The Odyssey

By Homer

One of the most famous ancient Greek epic poems, translated into English.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AUK Classics
• Release date: Jun 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781781668948

Homer

Two epic poems are attributed to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. They are composed in a literary type of Greek, Ionic in basis with Aeolic admixtures. Ranked among the great works of Western literature, these two poems together constitute the prototype for all subsequent Western epic poetry. Modern scholars are generally agreed that there was a poet named Homer who lived before 700 B.C., probably in Asia Minor.

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Preface to First Edition

This translation is intended to supplement a work entitled The Authoress of the Odyssey, which I published in 1897. I could not give the whole Odyssey in that book without making it unwieldy, I therefore epitomised my translation, which was already completed and which I now publish in full.

I shall not here argue the two main points dealt with in the work just mentioned; I have nothing either to add to, or to withdraw from, what I have there written. The points in question are:

(1) that the Odyssey was written entirely at, and drawn entirely from, the place now called Trapani on the West Coast of Sicily, alike as regards the Phaeacian and the Ithaca scenes; while the voyages of Ulysses, when once he is within easy reach of Sicily, solve themselves into a periplus of the island, practically from Trapani back to Trapani, via the Lipari islands, the Straits of Messina, and the island of Pantellaria;

(2) That the poem was entirely written by a very young woman, who lived at the place now called Trapani, and introduced herself into her work under the name of Nausicaa.

The main arguments on which I base the first of these somewhat startling contentions, have been prominently and repeatedly before the English and Italian public ever since they appeared (without rejoinder) in the Athenaeum for January 30 and February 20, 1892. Both contentions were urged (also without rejoinder) in the Johnian Eagle for the Lent and October terms of the same year. Nothing to which I should reply has reached me from any quarter, and knowing how anxiously I have endeavoured to learn the existence of any flaws in my argument, I begin to feel some confidence that, did such flaws exist, I should have heard, at any rate about some of them, before now. Without, therefore, for a moment pretending to think that scholars generally acquiesce in my conclusions, I shall act as thinking them little likely so to gainsay me as that it will be incumbent upon me to reply, and shall confine myself to translating the Odyssey for English readers, with such notes as I think will be found useful. Among these I would especially call attention to one on xxii. 465-473 which Lord Grimthorpe has kindly allowed me to make public.

I have repeated several of the illustrations used in The Authoress of the Odyssey, and have added two which I hope may bring the outer court of Ulysses' house more vividly before the reader. I should like to explain that the presence of a man and a dog in one illustration is accidental, and was not observed by me till I developed the negative. In an appendix I have also reprinted the paragraphs explanatory of the plan of Ulysses' house, together with the plan itself. The reader is recommended to study this plan with some attention.

In the preface to my translation of the Iliad I have given my views as to the main principles by which a translator should be guided, and need not repeat them here, beyond pointing out that the initial liberty of translating poetry into prose involves the continual taking of more or less liberty throughout the translation; for much that is right in poetry is wrong in prose, and the exigencies of readable prose are the first things to be considered in a prose translation. That the reader, however, may see how far I have departed from strict construe, I will print here Messrs. Butcher and Lang's translation of the sixty lines or so of the Odyssey. Their translation runs:

Tell me, Muse, of that man, so ready at need, who wandered far and wide, after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy, and many were the men whose towns he saw and whose mind he learnt, yea, and many the woes he suffered in his heart on the deep, striving to win his own life and the return of his company. Nay, but even so he saved not his company, though he desired it sore. For through the blindness of their own hearts they perished, fools, who devoured the oxen of Helios Hyperion: but the god took from them their day of returning. Of these things, goddess, daughter of Zeus, whencesoever thou hast heard thereof, declare thou even unto us.

Now all the rest, as many as fled from sheer destruction, were at home, and had escaped both war and sea, but Odysseus only, craving for his wife and for his homeward path, the lady nymph Calypso held, that fair goddess, in her hollow caves, longing to have him for her lord. But when now the year had come in the courses of the seasons, wherein the gods had ordained that he should return home to Ithaca, not even there was he quit of labours, not even among his own; but all the gods had pity on him save Poseidon, who raged continually against godlike Odysseus, till he came to his own country. Howbeit Poseidon had now departed for the distant Ethiopians, the Ethiopians that are sundered in twain, the uttermost of men, abiding some where Hyperion sinks and some where he rises. There he looked to receive his hecatomb of bulls and rams, there he made merry sitting at the feast, but the other gods were gathered in the halls of Olympian Zeus. Then among them the father of men and gods began to speak, for he bethought him in his heart of noble Aegisthus, whom the son of Agamemnon, far-famed Orestes, slew. Thinking upon him he spake out among the Immortals:

'Lo you now, how vainly mortal men do blame the gods! For of us they say comes evil, whereas they even of themselves, through the blindness of their own hearts, have sorrows beyond that which is ordained. Even as of late Aegisthus, beyond that which was ordained, took to him the wedded wife of the son of Atreus, and killed her lord on his return, and that with sheer doom before his eyes, since we had warned him by the embassy of Hermes the keen-sighted, the slayer of Argos, that he should neither kill the man, nor woo his wife. For the son of Atreus shall be avenged at the hand of Orestes, so soon as he shall come to man's estate and long for his own country. So spake Hermes, yet he prevailed not on the heart of Aegisthus, for all his good will; but now hath he paid one price for all.'

And the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, answered him, saying: 'O father, our father Cronides, throned in the highest; that man assuredly lies in a death that is his due; so perish likewise all who work such deeds! But my heart is rent for wise Odysseus, the hapless one, who far from his friends this long while suffereth affliction in a sea-girt isle, where is the navel of the sea, a woodland isle, and therein a goddess hath her habitation, the daughter of the wizard Atlas, who knows the depths of every sea, and himself upholds the tall pillars which keep earth and sky asunder. His daughter it is that holds the hapless man in sorrow: and ever with soft and guileful tales she is wooing him to forgetfulness of Ithaca. But Odysseus yearning to see if it were but the smoke leap upwards from his own land, hath a desire to die. As for thee, thine heart regardeth it not at all, Olympian! What! Did not Odysseus by the ships of the Argives make thee free offering of sacrifice in the wide Trojan land? Wherefore wast thou then so wroth with him, O Zeus?'

The Odyssey (as every one knows) abounds in passages borrowed from the Iliad; I had wished to print these in a slightly different type, with marginal references to the Iliad, and had marked them to this end in my MS. I found, however, that the translation would be thus hopelessly scholasticised, and abandoned my intention. I would nevertheless urge on those who have the management of our University presses, that they would render a great service to students if they would publish a Greek text of the Odyssey with the Iliadic passages printed in a different type, and with marginal references. I have given the British Museum a copy of the Odyssey with the Iliadic passages underlined and referred to in MS.; I have also given an Iliad marked with all the Odyssean passages, and their references; but copies of both the Iliad and Odyssey so marked ought to be within easy reach of all students.

Any one who at the present day discusses the questions that have arisen round the Iliad since Wolf's time, without keeping it well before his reader's mind that the Odyssey was demonstrably written from one single neighbourhood, and hence (even though nothing else pointed to this conclusion) presumably by one person only - that it was written certainly before 750, and in all probability before 1000 B.C. - that the writer of this very early poem was demonstrably familiar with the Iliad as we now have it, borrowing as freely from those books whose genuineness has been most impugned, as from those which are admitted to be by Homer - any one who fails to keep these points before his readers, is hardly dealing equitably by them. Any one on the other hand, who will mark his Iliad and his Odyssey from the copies in the British Museum above referred to, and who will draw the only inference that common sense can draw from the presence of so many identical passages in both poems, will, I believe, find no difficulty in assigning their proper value to a large number of books here and on the Continent that at present enjoy considerable reputations. Furthermore, and this perhaps is an advantage better worth securing, he will find that many puzzles of the Odyssey cease to puzzle him on the discovery that they arise from over-saturation with the Iliad.

Other difficulties will also disappear as soon as the development of the poem in the writer's mind is understood. I have dealt with this at some length in pp. 251-261 of The Authoress of the Odyssey. Briefly, the Odyssey consists of two distinct poems: (1) The Return of Ulysses, which alone the Muse is asked to sing in the opening lines of the poem. This poem includes the Phaeacian episode, and the account of Ulysses' adventures as told by himself in Books ix.-xii. It consists of lines 1-79 (roughly) of Book i., of line 28 of Book v., and thence without intermission to the middle of line 187 of Book xiii., at which point the original scheme was abandoned.

(2) The story of Penelope and the suitors, with the episode of Telemachus' voyage to Pylos. This poem begins with line 80 (roughly) of Book i., is continued to the end of Book iv., and not resumed till Ulysses wakes in the middle of line 187, Book xiii., from whence it continues to the end of Book xxiv.

In The Authoress of the Odyssey, I wrote:

the introduction of lines xi., 115-137 and of line ix., 535, with the writing a new council of the gods at the beginning of Book v., to take the place of the one that was removed to Book i., 1-79, were the only things that were done to give even a semblance of unity to the old scheme and the new, and to conceal the fact that the Muse, after being asked to sing of one subject, spend two-thirds of her time in singing a very different one, with a climax for which no-one has asked her. For roughly the Return occupies eight Books, and Penelope and the Suitors sixteen.

I believe this to be substantially correct.

Lastly, to deal with a very unimportant point, I observe that the Leipsic Teubner edition of 894 makes Books ii. and iii. end with a comma. Stops are things of such far more recent date than the Odyssey, that there does not seem much use in adhering to the text in so small a matter; still, from a spirit of mere conservatism, I have preferred to do so. Why [Greek] at the beginnings of Books ii. and viii., and [Greek], at the beginning of Book vii. should have initial capitals in an edition far too careful to admit a supposition of inadvertence, when [Greek] at the beginning of Books vi. and xiii., and [Greek] at the beginning of Book xvii. have no initial capitals, I cannot determine. No other Books of the Odyssey have initial capitals except the three mentioned unless the first word of the Book is a proper name.

S. BUTLER.

July 25, 1900.

Preface to Second Edition

Butler's Translation of the Odyssey appeared originally in 1900, and The Authoress of the Odyssey in 1897. In the preface to the new edition of The Authoress, which is published simultaneously with this new edition of the Translation, I have given some account of the genesis of the two books.

The size of the original page has been reduced so as to make both books uniform with Butler's other works; and, fortunately, it has been possible, by using a smaller type, to get the same number of words into each page, so that the references remain good, and, with the exception of a few minor alterations and rearrangements now to be enumerated so far as they affect the Translation, the new editions are faithful reprints of the original editions, with misprints and obvious errors corrected - no attempt having been made to edit them or to bring them up to date.

(a) The Index has been revised.

(b) Owing to the reduction in the size of the page it has been necessary to shorten some of the headlines, and here advantage has been taken of various corrections of and additions to the headlines and shoulder-notes made by Butler in his own copies of the two books.

(c) For the most part each of the illustrations now occupies a page, whereas in the original editions they generally appeared two on the page. It has been necessary to reduce the plan of the House of Ulysses.

On page 153 of The Authoress Butler says: No great poet would compare his hero to a paunch full of blood and fat, cooking before the fire (xx, 24-28). This passage is not given in the abridged Story of the Odyssey at the beginning of the book, but in the Translation it occurs in these words:

Thus he chided with his heart, and checked it into endurance, but he tossed about as one who turns a paunch full of blood and fat in front of a hot fire, doing it first on one side then on the other, that he may get it cooked as soon as possible; even so did he turn himself about from side to side, thinking all the time how, single- handed as he was, he should contrive to kill so large a body of men as the wicked suitors.

It looks as though in the interval between the publication of The Authoress (1897) and of the Translation (1900) Butler had changed his mind; for in the first case the comparison is between Ulysses and a paunch full, etc., and in the second it is between Ulysses and a man who turns a paunch full, etc. The second comparison is perhaps one which a great poet might make.

In seeing the works through the press I have had the invaluable assistance of Mr. A. T. Bartholomew of the University Library, Cambridge, and of Mr. Donald S. Robertson, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. To both these friends I give my most cordial thanks for the care and skill exercised by them. Mr. Robertson has found time for the labour of checking and correcting all the quotations from and references to the Iliad and Odyssey, and I believe that it could not have been better performed. It was, I know, a pleasure for him; and it would have been a pleasure also for Butler if he could have known that his work was being shepherded by the son of his old friend, Mr. H. R. Robertson, who more than half a century ago was a fellow-student with him at Cary's School of Art in Streatham Street, Bloomsbury.

HENRY FESTING JONES. 120 MAIDA VALE, W.9. 4th December, 1921.

The Odyssey

Book I

THE GODS IN COUNCIL - MINERVA'S VISIT TO ITHACA - THE CHALLENGE FROM TELEMACHUS TO THE SUITORS.

Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, oh daughter of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them.

So now all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got safely home except Ulysses, and he, though he was longing to return to his wife and country, was detained by the goddess Calypso, who had got him into a large cave and wanted to marry him. But as years went by, there came a time when the gods settled that he should go back to Ithaca; even then, however, when he was among his own people, his troubles were not yet over; nevertheless all the gods had now begun to pity him except Neptune, who still persecuted him without ceasing and would not let him get home.

Now Neptune had gone off to the Ethiopians, who are at the world's end, and lie in two halves, the one looking West and the other East. {1} He had gone there to accept a hecatomb of sheep and oxen, and was enjoying himself at his festival; but the other gods met in the house of Olympian Jove, and the sire of gods and men spoke first. At that moment he was thinking of Aegisthus, who had been killed by Agamemnon's son Orestes; so he said to the other gods:

See now, how men lay blame upon us gods for what is after all nothing but their own folly. Look at Aegisthus; he must needs make love to Agamemnon's wife unrighteously and then kill Agamemnon, though he knew it would be the death of him; for I sent Mercury to warn him not to do either of these things, inasmuch as Orestes would be sure to take his revenge when he grew up and wanted to return home. Mercury told him this in all good will but he would not listen, and now he has paid for everything in full.

Then Minerva said, Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, it served Aegisthus right, and so it would any one else who does as he did; but Aegisthus is neither here nor there; it is for Ulysses that my heart bleeds, when I think of his sufferings in that lonely sea-girt island, far away, poor man, from all his friends. It is an island covered with forest, in the very middle of the sea, and a goddess lives there, daughter of the magician Atlas, who looks after the bottom of the ocean, and carries the great columns that keep heaven and earth asunder. This daughter of Atlas has got hold of poor unhappy Ulysses, and keeps trying by every kind of blandishment to make him forget his home, so that he is tired of life, and thinks of nothing but how he may once more see the smoke of his own chimneys. You, sir, take no heed of this, and yet when Ulysses was before Troy did he not propitiate you with many a burnt sacrifice? Why then should you keep on being so angry with him?

And Jove said, My child, what are you talking about? How can I forget Ulysses than whom there is no more capable man on earth, nor more liberal in his offerings to the immortal gods that live in heaven? Bear in mind, however, that Neptune is still furious with Ulysses for having blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the Cyclopes. Polyphemus is son to Neptune by the nymph Thoosa, daughter to the sea-king Phorcys; therefore though he will not kill Ulysses outright, he torments him by preventing him from getting home. Still, let us lay our heads together and see how we can help him to return; Neptune will then be pacified, for if we are all of a mind he can hardly stand out against us.

And Minerva said, Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, if, then, the gods now mean that Ulysses should get home, we should first send Mercury to the Ogygian island to tell Calypso that we have made up our minds and that he is to return. In the meantime I will go to Ithaca, to put heart into Ulysses' son Telemachus; I will embolden him to call the Achaeans in assembly, and speak out to the suitors of his mother Penelope, who persist in eating up any number of his sheep and oxen; I will also conduct him to Sparta and to Pylos, to see if he can hear anything about the return of his dear father - for this will make people speak well of him.

So saying she bound on her glittering golden sandals, imperishable, with which she can fly like the wind over land or sea; she grasped the redoubtable bronze-shod spear, so stout and sturdy and strong, wherewith she quells the ranks of heroes who have displeased her, and down she darted from the topmost summits of Olympus, whereon forthwith she was in Ithaca, at the gateway of Ulysses' house, disguised as a visitor, Mentes, chief of the Taphians, and she held a bronze spear in her hand. There she found the lordly suitors seated on hides of the oxen which they had killed and eaten, and playing draughts in front of the house. Men-servants and pages were bustling about to wait upon them, some mixing wine with water in the mixing-bowls, some cleaning down the tables with wet sponges and laying them out again, and some cutting up great quantities of meat.

Telemachus saw her long before any one else did. He was sitting moodily among the suitors thinking about his brave father, and how he would send them flying out of the house, if he were to come to his own again and be honoured as in days gone by. Thus brooding as he sat among them, he caught sight of Minerva and went straight to the gate, for he was vexed that a stranger should be kept waiting for admittance. He took her right hand in his own, and bade her give him her spear. Welcome, said he, to our house, and when you have partaken of food you shall tell us what you have come for.

He led the way as he spoke, and Minerva followed him. When they were within he took her spear and set it in the spear-stand against a strong bearing-post along with the many other spears of his unhappy father, and he conducted her to a richly decorated seat under which he threw a cloth of damask. There was a footstool also for her feet,{2} and he set another seat near her for himself, away from the suitors, that she might not be annoyed while eating by their noise and insolence, and that he might ask her more freely about his father.

A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their hands, and she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought them bread, and offered them many good things of what there was in the house, the carver fetched them plates of all manner of meats and set cups of gold by their side, and a manservant brought them wine and poured it out for them.

Then the suitors came in and took their places on the benches and seats. {3} Forthwith men servants poured water over their hands, maids went round with the bread-baskets, pages filled the mixing-bowls with wine and water, and they laid their hands upon the good things that were before them. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink they wanted music and dancing, which are the crowning embellishments of a banquet, so a servant brought a lyre to Phemius, whom they compelled perforce to sing to them. As soon as he touched his lyre and began to sing Telemachus spoke low to Minerva, with his head close to hers that no man might hear.

I hope, sir, said he, that you will not be offended with what I am going to say. Singing comes cheap to those who do not pay for it, and all this is done at the cost of one whose bones lie rotting in some wilderness or grinding to powder in the surf. If these men were to see my father come back to Ithaca they would pray for longer legs rather than a longer purse, for money would not serve them; but he, alas, has fallen on an ill fate, and even when people do sometimes say that he is coming, we no longer heed them; we shall never see him again. And now, sir, tell me and tell me true, who you are and where you come from. Tell me of your town and parents, what manner of ship you came in, how your crew brought you to Ithaca, and of what nation they declared themselves to be - for you cannot have come by land. Tell me also truly, for I want to know, are you a stranger to this house, or have you been here in my father's time? In the old days we had many visitors for my father went about much himself.

And Minerva answered, I will tell you truly and particularly all about it. I am Mentes, son of Anchialus, and I am King of the Taphians. I have come here with my ship and crew, on a voyage to men of a foreign tongue being bound for Temesa {4} with a cargo of iron, and I shall bring back copper. As for my ship, it lies over yonder off the open country away from the town, in the harbour Rheithron {5} under the wooded mountain Neritum. {6} Our fathers were friends before us, as old Laertes will tell you, if you will go and ask him. They say, however, that he never comes to town now, and lives by himself in the country, faring hardly, with an old woman to look after him and get his dinner for him, when he comes in tired from pottering about his vineyard. They told me your father was at home again, and that was why I came, but it seems the gods are still keeping him back, for he is not dead yet not on the mainland. It is more likely he is on some sea-girt island in mid ocean, or a prisoner among savages who are detaining him against his will. I am no prophet, and know very little about omens, but I speak as it is borne in upon me from heaven, and assure you that he will not be away much longer; for he is a man of such resource that even though he were in chains of iron he would find some means of getting home again. But tell me, and tell me true, can Ulysses really have such a fine looking fellow for a son? You are indeed wonderfully like him about the head and eyes, for we were close friends before he set sail for Troy where the flower of all the Argives went also. Since that time we have never either of us seen the other.

My mother, answered Telemachus, tells me I am son to Ulysses, but it is a wise child that knows his own father. Would that I were son to one who had grown old upon his own estates, for, since you ask me, there is no more ill-starred man under heaven than he who they tell me is my father.

And Minerva said, There is no fear of your race dying out yet, while Penelope has such a fine son as you are. But tell me, and tell me true, what is the meaning of all this feasting, and who are these people? What is it all about? Have you some banquet, or is there a wedding in the family - for no one seems to be bringing any provisions of his own? And the guests - how atrociously they are behaving; what riot they make over the whole house; it is enough to disgust any respectable person who comes near them.

Sir, said Telemachus, as regards your question, so long as my father was here it was well with us and with the house, but the gods in their displeasure have willed it otherwise, and have hidden him away more closely than mortal man was ever yet hidden. I could have borne it better even though he were dead, if he had fallen with his men before Troy, or had died with friends around him when the days of his fighting were done; for then the Achaeans would have built a mound over his ashes, and I should myself have been heir to his renown; but now the storm-winds have spirited him away we know not whither; he is gone without leaving so much as a trace behind him, and I inherit nothing but dismay. Nor does the matter end simply with grief for the loss of my father; heaven has laid sorrows upon me of yet another kind; for the chiefs from all our islands, Dulichium, Same, and the woodland island of Zacynthus, as also all the principal men of Ithaca itself, are eating up my house under the pretext of paying their court to my mother, who will neither point blank say that she will not marry, {7} nor yet bring matters to an end; so they are making havoc of my estate, and before long will do so also with myself.

Is that so? exclaimed Minerva, "then you do indeed want Ulysses home again. Give him his helmet, shield, and a couple of lances, and if he is the man he was when I first knew him in our house, drinking and making merry, he would soon lay his hands about these rascally suitors, were he to stand once more upon his own threshold. He was then coming from Ephyra, where he had been to beg poison for his arrows from Ilus, son of Mermerus. Ilus feared the ever-living gods and would not give him any, but my father let him have some, for he was very fond of him. If Ulysses is the man he then was these suitors will have a short shrift and a sorry wedding.

But there! It rests with heaven to determine whether he is to return, and take his revenge in his own house or no; I would, however, urge you to set about trying to get rid of these suitors at once. Take my advice, call the Achaean heroes in assembly to-morrow morning - lay your case before them, and call heaven to bear you witness. Bid the suitors take themselves off, each to his own place, and if your mother's mind is set on marrying again, let her go back to her father, who will find her a husband and provide her with all the marriage gifts that so dear a daughter may expect. As for yourself, let me prevail upon you to take the best ship you can get, with a crew of twenty men, and go in quest of your father who has so long been missing. Some one may tell you something, or (and people often hear things in this way) some heaven-sent message may direct you. First go to Pylos and ask Nestor; thence go on to Sparta and visit Menelaus, for he got home last of all the Achaeans; if you hear that your father is alive and on his way home, you can put up with the waste these suitors will make for yet another twelve months. If on the other hand you hear of his death, come home at once, celebrate his funeral rites with all due pomp, build a barrow to his memory, and make your mother marry again. Then, having done all this, think it well over in your mind how, by fair means or foul, you may kill these suitors in your own house. You are too old to plead infancy any longer; have you not heard how people are singing Orestes' praises for having killed his father's murderer Aegisthus? You are a fine, smart looking fellow; show your mettle, then, and make yourself a name in story. Now, however, I must go back to my ship and to my crew, who will be impatient if I keep them waiting longer; think the matter over for yourself, and remember what I have said to you.

Sir, answered Telemachus, it has been very kind of you to talk to me in this way, as though I were your own son, and I will do all you tell me; I know you want to be getting on with your voyage, but stay a little longer till you have taken a bath and refreshed yourself. I will then give you a present, and you shall go on your way rejoicing; I will give you one of great beauty and value - a keepsake such as only dear friends give to one another.

Minerva answered, Do not try to keep me, for I would be on my way at once. As for any present you may be disposed to make me, keep it till I come again, and I will take it home with me. You shall give me a very good one, and I will give you one of no less value in return.

With these words she flew away like a bird into the air, but she had given Telemachus courage, and had made him think more than ever about his father. He felt the change, wondered at it, and knew that the stranger had been a god, so he went straight to where the suitors were sitting.

Phemius was still singing, and his hearers sat rapt in silence as he told the sad tale of the return from Troy, and the ills Minerva had laid upon the Achaeans. Penelope, daughter of Icarius, heard his song from her room upstairs, and came down by the great staircase, not alone, but attended by two of her handmaids. When she reached the suitors she stood by one of the bearing posts that supported the roof of the cloisters {8} with a staid maiden on either side of her. She held a veil, moreover, before her face, and was weeping bitterly.

Phemius, she cried, you know many another feat of gods and heroes, such as poets love to celebrate. Sing the suitors some one of these, and let them drink their wine in silence, but cease this sad tale, for it breaks my sorrowful heart, and reminds me of my lost husband whom I mourn ever without ceasing, and whose name was great over all Hellas and middle Argos. {9}

Mother, answered Telemachus, let the bard sing what he has a mind to; bards do not make the ills they sing of; it is Jove, not they, who makes them, and who sends weal or woe upon mankind according to his own good pleasure. This fellow means no harm by singing the ill-fated return of the Danaans, for people always applaud the latest songs most warmly. Make up your mind to it and bear it; Ulysses is not the only man who never came back from Troy, but many another went down as well as he. Go, then, within the house and busy yourself with your daily duties, your loom, your distaff, and the ordering of your servants; for speech is man's matter, and mine above all others {10} - for it is I who am master here.

She went wondering back into the house, and laid her son's saying in her heart. Then, going upstairs with her handmaids into her room, she mourned her dear husband till Minerva shed sweet sleep over her eyes. But the suitors were clamorous throughout the covered cloisters {11}, and prayed each one that he might be her bed fellow.

Then Telemachus spoke, Shameless, he cried, and insolent suitors, let us feast at our pleasure now, and let there be no brawling, for it is a rare thing to hear a man with such a divine voice as Phemius has; but in the morning meet me in full assembly that I may give you formal notice to depart, and feast at one another's houses, turn and turn about, at your own cost. If on the other hand you choose to persist in spunging upon one man, heaven help me, but Jove shall reckon with you in full, and when you fall in my father's house there shall be no man to avenge you.

The suitors bit their lips as they heard him, and marvelled at the boldness of his speech. Then, Antinous, son of Eupeithes, said, The gods seem to have given you lessons in bluster and tall talking; may Jove never grant you to be chief in Ithaca as your father was before you.

Telemachus answered, Antinous, do not chide with me, but, god willing, I will be chief too if I can. Is this the worst fate you can think of for me? It is no bad thing to be a chief, for it brings both riches and honour. Still, now that Ulysses is dead there are many great men in Ithaca both old and young, and some other may take the lead among them; nevertheless I will be chief in my own house, and will rule those whom Ulysses has won for me.

Then Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered, "It rests with heaven to decide who shall be chief among us, but you shall be master in your own house and over your own possessions; no one while there is a man in Ithaca shall do you violence nor rob you. And now, my good fellow, I want to know about

Reviews for The Odyssey

[arkrayder · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a book I decided to tackle with audiobook and I thought it came across better listening to a narrator. Will give the Iliad go to.

[narilka · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had attempted to read The Odyssey once before and failed miserably. Since then I've learned just how important the translator is when choosing to read ancient classics. I'm happy that I found a different translation to try which made this a much more enjoyable and engaging read. Given that the story comes from a time of oral tradition I decided to try out the audio book, which I think was the right idea but the wrong narrator for me. More on that below.For anyone who doesn't know, The Odyssey was written by Homer somewhere around 800 BC. The epic poem relates the story of Odysseus and his trials on his return journey home after the Trojan war. For such a simple premise, the scope is vast. It has a little bit of everything (magic, monsters, gods, suitors, shipwrecks, action) and touches on so many themes (violence and the aftermath of war, poverty, wealth, marriage and family, betrayal, yearning for ones home, hospitality) that is is easy to see why this poem is so important and how it has inspired many stories to this day. One of the best and worst parts about this version was the introduction to the poem. The intro goes into great detail about the controversies about the poem's origins and dives deeply into the poem's many themes. This was great for someone who already knows the story and wants to learn more before getting into Odysseus's tale. For those that don't like spoilers, it's best if you skip the introduction and read/listen to it after you're done with the poem. Fair warning for audio book listeners - the introduction is roughly 3.5 hours long and I was definitely getting impatient to hear the poem long before it was done.I listened to the audio book narrated by Claire Danes. This has really driven home that I need to listen to a sample of the narrator before choosing my audio books. Claire does an adequate job when reading the descriptive paragraphs but just didn't work for me when it came to dialog. All her characters, male and female, sounded the same and were a bit over done so it was a challenge to keep who was speaking apart. She is going on my avoid list for future audio books.

[zoes_human · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Odyssey is well worth reading not only to experience a story that has so heavily influenced Western literature, but also because, as appalling of a hero as Odysseus may be, it's a fun story. In all its extravagance, it set the standard for epic adventures.I cannot recommend Emily Wilson's translation enough. It is beautiful and fluid. She maintains a poetic rhythm yet the language is modern and clear. It's worth the extra time to read it out loud so you can truly savor the language for both its flow and the way it captures the sentiments of the characters.For those with several Odysseys under their belt, I would still recommend this version, if for no other reason than to read her introduction. Her analysis of the story is brilliant.

[thefirstdark · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the single greatest books, EVER. Written.!!! !!! !!!

#paganism_101

[nmele_4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wilson's translation of the Odyssey is excellent, but the real value is her introductory material and notes, including the three maps of the world of The Odyssey and of the actual classical Greek world. As for the translation, my Greek is not adequate to comment but it reads very well, lively and yet true to the Homeric conventions. The pace is brisker than that of the archaic translations I have previously read, and more like contemporary English than some of the more modern. I even found myself sympathizing with different characters as I read. And I noticed some character development, in Telemachus, for example.

[auntmarge64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful translation, easy to read and to understand. But thank goodness for the intro.Hard to believe but I've never read this before. And rather than get lost in the lengthy introduction, I jumped ahead and just began the tale itself. It was hard to put down and I sped right through it, but by the end I was thinking, "Boy, these people were weird", so thank goodness for that intro, which I started after finishing the main work. One of the first things mentioned is that no one in the ancient world, at any time, acted or spoke like these people. So that was one question answered.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Opmerkelijke, niet-chronologische structuur. Ook minder tragedisch-heroïsch dan Ilias, meer accent op waarden trouw, vriendeschap. Verschuiving tav Ilias: mensheld speelt hier de hoofdrol; Odysseus doorspartelt alle gevaren dankzij zijn formidabele karakter (groot hart, eerlijk maar ook vurig en wreedaardig), een man voor alle tijden; doorslaggevend: hij gelooft in eigen kunnen. Ook intelligent-listig (soms web van leugens), daarom in de Oudheid eerder als negatieve figuur gezien (corrupt en leugenachtig), pas met Renaissance gerehabiliteerd.Maar Odysseus is wel de enige onbesproken held, alle anderen (inclusief Telemachos en Penelope) worden in een dubieus daglicht gesteld. Tav Ilias komen vrouwen meer op voorgrond (maar niet altijd positief).Geen mythe, maar wel heldenverhaal, epos. De hoofdlijn is grondig vermengd met andere verhalen (dat van de cycloop is bij andere volkeren in 125 versies te vinden). Het centraal thema is de queeste, de zoektocht naar wat verloren is gegaan (vergelijking met Gilgamesj mogelijk: bezoek aan onderwereld, nihilistische visie op dood).

[speedy74_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Surprisingly, The Odyssey was not a part of my education in any form whether abridged or otherwise. When I set a goal to read more classics this year I decided, what better place to start to than one of the foundations of western literature!First of all, the translation by Robert Squillace is anything but poetic, but served as a good starting point for an Odyssey novice such as myself. The prose format made it easy to read and the endnotes provided necessary background information which was essential for my understanding as I have never had much of a background in Greek or Roman mythology. This story has it all romance, adventure, betrayal, manipulative schemes, and violence in abundance...let's just say, its epic! Odysseus, King of Ithaca, survives the Trojan war only to meet obstacle upon obstacle on his journey home to his faithful wife, Penelope. Along the way he and his men must battle a man eating Cyclops, the charms of Circe who turns Odysseus' men into pigs, the wrath of the Sun god and Poseidon the god of the seas, Calypso who makes Odysseus a prisoner of love and other wizards, sirens, and gods. In all it takes Odysseus 10 years to return to Ithaca only to find that his home has been plundered by suitors seeking his wife's hand in marriage.As a classic, it is easy to see how The Odyssesy affected the creation of such movies/books as: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. The Odyssey certainly deserves its place among classic literature for these reasons and its obvious entertainment value. I would be hard pressed to say that this was my favorite book to read, it did take me nearly 10 months to complete it after all, but it is one that I'm glad I took the time to read just for the background knowledge I acquired. As I read the epic, I found myself alternately amused and irritated with Odysseus who uses cleverness and intelligence to get him out of more than one scrape only to be led into another with his personality flaw of arrogance. The epic shows Odysseus' ability to manipulate his enemies and lead his men, but somehow miss all opportunities to return to his wife, who is forced to deal with the aggressive suitors. Despite the fantastic/mythical nature of the read, the humanness of Odysseus is ultimately the very aspect of the epic, in addition to his classical influence, that makes it worth the time to read. I can only imagine what this epic would be like to hear performed, how entertaining it must have been for its listeners!

[benuathanasia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Infinitely more enjoyable than the Iliad, but slightly different than I remember. I really don't remember the story being so disjointed. Don't get me wrong, I really love the Odyssey, but I would have preferred if it had been more linear (instead of so much of it being told in retrospect).I didn't quite get to that point I often expereince with epic works where I feel as though I've lost a friend, though I will miss the great adventure! I wish more time had been devoted to Odysseus's actual voyage, but I'll take what I can get from such an ancient work.

[jmcdbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rated: A-The New Lifetime Reading Plan: Number 3Life as the journey.And thus he spoke among the immortals:"Ah, how quick men are to blame the gods!From us, they say, all their evils come,When they themselves, by their own ridiculous pride,Bring horrors on far beyond anything fateWould ever have done.For a better and a higher gift than this there cannot be, when with accordant aims man and wife have a home. Great grief is it to foes and joy to friends; but they themselves best know its meaning.Our lives are soon over. If one is unfeeling,And cruel in his thoughts, all men call down cursesUpon him while he is alive, and after he's deadThey mock and scorn him. but if one is kind-hearted and generous,Strangers carry his fame throughtout the worldAnd many are they who call that mortal good.

[donbuch1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A standard text for high school classrooms, the Fitzgerald translation, rewritten in prose form, provides an accessible version of Homer's The Odyssey. Without question, this page-turning adventure acts as a model for storytelling, as Homer likely captured in riveting manner the attention of his local audience wherever he traveled. Set up in media res, the gripping narrative takes readers through the wandering years of Odysseus, a Greek soldier-king, who had fought in the Trojan War. With hubris, the cocky hero manages to enrage Poseidon who punishes the mere mortal through a series of obstacles where he is unable to get back to his homeland of Ithaca to be with his wife and son. Even after reading the classic epic several times, I am always impressed by Homer's use of imagery as illustrated in the passage when Odysseus pokes the eye out of the baby cyclops Polyphemus: "Eyelid and lash were seared; the pierced ball hissed broiling, and the roots popped." Wow! This is enough for any student to lose an appetite before lunch break.

[satyridae · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have nothing new to add, of course. Homer sings for our time too- what more is there? Gods and heroes and regular humans all jumbled up together and humanity is unchanged down all the years. This translation is lovely, by turns sonorous and stirring but always compelling.

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What else could you select while sailing the Med if not a previous voyage across a similar sea? I thought this was going to be a hard read, but it really wasn't. In part, I think, that is because there is a part of knowing the outline of the story and it's elements already. It is such a well known story that you can't really come it it without knowing something of it already. It's not told in real time, that is reserved for Odysseus' son, Telemachus' journey to try and find news of his father and his dealings with his mother's suitors. The tale of Odysseus' journey back form the Trojan wars is told in order, but in retrospect. It's an interesting way of combining the two strands of the tale, the traveller and those left behind. The impact the traveller's absence has on those left behind is well illustrated, and how things are difficult for both sides in that instance - it's not just the traveller that has to endure trials. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this.

[laurochka-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My first foray into ancient Greek myth and I loved it. This translation is very accessible and immersed me into Odysseus' journey of trials and tribulations. Loved it!

[dedede-36 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A must read

[silbchilin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Condensed version of the incredible epic, though Odysseus does not loose his luster even in Spanish. He continues to be a hero you wish to see home, but know he has many flaws that he needs to work on.

[borumas_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great story and translated in a way that compares more with a modern written tale.

[kassilem · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This epic I never did try to read as a teenager, but I knew that it too would come someday just as the Iliad would. This epic took longer to read than the Iliad, but then the translation of the Iliad I read had some books taken out for the sake of the readers. This translation by Fagles didn't cut anything out. I really enjoyed this translation. I've heard others praise Fagles as a wonderful translator and I have to agree. This myth is also an outstanding one. It really personifies the Quest Pattern we now-a-days link to many books. This is another epic I would love to listen to as well, so we'll see if I can get my hands on another good translation.

[atimco-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's good to meet classics in person after being distant acquaintances who know one another just well enough to nod in passing. Now I can shake The Odyssey heartily by the hand when I meet it in other stories, hail-well-met. And meet it in other stories I will, this revered grandfather of the revenge story and the travelogue. Besides being a classic, The Odyssey is a fascinating tale in its own right of strange wonders and awful dangers, of the faithful and the faithless, of wrongs committed and retribution meted out. Odysseus, Achaean hero of the Trojan War, has been ten years fighting at Troy and another ten making his way home. Imprisoned by a nymph, shipwrecked, lost, waylaid — Odysseus, beloved of some gods, is hated by others. Meanwhile at home in Ithaca, many have despaired of his coming, including his wife Penelope and son Telemachus, who now suffer at the hands of Penelope's suitors, leading men of the Achaeans who wish to possess her. Odysseus will never return, they say, as they sit in his house eating and drinking up all his wealth. Telemachus is just a young man and cannot prevent their ravages. The situation is indeed desperate, as Penelope, worn out with mourning Odysseus, begins to accept her fate to become another man's wife. Once I got used to it, I loved the repetition of certain phrases and descriptions: "long-tried royal Odysseus," "discreet Telemachus," "heedful Penelope," "clear-eyed Athena," "the gods who hold the open sky," "rosy-fingered dawn," "on the food before them they laid hands," and more. It reminded me that I was hearing a poem (I listened on audiobook) and that it was originally memorized by the bard, not read off the page. The repetition is comforting. It was easy to fall into the rhythm of the story and the archaic language, surrendering to the storyteller's art. I find the interplay between the gods and men so interesting. I don't know if The Odyssey is an accurate picture of ancient Greek theology and I don't want to draw too many conclusions from what was understood even at the time to be mythological. But I had a similar experience listening to The Iliad — the gods are great and powerful and all that, but they are so very involved in human affairs, almost as if they can't bear to be left out... why should Athena care so much whether Odysseus ever gets home? Why is it that human affairs so concern the councils of Olympus? I suppose the simple answer is that these stories were made up by humans and since the thing that interests us most is ourselves, we can't imagine gods who aren't likewise fascinated.I listened to an older translation by George Herbert Palmer and I'm glad I did. My experience of The Iliad was marred by the fact that it was a modernized translation, the latest and greatest supposedly. But all that really means is that it was dumbed-down for lazy listeners, to the point where some of the heroic moments almost became comical in our modern parlance. No thank you! I'm no expert in translation, but this one presented no jarring moments of disconnect between the style and substance, and I thought it fitted the subject matter very well. The reader of this particular audiobook, Norman Dietz, has a low, smooth, calm voice that I quickly learned to like. This is an excellent story that never slackens its pace or lets you stop caring what happens to its hero. Don't be intimidated by its status as a classic — all that means is that it's a good story that has stood the test of time, delighting its hearers both in ancient days and now. I recommend it!

[srboone · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The greatest of all ancient Greek works is spellbinding. Fagles' prose is lean and muscular, giving a grit and immediacy to his adventures. Loved it when I read it in high school, love it still today. As relevant today as it was nealy 3000 years ago.

[lhlogan1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic and a great look into Greek lit.

[ron_peters-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The tribulations of the wily Odysseus making his way home after the Trojan war to his wife Penelope in Ithaca. An excellent translation for today's reader with a masterly introduction by the classicist Bernard Knox. "So they traded stories, the two ghosts standing there in the House of Death..." As Ted Hughes wrote, "Just the right blend of sophistication and roughness it seems to me."

[saturnloft · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though most people seem to prefer The Iliad to The Odyssey, I like the latter for its sheer fabulous inventiveness. The story is fairly simple, Odysseus is trying to make his way home to the Greek island of Ithaca after the Trojan war, but he's earned the ire of the god Poseidon so it's not going to be an easy task. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope is beset with a veritable infestation of suitors and she's running out of delaying tactics.The poem divides itself between Odysseus's ordeals (exciting!) and the troubles back at home with his wife and son (not quite so exciting). Some of my favorite parts:- the encounter with a certain cranky monoptic giant with a taste for human flesh- the trip to the underworld and Odysseus's conversations with the recently deceased. (Apparently being dead kind of sucks.)- the Scylla and Charybdis incident, in which a crevice-lurking multi-headed monstrosity and a nasty whirlpool double-team our hero and his ship. What's not to like?- The sirens, Circe and her isle of enchanted pigs, and so on.. All good stuff.PS: I had one small irritation while reading this. Robert Fagles deploys the phrase "dawn with her rose-red fingers" one too many times in this book. He used it quite a bit in The Iliad as well, but The Iliad has a different flow and therefore it doesn't seem quite as conspicuously repetitive. I know it's part of Homer's poetic style, but a bit more variation from the translator would have been appreciated.One last thought: I felt very, very sorry for Odysseus's dog.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was not at all what I expected. I had steeled myself to reading a long flowering epic poem that would be repetitive and impossible to understand. Instead, I found this to be surprisingly readable and even more surprisingly interesting. A few things really helped me on my journey. I was reading and listening to this book using the Fagles translation which is narrated by Ian McKellen - excellent! I also listened in parallel to Elizabeth Vandiver's lectures about The Odyssey. There are only 12 lectures, but she adds so much background to the story that it added the depth and perspective I needed to make this a very enjoyable read.

[bangerlm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I figured it was about time to read this. I wanted to understand the references to Homer and Greek mythology that is littered throughout literature. I was afraid it was going to be difficult to get through the book and it might be a slog, but fortunately it was not. I really enjoyed it, and got into the story. While I slept I even had dreams about Athena messing with me. This is a great translation and I highly recommend it.

[kimmr_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My knowledge of classical literature and mythology is sadly lacking. The main reason I decided to tackle The Odyssey is because I want to read Ulysses and I gather that a passing acquaintance with this work will make that experience more meaningful.Listening to Ian McKellen reading the Robert Fagles' translation made me regret my lack of education in the classics. I have no way of assessing the merits of Fagles' work, but I would love be to be able to read this epic poem in the language in which it was written and not feel that I was missing most of its cultural, social and political context.Given my lack of familiarity with Greek mythology, it was interesting to realise just how much of the story is imbedded in my consciousness, from Penelope unravelling her weaving to put off her suitors, to the story of the Sirens, to the Cyclops. This is but a small indicstion of the importance of this epic to Western history and literature.Overall, I found The Odyssey more interesting for what it represents as a primary source of Western literature than for the characters or the plot. Odysseus is not exactly a hero for modern times: he may be a master tactician and warrior, but he's also a consummate liar, a rapist, a plunderer and a murderer. The other characters don't have a lot going for them either, at least not in contemporary terms. However, in spite of having an instinctive reaction against the Odysseus' behaviour and the horrific violence contained in the text, I still found it compulsive listening. I loved the non-linear structure and the rhythm of the language. In addition. I was fascinated by the involvement of the gods in the affairs of human beings: directing their actions, subverting their plans, punishing them and performing the odd makeover to assist them to achieve their ends.Ian McKellen's narration was - unsurprisingly - excellent. However, the sound quality of the audiobook left a bit to be desired. At times it was blurry and the volume was variable. While I would have benefited from the introduction and endnotes in a good text edition of this work, listening to an epic poem almost certainly written to be read aloud was for me the best way of tackling it. At some point I'd like to read a well annotated edition in order to learn what my ignorance led me to miss.How can I not give five stars to a literary work which is still being read and discussed thousands of years after it was written?

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After the ten-year Trojan War ends the warriors return to their home lands. Odysseus’ journey is longer than most because he has angered Poseidon. He runs into one obstacle after another as he fights to return to his wife and son. He fights a Cyclops, travels to the land of the dead, narrowly misses the call of the sirens and spends years trapped on Calypso's island. When he finally returns to Ithaca his home is filled with suitors attempting to woo his wife. I first read The Odyssey in high school, rereading it a decade later was a very different experience. This time I paid much more attention to Penelope’s story. She is such an incredible character. Her loyalty and patience is remarkable. Even though her husband has been gone for 20 years she still holds out that he is alive and will return to her. It made me wonder how long someone would wait nowadays. Obviously there were fewer communication options back then, but still a couple decades is a long time to hang on to hope. Penelope is surrounded by suitors and keeps them at bay by telling them she’ll consider them once she finishes what she’s weaving. She weaves all day and then at night she undoes everything she’s woven. Margaret Atwood wrote an interesting novella about her story, The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus.I enjoyed his son Telemachus’ journey. When his father leaves he is only a baby, but he’s grown to become a man in Odysseus’ absence and he longs to find his father. He isn’t sure if he should search for his father or stay and protect his mother, it’s a difficult decision. For me, it’s important that Odysseus is not a god. He is just a mortal man. So many of the stories in Greek literature are about the gods or demigods. Odysseus is neither, he occasionally has help from the gods, like Athena, at other times he is persecuted by the gods, especially Poseidon, but he has none of their powers. He must rely on his intelligence and cunning to outsmart his captors. BOTTOM LINE: An absolute must for classic lovers. It’s also one of the most accessible pieces of Greek literature and a gateway drug into that world. p.s. This time around I listened to the Robert Fagles translation on audio and it was read by the magnificent Ian McKellen. I would highly recommend it!  

[aoibhealfae · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I never was a reader of classic in fact I had to read the cliff notes version before attempting one. Last year's reading through all those Jane Austen was a pain but weirdly enough this classics is really good. Initially I thought The Odyssey would be hard on me and I was right when I begin the reading with Samuel Butler's translation. I tried using Librivox's audiobook to keep me going but its confusing me since Pallas Athena became Minerva, Zeus became Jove and Odysseus became Ulysses, I end up being so disinterest with the descriptiveness that I turn to Fagles. Fagles saved me.

There's a huge differences between Fagles (1996), Butler's (1922) and Rieu's (1946) translations. I read through nearly half of Butler's, quarter of Rieu's and all of the Fagles and to be honest, if you saw Fagles version. Get them.

One of the reason that Fagles is most preferred is that when a professor recommend it, you get it. Other than that, Fagles is said to be closest to the poetic form from the original Ancient Greek and even I notice the poetic elements in the words rather than the excessive descriptive paragraphs of the same thing with Rieu and Butler's. Both translated Odyssey in novel style and most of the free source "The Odyssey" translation came from Butler, it made absolute sense why some people have differences in opinions on this epic.

Before I began, I actually read this book with the help of Ian McKellan's narration. I know I have been an anti-audiobook thing but I'm not being hypocrite, in fact I was still struggling with the audiobooks but I was absolutely fine with poems (and The Odyssey actually is a series of rhapsodies) since these things are not meant to be read. Its mean to be said out loud and for me, this is quite an exception. But I still have problems concentrating with the listening part because I often fall asleep or space out so thats why I read and listen at the same time.

With Ian McKellan's (aka Gandalf or Magneto if you don't know who that was) theatric experience, he effectively brought the classic into deathless dramatic epicness. Experiencing "The Odyssey" is nothing if you haven't listen to it being told by a bard who is ironically is who Ian McKellan is and listening to Sir Ian McKellan breathing the soul of Homer into Odyssey is possibly near orgasmic thing that I've ever had to listen to.

The Odyssey began with a prayer to the Muse as the narrator started giving a short summary of the story. It's mostly centered around the events surrounding the missing hero, Odysseus, King of Ithaca. 20 years since Odysseus went to Troy to fight the war for Helen of Argos (not Helen of Troy!), the hero never went home and everyone including his wife and son accepted that he's died. Years earlier prior to the even in the first book, hundreds of men came to Ithaca to court the King's widow, Queen Penelope as it seems to be a custom for a beautiful young widow to remarry after the death of their husband. But Penelope managed to avoid the remarriage by prolonging the courtship which ends with the suitors overstaying Penelope's palace for years and spend all of the palace's resources on their feasting.

In the first book, Athena became distraught over the plight of the great hero who is stuck in limbo and the fate of Odysseus's wife and son with their guests terrorizing their home. After she begged Zeus to command Calypso to let Odysseus go from her sensual snare, she disguised herself as Mentes, an old friend of Odysseus, to nudge the young prince to take action against the suitor's menace. With the guidance by the goddess, Telemachus finally set off to the seas to search for real news from his father. Meanwhile, Odysseus escaped Calypso's grasp finally heading towards his home but his journey was diverted and he was stranded again in Scheria due to Poseidon's being angry over what Odysseus had blinded his son, the cyclops Polyphemus during his earlier journey. In Scheria, he began to weave his tale and finally tell the Phaecians of his past and his journey back from Troy to Ithaca. The tales itself include his encounter with Circe, Polyphebus, Aeolus, The Cattle of the Sun and etc. The Phaecians took pity on him and send him back to Ithaca where he plotted doom against the suitors who defiled his house.

The story is being told in various multiple narration in the beginning (Athena, Telemachus, Penelope, Odysseus etc) that is why I get some readers would get lost and felt it is boring but if its being read out loud, the poetry in Odyssey is much more prevalent than some passive narration style. Because Fagles updated the translation to be nearer to the original, you'll get the feel of what Homer had initially tried to portray with his stories.

Since I do critical reading with The Odyssey, I do take note to the major recurrent theme of Xenia. A concept of hospitality by the Greek that embrace travelers into their home, mostly because they fear a god would disguise themselves as travellers and would punish them if they didn't treat their guests well. There are also signs from the gods or the hint by Odysseus cunning tongue or the forebodings. Some argue that The Odyssey is used to justify the role of some political ideologies that even I couldn't grasp it firmly. Besides I was thinking that The Odyssey's characterizations and conflicts are being overused in so many modern literature particularly famous archetypal ones.

Other than that, I do notice this book is actually a mild romance novel, particularly with Penelope who is constantly grieving about her husband from the start of the book. I can't say about Odysseus fidelity but frankly, some characters in this book is classic strong female archetype. Athena (obviously.. disguising as several guys, fighting in wars, a peacekeeper etc), Penelope (a loyal woman who acting skills and great patience is what kept her in that limbo and somehow did do something to escape her near inevitable fate of loveless forced marriage from a broken mutual love marriage), Calypso (a woman desperate in need of love and companionship so much that she offers everything kept a man who never love her) and Circe (basically a lonely girl who know how to defend herself against a bunch of men coming into her house and turn them into pigs which they are). Ironically, the female in this book have more character than a bunch of YA novels and hypes these days.

I had some misgivings about the story initially since Telemachus part of the book is really annoying. But it move well whenever Athena and Odysseus was around.

To anyone who is considering to take on the classic, for more immersive experience, I would recommend the combination of Fagles translation and Sir Ian McKellan's audiobook if you want to read the epic. It will take longer than a few days if you read them at night, but its well worth to see Ian McKellan curses and narrating female parts nicely.

[kmstock · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, it seems a bit odd to be reviewing The Odyssey after all these centuries, but of course it's a great story. The new translation is excellent, very accessible and easy to read, although some of the colloquialisms did seem a bit odd in the context (I guess it's the balance between seeming realistic and being easy to read). The Appendices containing the stories of the dead in Hades were great, poetic as well as easy to read, and reminded me a bit of Alice Oswald's Memorial. I might even try rereading the Iliad with this new translation, as I found it a bit hard going the last time I read it (an older translation).

[lmeza-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book as an assignment in school so ... it's was not necessary my like or my choice, but I think it was a goodread ( :) ), isn't it a classic after all? I get confused between the Illiad and the Odyssey - that's how concentrated I was but I have always thought and made a mental note to read it later in my life. It is later in my life now ... mmm