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The Odyssey Of Homer

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If you glance at this book and notice that all the lines are written as verses, do not be alarmed, the verses are not difficult to understand. Lattimore's translation of Homer's The Odyssey is probably the best that you shall ever find, and it seems to remain truthful to the original, yet does not make it hard on the readers to understand.

I highly recommend this edition for anyone interested in reading this epic.

As with his work on the Iliad, few translators have had the success that Richmond Lattimore has when it comes to THE ODYSSEY. I would be hard pressed to find a better translation since others are either too literal to be poetic or too liberal to be faithful to Homer's story. Alexander Pope's is, of course, one of the greatest, but you have to go back 250 years to find one as enduring as Lattimore's.

HI: i can't find out from Help how to edit the prior review I wrote explaining that because I found Lattimore's translations of the Gospels&Revelation inaccurate, I wondered how good His Homer could be. So, consider this the correction. The prior review was way too strongly-worded. I meant what I said, but it wasn't as soft as it should have been.

No one is perfect, and there is YET no good English translation of the New Testament, so why should Lattimore be expected to get right what NO one has ever gotten right? So, please bear this thought in mind as you see me lambast Lattimore in my other review, which has the words "ek koilia" in it (vocabulary form).

I heartily apologize for the other review's tone!

This review will focus upon the translation of "The Odyssey" more than the work itself. Having withstood the test of time and considered the first great work of the Western tradition, "The Odyssey" can do well enough without my two cents.

This translation is among the most accurate on the market. Though I speak no Greek myself, classics professors have urged me to read this translation, the best English source for it. Despite the usual popularity for the Fitzgerald translation, the Lattimore version provides a more literal translation with consistent themes of word choice running throughout. "They put their hands to the good things that lay ready before them," for example, will come up over and over again because, quite simply, the phrase comes up over and over again. And we have the same adjectives consistently before each of the major players: resourceful Odysseus, thoughtful Telemachos, and circumspect Penelope, along with the gray-eyed Athene. Lattimore explains how he chooses to translate the work, and his translation is a literal work of a genius.

For those who desire the most accurate translation of this great work, I would highly recommend the Lattimore translation of "The Odyssey of Homer."

Have you ever imagined yourself traveling the world and discovering new lands and inhabitants that no one knew existed? Homer uses this idea in his classic epic, The Odyssey, to capture the attention of his readers as they are taken on the adventures of the main hero Odysseus. The epic functions on two levels, one following the hero on his journey and the other showing the trials that Odysseus' family must face in his absence. During the time period Homer existed, the idea of a hero greatly appealed to the general public. Even today, the idea of battling a Cyclops or defeating suitors in an archery contest captivates audiences to the point where they do not want to stop reading. In the end, Odysseus returns to his homeland, Ithaca, after enduring a great number of challenges. We are able to share in the emotions of the hero at this moment and share in his joy of conquering the tests he encountered. This is what makes The Odyssey a truly great epic that will stand the test of time.

Introduction:
The Odyssey is the story of an epic hero's voyage home and the lessons he learns throughout his journey home. The story involves the regaining of a king's throne and the maturing he and his son must go through in order to accomplish their goals. Homer's Odyssey is considered by many a historical document of the time following the fall of Troy ("Trojan War", Encarta). His writings influenced later Greek society and some of the greatest writers of all time ("Homer", Encarta). The Odyssey has been studied for thousands of years and is considered a masterpiece of the Greek language ("Homer", Encarta).

Introduction:
The Odyssey is the story of an epic hero's voyage home and the lessons he learns throughout his journey home. The story involves the regaining of a king's throne and the maturing he and his son must go through in order to accomplish their goals. Homer's Odyssey is considered by many a historical document of the time following the fall of Troy ("Trojan War", Encarta). His writings influenced later Greek society and some of the greatest writers of all time ("Homer", Encarta). The Odyssey has been studied for thousands of years and is considered a masterpiece of the Greek language ("Homer", Encarta).

Introduction:
The Odyssey is the story of an epic hero's voyage home and the lessons he learns throughout his journey home. The story involves the regaining of a king's throne and the maturing he and his son must go through in order to accomplish their goals. Homer's Odyssey is considered by many a historical document of the time following the fall of Troy ("Trojan War", Encarta). His writings influenced later Greek society and some of the greatest writers of all time ("Homer", Encarta). The Odyssey has been studied for thousands of years and is considered a masterpiece of the Greek language ("Homer", Encarta).

I read the odyssey for my high school English class, and it was not an easy read. However, the Lattimore edition that we used was terrific. It provided short summaries (just three to five words) at the top of each page to clue the reader in to what would be happening on the page. In addition, the translation was clear and easy to understand. I highly recommend this edition of Homer's Odyssey.

This Lattimore translation of "The Odyssey" was the first book I read last quarter for my Comparative Literature class, and it became a preview of coming wonders. I had neglected the old classics out of ignorance and prejudice (these two tend to go together) and "The Odyssey" was one of those books that forced me to look at an entire collection of genres and literary epochs in a different, far more positive way. I do not know Greek, therefore I cannot say whether the translation is absolutely faithful to the original, but it flows well when read silently and it sounds even better when I read it aloud, alone at night. This is the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaka, Captain of the Greeks, who must return to his homeland and his family after helping defeat the Trojans. Amazingly enough, many people seem to have bought entirely into the idea of Odysseus as a noble, courageous, and honorable leader of men who gets sidetracked solely because of the wrath of Poseidon. I finished this poem with an entirely different view of its protagonist. To me, Odysseus was an arrogant liar, a murderer and a rapist who did not hesitate to attack people who were not his enemies (the Kikonians on his way back after sacking Troy and killing and/or enslaving most of its people, as reads in Book IX, page 138), and who did not hesitate to endanger the lives of his men just to boast of his deeds (same Book, page 150). This "hero" eventually makes it to Ithaka and ends up drenched in the blood of the suitors of his wife, ordering the torture and death of the serving women who had become lovers of the suitors. His son Telemachos becomes a murderer as well: he kills a man by stabbing him on the back with a javelin. Since the suitors represented the youth of Ithaka's noble families, Odysseus has arranged to create a blood feud with everyone on the island. Only the intervention of Athena will save the day, and after all the bloodshed, all the lies, the pillaging, and the murders, he leaves Ithaka and Penelope once more to wander in other lands and thus follow a prophecy regarding his own death.

"The Odyssey" is a great poem. It is never boring and only after reading it complete one understands how little the film and TV productions kept of the original work, and how poorly we have been served with such adaptations. My reading of this timeless classic is rather different to that of other people who may have much better qualifications in this area. What I got out of it was the impression that Homer, whomever he was, used irony to drive home a message regarding his "hero," and this irony, together with the folklore that surrounded the Trojan War and its participants, helped Euripides, by the Fifth century BC, paint a far more direct and damaging picture of the Greek victors in his "Trojan Women."

I now consider "The Odyssey" necessary reading. Even if you read it and arrive to a different understanding of the poem, I think it will be an extremely valuable experience.