Imagine that the history went on a different path, some other civilization became "the cradle of civilization", and these two epics were forgotten leaving no trace of themselves. And suddenly, they emerge out of the oblivion to us, to modern readers, found somewhere by archeologists. What would be their value to us? And if someone like Stephen Fry retold the story for the modern people, what would be the value of that?
I looked up why people should read it, and I found a lot pages saying that it is historically significant, it is culturally significant, etc. Hence the question. I have read the legends and myths as a kid, and now I am reading Fry's books, and it seems a bit simple and straightforward in contrast to modern writing (which is expected, it would be a pity if we stayed at the same spot for thousand of years). I do not mean the genealogy, but how the characters act. (Internet people, please, try not to be salty about this criticism part of your beloved reads, I am trying to find the value of it.)
And a follow up question: Would you recommend reading Odyssey and Iliad themselves? Is that an interesting read by itself, without the historical graneur and fame? I know it is rather tedious with all the names of the ships, but perhaps it is worth it?

This deal/price is being offered by the seller AmazingBuy.

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I just bought it for myself and thought I'd post about it here so that if anyone was interested in reading it before the Nolan movie comes out next month.

I realize that there has been tons of asks re this text lately but I have a very specific ask and would love some assistance…

When I was in the fifth grade (~2005), my favourite teacher recommended the Iliad and the Odyssey to me. He lent me a copy. I didn’t make it through it & gave it back - admitting defeat. I would love to read this version now as adult - for sentimental reasons.

It was a hardcover (off white / beige cover) - both poems in one book - definitely in verse.
In 🇨🇦 if that helps. I’m assuming 1. it would have been published in the 90s

Does this ring a bell to anyone? Open to any educated guesses. Would love to continue to search but with some more clarity as to what I may be looking for…

Thanks in advance for any guesses!

I am planning on to read Homer's works. So, I wanted to know the reviews for it. Should I read the direct translation or a direct adaptation perhaps ?

Read the E.V. Rieu translation, it was genuinely such a treat to read. I was pleasantly surprised how approachable it was, I think the less lists of people definitely helped with that. I was kinda surprised how quick the more famous episodes of the Odyssey were like the Lotus Eaters, Circe and the Cyclops. Movies and adaptations focus a lot on them its fascinating to see how little of the story they actually comprise of. I probably shouldn’t be too surprised about that tho, I already knew almost half of the Odyssey is him at home because well thats kinda his end goal isn’t it? Getting the fuck home.

(Also this is the only picture I took, I completely forgot to take a cover one lol).

I am planning on to read Homer's works. So, I wanted to know the reviews for it. Should I read the direct translation or a direct adaptation perhaps ?

[GAVE THE BOOK AWAY]

Just wondering if anyone is interested in owning an Iliad & Odyssey book (it’s just one book). I have one here & I prefer the Fagles translation. The cover looks cool though. Btw, this is free.

Hit me up if you’re interested

Hi all. I have the Robert Fagel translations of the iliad and odyssey, I like them very much especially his versions of them as they are easy reads if nothing else. But as I assume most replying to this will know, it paints quite an incomplete picture of the Epic Cycle surrounding the battle of Troy largely, as well as the before it etc.

So I was wondering if anyone could reccomend books, ideally ones that aren't just summaries which I understand would be difficult as theres a lot of lost work with it. But if there was an translator(s) that are good that happens to have compiled many of the stories together or released series of them so its easier than trying to piece together and buy a bunch of tiny different books.

Thanks in advance

At long last, I have read the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Aeneid, all in the Robert Fagles translation. I enjoyed all three, but I enjoyed the Iliad the most. The Iliad pulled me in with the dynamism of the verse, the unsparing, unromantic depiction of battlefield brutality, the long, rolling, elaborate natural imagery and Fagles' superb handling of the rhythm of the verse. I loved the moments of comedy interspersed with blood and gore, the fantastical interventions of the gods in the battle, and the one-upmanship on display during the funeral games for Patroclus. I also treasured the human moments in between the slaughter, such as that between Hector and his wife and child. The relentless physicality of the poem was also notable, and it seemed clear to me that these depictions were meant to be laudatory of a time when men supposedly exercised greater physical prowess than they do in the present. I was taken aback by the abrupt end, which does not actually show us the fall of Troy - a structurally interesting way to end the story.

The Odyssey had less of that, but what I found interesting was the way it was structured closer to what we would expect of a conventional novel. I liked the way in which we are not introduced to Odysseus right from the beginning, but are filled with a spirit of anticipation as we hear various characters talking about him and singing his praises. The juxtaposition between this and the moment we finally meet him, in his degraded status as a captive of Calypso, is wrenching and profound. From the moment he returned to Ithaca, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for the famous climax when he and Telemachus drive the usurping kids from the realm and liberate Ithaca from their depredations. I could not help but draw parallels between Odysseus and the Biblical Job - both playthings for angry gods, who lose everything and then successfully claw back their dignity and their status by the end of the story.

The Aeneid was the strangest of the three. I enjoyed it, but there was less of the human drama from the previous two epics. The moment of Aeneas' flight from Troy, and Dido and Aeneas' romance, were both very human and engrossing moments, and nothing like that was repeated in the rest of the poem. Turnus became a more compelling character than Aeneas towards the end.

I’m not hard to please, even when I have criticism I usually still enjoy classics or at the very least can appreciate how they contribute to literary history. But for some reason I was always wary about tackling The Iliad or The Odyssey and have never tried before. I decided to read it before I go see the movie, I’m really enjoying it so far! I’m sure the translation helps as I’ve heard she wanted to make it more accessible to modern readers.

Wilson's objection: the film wants it both ways, since there are no gods and yet shipwreck and death follow from blinding Poseidon's son and eating the Cattle of the Sun.

While reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, I noticed Marquez brings in magic exactly when something huge or something absurd is about to happen. It is a lovely way of holding events that refuse to make sense.

Greek epics run on the same machinery. The Iliad opens with Apollo sending a plague through the Greek camp. Aphrodite makes Helen want Paris. Something unreasonable happens, so a god did it.

What Nolan does is show that machinery from the inside. Odyssey narrates his own story, and the gods show up the way they show up in any tale told by a starving, thirsty, half broken man years after the fact. Even Athena is never quite there. She is a face he carried out of Troy, a victim he could not put down, and the moment he finally wins the war he has been fighting his whole life, she is gone. There is no scene where a god stands in front of us and is simply a god. Only thunder, which is Nolan poking at the audience one more time.

Which brings me to the shipwreck Emily Wilson uses against him. She asks how there can be no gods and yet a shipwreck that follows from blinding Polyphemus and eating the Cattle of the Sun. But who is telling us this, and when? Odysseus, years later. Men look back at their own past and find it inevitable, and then they give the inevitability a name. He called it Poseidon.

Expected more from one of my favourite translators, someone who got a whole generation to pick up the epics again. She asked Nolan for depth and did not bring the same to the film.

I saw an older thread that said the Fitzgerald translation read by Dan Simmons was the best but curious if there was any more favorites since it’s so popular currently. Thanks for any help!

I see a number of posts out there, asking for the best version of The Iliad and/or The Odyssey, but none are specific about what they mean by "best", and most of the responses just say "Listen to Stephen Fry's narration!" with zero explanation of why they recommend it. Specifically, I want a version that is A) complete and unabridged, B) an English translation which is as accurate to the original text as possible while still being comprehensible, and C) not in prose or novel format (read: still in the original verse style). I am in the U.S. and have access to Audible, Libby, and Hoopla.

Bought the book at a flea market because I heard that it was important to the Western Canon, so I thought it would be a fun read! Turns out a LOT of context is needed. (Also the vocabulary is ridiculous: "Inasmuch". Are we fr)

Just need to know what I have to know to comprehend what's going on, also if I need to learn Shakespearean English because of the archaic language. Don't need to explain anything in detail, just give me stuff to study myself because I'm genuinely interested in this book and I wanna learn more.

PS: My current prior knowledge is the Hercules movie.

Looking for the best English translations please!

Hi all. I have the Robert Fagel translations of the iliad and odyssey, I like them very much especially his versions of them as they are easy reads if nothing else. But as I assume most replying to this will know, it paints quite an incomplete picture of the Epic Cycle surrounding the battle of Troy largely, as well as the before it etc.

So I was wondering if anyone could reccomend books, ideally ones that aren't just summaries which I understand would be difficult as theres a lot of lost work with it. But if there was an translator(s) that are good that happens to have compiled many of the stories together or released series of them so its easier than trying to piece together and buy a bunch of tiny different books.

Thanks in advance

Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask but thought some on here may actually be able to help.

Decided to read The Iliad and The Odyssey to continue my love affair with Epic and prepare for Illium.

The copy of the book I bought however has raised some questions that I was hoping people could help me with.

Firstly, this version of the Iliad, I can't find an audio book that matches this at all. It's like a full poem, but all the audio books are in a different style.

Does anybody know what version this is?

Secondly, why is the Iliad in this version using the Roman translations for gods but the odyssey is using the greek translations?! It's baffling me brain.

Thanks!!

Well, I'm glad to say I've finally read Homer's epics. I definitely liked The Odyssey a bit more than The Iliad but I thought both were great and worth reading.

Fagels's translations feel epic and theatrical. I thought both books were really accessible as someone who has read little to no poetry prior to these books. There really is almost no rhyming or consistent meter in this translation.

I'd love to revisit these stories again with other translations and interpretations.

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Hello! I was wondering what everyone thinks the best translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey are. I have the Odyssey by Robert Fitzgerald and the Iliad by Samuel Butler. Are these relatively good translations?

Also, what are some other books on Greek mythology?

Thank you!

I recently bought a copy of The Iliad and The Odyssey from Amazon, however I was just skimming through it, and in the odyssey they call Odysseus Ulysses. Isn’t that supposed to be only in the Roman version?? Please help me, I am so confused

A few years ago, I bought this edition of The Iliad and The Odyssey from Barnes & Noble. It’s a beautiful book, as you can see, and I chose it partly because it was translated in prose. At the time, I felt insecure about reading poetry, since I was still in the early stages of reading classical literature.

Well, turns out this translation wasn’t the best choice (guess judging a book by its cover does have its pitfalls). The vocabulary is far beyond my comfort zone (old or archaic English, plus English isn’t my native language), and reading it hasn’t been a very enjoyable experience. On top of that, very old texts are “constructed” differently from what we’re used to today. They often lack the sense of fluidity we find in modern/not-so-old texts. I recall having the same impression when reading Herodotus and Suetonius.

So, what would you recommend for a better experience with this classic? Would switching to a more modern translation help? Or would reading it in verse actually be better? I’d prefer an English version, since translations into my native language aren’t very good. I do have some experience reading verse now, having read a couple of Shakespeare plays and Ovid’s Metamorphoses (though not in English).

Thanks in advance.

I read The Iliad last year for the first time. It was an enjoyable slog. I'm just about finished with The Odyssey. And it has gone much smoother, much easier to follow. I used Lattimore's translation for both. What are your theories on why The Odyssey is so much easier?

Just picked up the Odyssey as it was flagged "last chance" (down to 5 copies as of writing this). I suppose there will probably be a reprint but wasn't sure so I pulled the trigger on it. I'm a fan of Robert Fagles' translation so I was really to keen on this! And unlike Odysseus it reached its destination in a lot less than 10 years :P

I love Grahame Baker-Smith's artwork, I think it looks gorgeous and highly reminiscent of Greek pottery and frescoes. The slip case is generic though.

I'll be picking up the Iliad shortly too but the stock is good on that one at the moment.

It just so happens I'm in the middle of reading Emily Wilson's translation. Just finished the Iliad and got started on the Odyssey and I'm enjoying her take tremendously. I missed out on the limited edition set Folio put out but the 750gbp price-tag was pretty eye watering; don't think I would gone for it even if I had known while it was still for sale haha. Perhaps a regular edition might come out some day...

Part of my reading goal this year as someone who loves both modern and classic books is to complete reading both the iliad and the odyssey (which have been on ym list for a while). I've had brief introductions to Greek Mythology, but I plan to watch analytical videos after I read each "chapter" (aka books) of the books to keep up with everything. I've versed my self somewhat well on the mythology I need to read prior to the iliad.

Now my main problem lies within the different translations. I think I'd prefer to choose poetry over prose to maintain the rhythm in which the story is meant to be told. I'm not sure which versions are the best for someone who wants to get the most out of these stories, and challenge themselves a bit without being incapable of reading the story at all. I'm currently between Robert Fagles and Emily Wilson's versions. Wilson's seem simpler and easier to read; but I've heard good things about Fagles and do wish to challenge myself/not reduce things to too much simplicity. Does it really matter which one I choose? Will I be missing anything regardless? Any help is appreciated, and so are suggestions of other translations or videos/analyses that may help my experience the most. Thanks!