The Odyssey
The great epic of Western literature, translated by the acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles
Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Christopher Nolan
A Penguin Classic
Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, presents us with Homer's best-loved and most accessible poem in a stunning modern-verse translation. "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." So begins Robert Fagles' magnificent translation of the Odyssey, which Jasper Griffin in the New York Times Book Review hails as "a distinguished achievement."
If the Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, the Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of an everyman's journey through life. Odysseus' reliance on his wit and wiliness for survival in his encounters with divine and natural forces during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War is at once a timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance.
In the myths and legends retold here, Fagles has captured the energy and poetry of Homer's original in a bold, contemporary idiom, and given us an Odyssey to read aloud, to savor, and to treasure for its sheer lyrical mastery. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox's superb introduction and textual commentary provide insightful background information for the general reader and scholar alike, intensifying the strength of Fagles's translation. This is an Odyssey to delight both the classicist and the general reader, to captivate a new generation of Homer's students. This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition features French flaps and deckle-edged paper.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Christopher Nolan
A Penguin Classic
Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, presents us with Homer's best-loved and most accessible poem in a stunning modern-verse translation. "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." So begins Robert Fagles' magnificent translation of the Odyssey, which Jasper Griffin in the New York Times Book Review hails as "a distinguished achievement."
If the Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, the Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of an everyman's journey through life. Odysseus' reliance on his wit and wiliness for survival in his encounters with divine and natural forces during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War is at once a timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance.
In the myths and legends retold here, Fagles has captured the energy and poetry of Homer's original in a bold, contemporary idiom, and given us an Odyssey to read aloud, to savor, and to treasure for its sheer lyrical mastery. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox's superb introduction and textual commentary provide insightful background information for the general reader and scholar alike, intensifying the strength of Fagles's translation. This is an Odyssey to delight both the classicist and the general reader, to captivate a new generation of Homer's students. This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition features French flaps and deckle-edged paper.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Community Reviews
I more or less enjoyed reading The Iliad, and tons of people have said The Odyssey is even better, so my expectations were high, but it was a fail. I found it a lot less compelling thematically, which may be because I like depictions of war better than adventurous tales. After reading quite a few epic poems and ancient Greek literature, the Odyssey simply didn't deliver the philosophical undertones I was expecting.
Edit 1: Needless to say, I was reading a book called [b:The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics|21185732|The Quest for a Moral Compass A Global History of Ethics|Kenan Malik|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394426106l/21185732._SY75_.jpg|40525747] which concisely talked about how human nature and the tragedy of the human condition are eloquently captured in Homer's Iliad, something that Odyssey highly lacked.
About the translation-
I have tried both Fagles and Wilson's translations, and although Fagles's translation is more lyrical and poetic than Wilson's, I went with Emily Wilson's because her version seemed more precise, and her introduction and translator's notes are absolute chef's kiss.
2.75/5
Edit 1: Needless to say, I was reading a book called [b:The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics|21185732|The Quest for a Moral Compass A Global History of Ethics|Kenan Malik|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394426106l/21185732._SY75_.jpg|40525747] which concisely talked about how human nature and the tragedy of the human condition are eloquently captured in Homer's Iliad, something that Odyssey highly lacked.
About the translation-
I have tried both Fagles and Wilson's translations, and although Fagles's translation is more lyrical and poetic than Wilson's, I went with Emily Wilson's because her version seemed more precise, and her introduction and translator's notes are absolute chef's kiss.
2.75/5
They don’t write them like they used to!! This was a really fun discovery, granted I listened to it at 1.5 speed because there were just so many words! But a couple of things stand out in this:
1. Odysseos was incredibly creative in his creation of cover stories and wary of nearly every one!
2. Hospitality was long a hallmark of a person’s quality.
3. A man showed his wealth by giving richly to the least among him.
I could see a more wholehearted return to these values.
1. Odysseos was incredibly creative in his creation of cover stories and wary of nearly every one!
2. Hospitality was long a hallmark of a person’s quality.
3. A man showed his wealth by giving richly to the least among him.
I could see a more wholehearted return to these values.
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