Name: The Odyssey of Homer
Rating: 3.742760617760618 (1036 reviews)

Henry Hayman

The Odyssey of Homer

Homero,

"Books XVII and XVIII of the Odyssey feature, among other episodes, the disguised Odysseus' penetration of his home after an absence of twenty years and his first encounter with his wife. The commentary provides linguistic and syntactical guidance suitable for upper-level students along with detailed consideration of Homer's compositional and narrative techniques, his literary artistry and the poem's central themes. An extensive introduction considers questions of formulaic composition, the nature of the poem's audience and the context of its performance, and isolates the concerns most prominent in the poem's second half and in Books XVII and XVIII in particular. Here too are considered the roles of Penelope and Telemachus, questions of disguise and recognition, and the institution of hospitality flaunted by the suitors in Odysseus' halls. Brief sections also discuss Homeric metre and the transmission of the text"--

"Homer's Odyssey tells a familiar story: a hero, a veteran of the Trojan War, returns home after ten trial-filled years of wandering in exotic lands only to find his halls occupied by 108 carousing youths who court his wife in the hope that the lawful husband and master has perished abroad. And yet for all the simplicity of its tale, the poet's technique is brilliantly intricate; from the notorious tease of the opening line which hides the epic hero's name, to the sudden threat of retaliation from the dead suitors' kin in the closing episode, the composition uses flashbacks and internal narratives, dramatic irony, doubling, and retardation devices to keep us wondering how exactly affairs in Ithaca will be resolved. It is a work that, not surprisingly, has exercised a lasting fascination from archaic through to contemporary times, and that has been re-imagined in countless forms, visual, verbal and musical among them. If another study of the Odyssey needs no justification, then the choice to focus on books 17 and 18may prompt the question 'why these?'One reason is the sheer diversity and tonal range of the two books' contents, which run from the burlesque comedy of the boxingmatch between the disguised Odysseus and the parasite Irus to the charged moment when the hero re-enters his home after his twenty years' absence and first sets eyes on his wife. The pathos of the death of the tick-infested Argus, who has kept vigil for his master ever since his departure, is unmistakable, its poignancy sharpened by the entirely different episode preceding it, where Odysseus meets the churlish cowherd Melanthius and is treated to language and threats normally excluded from the epic register"--

Odyssey

Good. I liked the fact that it was more so a complete story rather than illiad which wasnt (cant blame it tho the rest of the editions were lost to history). Not as quotable as the illiad however.

Ahmer Nadeem

Homer

'The Odyssey is a poem of extraordinary pleasures: it is a salt-caked, storm-tossed, wine-dark treasury of tales, of many twists and turns, like life itself' Guardian The epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature. Confronted by natural and supernatural threats - ship-wrecks, battles, monsters and the implacable enmity of the sea-god Poseidon - Odysseus must use his bravery and cunning to reach his homeland and overcome the obstacles that, even there, await him. E. V. Rieu's translation of The Odyssey was the very first Penguin Classic to be published, and has itself achieved classic status. Translated by E. V. RIEU Revised translation by D. C. H. RIEU With an Introduction by PETER JONES

Penguin Classics

The Odyssey

adieu ennui

Not a hero's tale. It's a homecoming, and homecomings are messier.

I came to The Odyssey expecting what most of us were taught to expect: a heroic adventure with a Cyclops, sirens, a witch who turns men into pigs, and a clever king who outwits them all. That's all here. But listening to it as an adult, and through Claire Danes's voice, I heard a different story. It's about a man who badly wants to go home and doesn't quite know who he'll be when he gets there.

Danes is an inspired choice, and maybe an unexpected one. She doesn't put on a grand, booming "epic" voice. She reads with restraint, almost like she's telling it to you across a kitchen table. Because of that, the quieter scenes land: Penelope weaving and unweaving her days, Telemachus trying to become a man in a house overrun by suitors, the old dog Argos recognizing his master and then dying. I had to stop the audio after that last one.

This is the Emily Wilson translation, and you can feel it. The language is clean, direct and quick, without the ornate distance that makes many of us remember Homer as homework. Wilson's first line calls Odysseus "a complicated man," and that framing runs through the whole book. Odysseus lies easily. He's vain. He keeps testing the people who love him. He brings down terrible violence on the suitors and on the household servants. Wilson's English and Danes's even delivery don't let you look away from that. The ending isn't a triumphant return. It's a reckoning, and it's unsettling.

What stayed with me most is who gets to tell the story. Odysseus is the master storyteller of the poem. He narrates his own adventures to the Phaeacians, and we're asked to trust a man who has lied to almost everyone else. Hearing that in a woman's voice adds a quiet layer of irony. The women of the poem, from Penelope and Athena to Calypso and the maids, suddenly feel more present, more watchful and harder to dismiss.

My quibbles are small. Some stretches still drag in audio, especially the long feasts, the genealogies and the repeated rituals of hospitality. Danes's measured pacing, so good in the intimate scenes, sometimes flattens the action ones. A battle shouldn't sound quite this calm.

But if you've been putting off the classics because they feel like a chore, start here. This is The Odyssey as a human story about longing, deception, loyalty and the cost of coming home. It took me almost three millennia and one good narrator to finally hear it.

Erwin Lemuel Oliva

Not a hero's tale. It's a homecoming, and homecomings are messier.

I came to The Odyssey expecting what most of us were taught to expect: a heroic adventure with a Cyclops, sirens, a witch who turns men into pigs, and a clever king who outwits them all. That's all here. But listening to it as an adult, and through Claire Danes's voice, I heard a different story. It's about a man who badly wants to go home and doesn't quite know who he'll be when he gets there.

Danes is an inspired choice, and maybe an unexpected one. She doesn't put on a grand, booming "epic" voice. She reads with restraint, almost like she's telling it to you across a kitchen table. Because of that, the quieter scenes land: Penelope weaving and unweaving her days, Telemachus trying to become a man in a house overrun by suitors, the old dog Argos recognizing his master and then dying. I had to stop the audio after that last one.

This is the Emily Wilson translation, and you can feel it. The language is clean, direct and quick, without the ornate distance that makes many of us remember Homer as homework. Wilson's first line calls Odysseus "a complicated man," and that framing runs through the whole book. Odysseus lies easily. He's vain. He keeps testing the people who love him. He brings down terrible violence on the suitors and on the household servants. Wilson's English and Danes's even delivery don't let you look away from that. The ending isn't a triumphant return. It's a reckoning, and it's unsettling.

What stayed with me most is who gets to tell the story. Odysseus is the master storyteller of the poem. He narrates his own adventures to the Phaeacians, and we're asked to trust a man who has lied to almost everyone else. Hearing that in a woman's voice adds a quiet layer of irony. The women of the poem, from Penelope and Athena to Calypso and the maids, suddenly feel more present, more watchful and harder to dismiss.

My quibbles are small. Some stretches still drag in audio, especially the long feasts, the genealogies and the repeated rituals of hospitality. Danes's measured pacing, so good in the intimate scenes, sometimes flattens the action ones. A battle shouldn't sound quite this calm.

But if you've been putting off the classics because they feel like a chore, start here. This is The Odyssey as a human story about longing, deception, loyalty and the cost of coming home. It took me almost three millennia and one good narrator to finally hear it.

ikkychan

I tried to understand what Cecile said about the relationship between Gods and the mortals in ancient Greek epic, so I read this one. this is really compelling, to picture how the Immortals walk among us and intervene as they wish (and usually play both part of the knife's edge, as Zeus pictured in favor of Odysseus and his brother Poseidon.) even with their help, human (or in this case demigod) have to do stuff on their own. I see them not as a lawgiver, but mere judge (on everybody else's action, not their own).

This is the 7th part out of the 8th parts of The Trojan War Epic, and also the one of the only 2 surviving parts of this epic, alongside The Iliad (part 2). So before you read this book, do get a jist of the events that occured between The Iliad and The Odyssey.

The Odyssey is the epic about Odysseus, who is stuck in an island and wants to go back home to his wife and son now that The Trojan War has ended. The problem? The God of the Seas, Poseidon hates Odysseus and wants his ruin. So the entire book is about how Odysseus tries to finally reach home afters 10 years in the war, and it takes him 10 years to reach home thanks to Poseidon. We see many obstacles from the sea itself to the mythical beasts like the Cyclops. Odysseus is a very well written character with not only strength but great wit as well.

The best part for me was when Odysseus finally reaches his island and we get a whole new segment: him being disguised to avoid attention, there are 2 great guardians with him: Goddess Athena throughout and the very hospitable shepherd. We also see how his wife has been loyal throughout the 20 years, and the major obstacle is her suitors disrupting the peace in the island with Odysseus bringing an end to it once and for all. The secondary characters have been good throughout, but the ones in this final arc were very much memorable. And the union of Odysseus with his son, and more importantly with his wife, were absolutely not disappointing.

Loved reading this book, highly recommended!

Aarush Arora

This is the 7th part out of the 8th parts of The Trojan War Epic, and also the one of the only 2 surviving parts of this epic, alongside The Iliad (part 2). So before you read this book, do get a jist of the events that occured between The Iliad and The Odyssey.

The Odyssey is the epic about Odysseus, who is stuck in an island and wants to go back home to his wife and son now that The Trojan War has ended. The problem? The God of the Seas, Poseidon hates Odysseus and wants his ruin. So the entire book is about how Odysseus tries to finally reach home afters 10 years in the war, and it takes him 10 years to reach home thanks to Poseidon. We see many obstacles from the sea itself to the mythical beasts like the Cyclops. Odysseus is a very well written character with not only strength but great wit as well.

The best part for me was when Odysseus finally reaches his island and we get a whole new segment: him being disguised to avoid attention, there are 2 great guardians with him: Goddess Athena throughout and the very hospitable shepherd. We also see how his wife has been loyal throughout the 20 years, and the major obstacle is her suitors disrupting the peace in the island with Odysseus bringing an end to it once and for all. The secondary characters have been good throughout, but the ones in this final arc were very much memorable. And the union of Odysseus with his son, and more importantly with his wife, were absolutely not disappointing.

Loved reading this book, highly recommended!

Wilson’s Odyssey captures the beauty and enchantment of this ancient poem as well as the suspense and drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, from the cunning goddess Athena, whose interventions guide and protect the hero, to the awkward teenage son, Telemachus, who struggles to achieve adulthood and find his father; from the cautious, clever, and miserable Penelope, who somehow keeps clamoring suitors at bay during her husband’s long absence, to the “complicated” hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this translation as a more fully rounded human being than ever before.

Ashley Denktas

Reading this translation started a bit slow to me, but once I got into the groove I enjoyed the story and the prose. I thought I had read the Odyssey before, but I had only read excerpts - specifically the book that details the encounter with the cyclops. It was surprising to me how many of the iconic parts of the Odyssey that most people talk about take up maybe like 3-5 pages on average? The sirens are only about 5 pages, the voyage by scylla and charybis is about 3 pages, Circe has a bigger role but she's bested pretty fast and is in the story for about one book. It's interesting those are remembered in popular culture despite being an extremely small part of the journey. I was also surprised that for about one third of the book Odysseus wasn't in the narrative, and it focused on his son, Telemachus, trying to have some sort of heroic endeavor. This part for me felt a bit slow, but it was interesting to analyze why this part was so big in the narrative. In ancient Greece, did people just really think that was riveting? Is it because many in the crowd listening could relate to not having a chance to prove their heroism? Or simply is it because the journey was the most compelling part of any story told? Some reoccuring elements that popped up in my book annotations in no particular order: - The characters seem to weep and sob uncontrollably all the time. It was surprising to see many men and women do this. To openly show emotions like this in front of anyone wasn't painted as weird or inappropriate. Also whenever characters were weeping at a feast it was emphasized they were always drinking wine - maybe allow them to try and forget their suffering? Helen even explicitly does this when making a potion for some of the warriors in her house to feel good despite their lamentations about the war. Additionally, people explicitly stated their emotions and thoughts. I did laugh at loud when the suitors basically admitted in front of everyone that they would be insecure if a homeless guy beat them in a bow contest. - People didn't seem to take ownership for their actions, except Odysseus in some instances. Their choices and fates were all willed by the gods and their temperaments. One funny instance of this is when Penelope says that Aphrodite caused Helen to run off with Paris and cause suffering for all of Greece. My annotation was "girlies really do stick together #godsfault". The implication of that is further reinforces that one's status or fortune is just as it is. Societal hierarchies and perceived stereotypes are just the way things are. This is further emphasized by the "good" slaves, loving their master and loving serving his house's needs despite not being free to improve their own well-being. - There was a "right" way to live. Monsters are described as backwards and the cyclops as wasting resources despite the fact their islands seemed kinda lit and preserved nature. The farmers of Ithaca and elsewhere were shown as hard working, but honestly exhausted. So maybe the ancient greeks shoulda checked themselves. - Odysseus's lying is front and center, and he even consistently lies to his family to test them before he truly announces he is home. It made me wonder if this was praised in society if it could help you get the upper hand in some sort of scheme or what you were after. It seems to be a little at odds with the value of xenia. This was particularly funny during the siren part because Circe says "if you want to listen to the sirens...," and then the next page Odysseus goes "Circe said I need to listen to the sirens." Um dude what. Either way, it illustrated that his desires came before his men, and though I don't think he wanted them to die, they were treated as a means to an end for Odysseus's quest for home and greatness. - "Their aggression touches the iron sky" pg 405. Iron sky was a phrase that stopped me in my tracks. Is it referencing that there is a battle on the horizon? Is it suggesting these men think they are battle ready. Either way, this line kinda goes hard. - Everyone immediately wants to know everyone's life story the second they walk into someone's house. I thought it was quite funny and even annotated in one part like, "why does everyone immediately want to dox each other?" We could learn a bit from this custom in modern times. We could all be a bit more curious about the people we find ourselves occupying the same space with and learn a bit more about how they have come to navigate and view the world. - "So live and spread the word that doing good is far superior to wickedness" pg 489. #wordstoliveby. Reminds me of a quote I like: "We must cheerfully refuse the apocalypse in all forms." in I cheerfully refuse by Leif Enger. - I thought it was kinda crazy that the "traitor" slave girls were brought out to clean the blood and bodies of the suitors before themselves being hanged (as it was emphasized they shouldn't have a quick death). In the passage describing their cleaning and looming death, it's said "they will forget the things the suitors made them do with them in secret, through Aphrodite." Not only is this saying that Aphrodite might be the cause of this (which then ok maybe we could do a lesser sentence because this "crime" goes two ways), but is it also suggesting they will now be beautiful and forgiven by paying the ultimate price for their actions: surrendering their lives? Odysseus and the Odyssey are truly "complicated" as Wilson puts in the first line of the poem. War and death cause suffering, but they bring legacy and heroism. Lying is deceitful, yet praised several times even by Athena the goddess of wisdom herself. The poem repeats the plot points of journey, shipwreck, and supernatural encounter several times over in a way that should be boring. Though this likely stems from its oral traditions (and thus likely made it easy to memorize and retell), this format must have resonated with the people who first heard it. And it still does because I had fun reading it, and I'm going to see the movie adaptation in a couple weeks. Its been a muse inspiring many stories thereafter. I even annotated passages to use as inspiration for my siren DND character. I think if you ask me to pick between the Odyssey and Illiad, I'd choose the Illiad since a wider cast of Gods seemed to be more directly involved in the narrative a bit more. However, I cannot deny that Wilson's translation was a piece of art worth experiencing. I highly recommend this book, and hope you read it before seeing the upcoming Nolan adaptation.

Tiara Sharma

The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)

Alejandro Silva

That’s was really hard to read but woooow 

No offense but they could’ve been more straightforward when conversing among themselves 

Tanay

"This is a translation of the epic Greek poem by Homer."--Provided by publisher.

A New Translation by Peter Green

M. Sosotris

A phenomenal translation! 

I loved how Green captures the epic sweep of the poem while deftly handling the humour and family drama of the poem. I also greatly appreciated the fabulous footnotes which discussed complexities of translation and narrative oddities.

This is also an incredible translation for beginners. The introduction is complex and insightful, and Green includes detailed synopses of the books at the end for quick perusal.

I had a great time with this translation and hold it up alongside Lattimore, Fagles, and Wilson.

Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, none more so than the "complicated" hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this version as a more fully rounded human being than ever before.Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, Emily Wilson's Odyssey sings with a voice that echoes Homer's music; matching the number of lines in the Greek original, the poem sails along at Homer's swift, smooth pace.A fascinating, informative introduction explores the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the poem's major themes, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. Maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, and extensive notes and summaries of each book make this is an Odyssey that will be treasured by a new generation of readers.

The Odyssey is perfect. No other review is needed.

BUT 

Emily Wilson’s translation is incredible. It’s slick, fun, rollicking, and relatable. This was the first translation I’ve read where I really care about Telemachus. He’s not a cipher, he’s a whole human guy who finds his courage throughout the story. I just love how, when all the pretentious language of the 19th century is stripped away, you really see how human the characters are.

Highly highly recommend, both for scholars and for mythology nerds. I really like how Wilson doesn’t gloss over depictions of slavery, nor does she try to cast Odysseus as a virtuous hero by downplaying his flaws or vices (he’s definitely Ancient Greek James Bond). Everything feels fresh without being too modernized. 

The rhythm and meter move at a wonderful gait, and the imagery is stunning.

I adore this translation, and so should you!

Meryln Thomas

Robert Fagles

Bernard Knox

a keystone text for liberalism, not conservatism

Ghee

It’s a revolutionary epic poem for its time, but at current times it falls quite plain. 

The Odyssey of Homer

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