxious overtones that certain modern commenters find in it (e.g. Sexism, etc). Rather I found a man who only wanted his home and could never fully reach it. Too vexed by fate and war that even when he found home and his beloved, his past overrode his sense. Bittersweet, as both Homeric epics are. ( )
I can't really speak to the translation: I've read the Fitzgerald version, but that was several years ago and don't remember the specifics of the language.
What we have here is a faithful and passionate rendering of the epic poem, which captures both the problematic nature of Odysseus's character and some of the more important features of the civilization. My feeling is that the early listener was meant to learn the values of the society through the trials and travails of Odysseus. Some of these values persist today in different forms: but the question of revenge is not really dealt with after the death of Penelope's suitors at her husband's hands. (Aeschylus wrestles with this in the story of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra).
Don't be intimidated, this is very readable and one of the pillars of our civilization!!!
Postscript 2: My third reading of this epic in the last eight years! My one additional insight from this reading is how closely the description of the slaughter of the suitors in the hall tracks with some of the gorier battle scenes in The Iliad. If the two epics are part of a continuum, the return of "Trojan War" Odysseus at the end brings his journey full circle. ( )
In this interview, we discuss how her [Wilson's] identity as a woman—and a cis-gendered feminist—informs her translation work, how her Odyssey translation honors both ancient traditions and contemporary reading practices, and what Homer meant when he called Dawn, repeatedly, “rosy-fingered.”
(Emily Wilson translation): To read a translation is like looking at a photo of a sculpture: It shows the thing, but not from every angle. Like every translator, Wilson brings out some features more clearly than others. But altogether it’s as good an “Odyssey” as one could hope for.
The verse idiom of the 20th century does not allow poets to create a grand style, but Mr. Fagles has been remarkably successful in finding a style that is of our time and yet timeless, dignified and yet animated by the vigor and energy essential to any good rendering of this poem. ... This book is a memorable achievement, and the long and excellent introduction by Bernard Knox is a further bonus, scholarly but also relaxed and compellingly readable. Mr. Fagles's translation of the ''Iliad'' was greeted by a chorus of praise when it appeared; his ''Odyssey'' is a worthy successor.
The man, O Muse, inform, that many a way Wound with his wisdom to his wished stay; That wandered wondrous far, when he the town Of sacred Troy had sack'd and shivered down; The cities of a world of nations, With all their manners, minds, and fashions, He saw and knew; at sea felt many woes, Much care sustained, to save from overthrows Himself and friends in their retreat for home; But so their fates he could not overcome, Though much he thirsted it. [George Chapman]
The man for wisdom's various arts renown'd, Long exercised in woes, O Muse! resound; Who, when his arms had wrought the destined fall Of sacred Troy, and razed her heaven-built wall, Wandering from clime to clime, observant stray'd, Their manners noted, and their states survey'd, On stormy seas unnumber'd toils he bore, Safe with his friends to gain his natal shore: Vain toils! their impious folly dared to prey On herds devoted to the god of day; The god vindictive doom'd them never more (Ah, men unbless'd!) to touch that natal shore. [Alexander Pope]
Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home. [Samuel Butler]
Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy. [Robert Fitzgerald]
Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was driven far journeys, after he had sacked Troy's sacred citadel. Many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of, many the pains he suffered in his spirit on the wide sea, struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his companions. [Richmond Lattimore]
Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds, many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home. [Robert Fagles]
Speak, Memory— Of the cunning hero The wanderer, blown off course time and again After he plundered Troy's sacred heights. Speak Of all the cities he saw, the minds he grasped, The suffering deep in his heart at sea As he struggled to survive and bring his men home But could not save them, hard as he tried— The fools—destroyed by their own recklessness When they ate the oxen of Hyperion the Sun, And that god snuffed out their day of return. [Stanley Lombardo]
Sing to me of the resourceful man, O Muse, who wandered far after he had sacked the sacred city of Troy. He saw the cities of many men and learned their minds. He suffered many pains on the sea in his spirit, seeking to save his life and the homecoming of his companions.[Barry Powell]
Sing to me, Muse, of that endlessly cunning man who was blown off course to the ends of the earth, in the years after he plundered Troy. He passed through the cities of many people and learned how they thought, and he suffered many bitter hardships upon the high seas as he tried to save his own life and bring his companions back to their home. [Stephen Mitchell]
Tell me about a complicated man. Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy, and where he went, and who he met, the pain he suffered in the storms at sea, and how he worked to save his life and bring his men back home. [Emily Wilson]
Quotations
Last words
Odysseus obeyed her, and his heart rejoiced. Then Pallas Athene, Daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, still using Mentor's form and voice her her disguise, established peace between the two sides.
Widely regarded as one of the finest works of literature in the Western canon, Homer's Odyssey is a masterpiece of classical epic poetry. The tale follows the travels of the Greek hero Odysseus as he strives to return to his homeland after waging battle in the Trojan War. Long presumed dead after a 20-year absence, Odysseus finally returns to his native Ithaca and is forced to fight to resume his long-lost life and save his family from ruin. The Odyssey is a can't-miss experience for cultured readers.
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Book description
The Odyssey is the epic poem about the great adventurer Odysseus. After the great fall of Troy, Odysseus has some difficulties finding his way back to Ithaca. He encounters sirens, giants and many other mythical creatures and it takes him 10 years to find his way home. I enjoyed this book because it of the mythology and the adventure that it portrays and I think it is a good read.
AR Level 10.3, 24 pts
Historical Italian translation of Homer's Odyssey. Ippolito Pindemonte (1753-1828) thought that the Odyssey, although lacking the force and beauty of the Iliad, was poetically much nearer to his soul than the Iliad.
Durante il ritorno dalla guerra di Troia, un destino crudele prende a bersagliare Odisseo (Ulisse, per i latini) e i suoi compagni: la loro patria, l'isola di Itaca, pare allontanarsi per sempre, il viaggio sembra impossibile. Lucido e ostinato, pronto a tutto, Odisseo ricorda, previene e si oppone alla sorte, pur di approdare al porto natale e riprendere in pugno il proprio mondo. Ma quel mondo è cambiato, ed è cambiato anche lui. Prefazione di Fausto Codino. (piopas)
Haiku summary
Greek hero of Troy Takes long time getting back home Having adventures. (pickupsticks)
Son wants his Paw home; Paw away on business trip— Sneaks home for bloodbath. (LeBoeuf)
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Wilson’s translation is clear and easy to comprehend. I found it a much faster read than previous translations, although admittedly I was poring over those ones for a dissertation. (I forget which one(s) came in rhyming couplets, but ohboy!) If you’ve read my other reviews, you’ll know I tend to prefer prose that isn’t too ornate, but I wouldn’t have minded a touch more richness here. While I generally liked the straightforward language, sometimes the wily Odysseus seemed to express himself more honestly and self-critically than I’d expect. Additionally, I didn’t often feel inclined to linger over particular passages.
As a bonus, I did notice descriptive details that I hadn’t previously paid much attention to (such as the storeroom Penelope retrieves the bow from, and the bow’s somewhat ominous history).
Overall, a very accessible translation that may well appeal if you’ve struggled with earlier florid offerings.