Homer

Roger David Dawe

From Stephen Mitchell, the renowned translator whose "Iliad "was named one of "The New Yorker"'s Favorite Books of 2011, comes a vivid new translation of the "Odyssey," complete with textual notes and an illuminating introductory essay. The hardcover publication of the" Odyssey "received glowing reviews: "The New York Times" praised "Mitchell's fresh, elegant diction and the care he lavishes on meter, which] brought me closer to the transfigurative experience Keats describes on reading Chapman's Homer"; "Booklist," " "in a starred review, said that "Mitchell retells the first, still greatest adventure story in Western literature with clarity, sweep, and force"; and John Banville, author of "The Sea," " "called this translation "a masterpiece." The" Odyssey" is the original hero's journey, an epic voyage into the unknown, and has inspired other creative work for millennia. With its consummately modern hero, full of guile and wit, always prepared to reinvent himself in order to realize his heart's desire--to return to his home and family after ten years of war--the "Odyssey" now speaks to us again across 2,600 years. In words of great poetic power, this translation brings Odysseus and his adventures to life as never before. Stephen Mitchell's language keeps the diction close to spoken English, yet its rhythms recreate the oceanic surge of the ancient Greek. Full of imagination and light, beauty and humor, this "Odyssey" carries you along in a fast stream of action and imagery. Just as Mitchell "re-energised the "Iliad" for a new generation" ("The Sunday Telegraph"), his "Odyssey" is the noblest, clearest, and most captivating rendition of one of the defining masterpieces of Western literature.

Translation and Analysis

The Odyssey

里森

As for my arrival in Ithaca, I came with my own ship and crew across the wine-dark sea. 

Lukas

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

— 1 Corinthians 13:11, King James Version.

You are no longer a child: you must put childish thoughts away. 

this is the most beautiful, poetically written translator's note i've ever read 

avarni

rid themselves of the hope that one might chisel a more perfect poem out of the rough marble of the text we have.

i'm so obsessed with athena and everything she represents. all her aspects are so perfectly opposing yet complimentary. being the goddess of weaving and of war seem contradictory, but ships cannot sail to troy without sails. she creates and destroys. she is also the god of industrialisation and computing and yes i will die on that hill. 

Her skill in weaving clothing for domestic use sits uneasily with her ability to weave deception and military strategy for the tapestry of war.

There is a stranger outside your house. Invite him inside. Do not ask questions. Wait. Let him sit on a comfortable chair and warm himself beside your fire. Let him eat and drink until he is satisfied. Be patient. When he is finished, he will tell his story. Listen carefully. It may not be as you expect.

I traveled with my ship and my companions over the wine-dark sea to foreign lands

Athena looked at him with sparkling eyes. Penelope, you and your sons will make a name in history, since you are so clever. 

So every day she wove the mighty cloth, and then at night by torchlight, she unwove it.

this is just genuinely good life advice  

Many birds go flying in sunlight, and not all are meaningful.

Meanwhile, bright-eyed Athena had a plan.

The Odyssey quotes

Join the club