The Odyssey of Homer

My Review of the Richard Lattimore Translation of Homer's Odyssey- Since I finished reading the Richard Lattimore Translation of the Odyssey I wanted to do a book review of this translation versus the translations I've read before (Lombardo and Evslin), while also looking at the great elements of my favorite book ~ I was told by members of the Ancient Greece History group page that Richard Lattimore was the English Translator that was the closest to Homer's Original "Iliad" and "Odyssey" and did not take liberties, or change the story in other ways like other authors have. Bernard Evslin's version is a good child version of the Odyssey but seriously pales in comparison to more scholarly translations of the Odyssey, and it lacks a huge portion of the story that is necessary. The Lombardo translation lacked these elements in it while the Lattimore Translation had more: 1. Details (Rooms, Items, The Islands, What Characters were wearing...etc) 2. The Major and minor Characters had a lot more personality and interesting background stories like Eumaios the Swineherd who plays a crucial part when Odysseus is returning to Ithaka in disguise 3. Nostoi Story (The return home of the Greek force and the events contingent upon their arrival, concluding with the returns of Agamemnon and Menelaus). 4. The meeting between Odysseus and Odysseus's Father: Laertes and the final battle against the Suitors relatives which made for a different ending to the story compared to the versions I had read. 5. Formalities (When a character's honorific title comes before their name, this was something that was repetitively in this version). ~ Short Overview of the Story 1 ~ This story started with the Telemachy (Adventures of Telemachos) from Chapters I-IV (1-4) with Odysseus's son, Telemachos. This is a pretty great introduction to the plight he and Penelope are facing with the cruel suitors in Odysseus's home, and why Odysseus needs to return to Ithaka, Telemachos goes to visit veterans of the Trojan War to get news of his father from Nestor and Menelaos both of whom have returned to their countries (Pylos for Nestor and Lakedaimon for Menelaos). 2 ~ Then we make the transition from Telemachos to Odysseus who in Chapter V (5) is stuck on Ogygia until Hermes helps him by convincing Kalypso that Odysseus is destined to return to Ithaka and should not be denied his destiny. Odysseus manages to construct a raft with the aid of Kalypso but he just barely manages to make it to the Island of the Phaiakians where he meets Nausikaa (Daughter of the Phaiakian King Alkinoos). 3 ~ From Chapters VI-VIII(6-8) and XIII (13) Odysseus stays with the Phaiakian King and Queen in their palace, and becomes more acquainted with them. And King Alkinoos aids Odysseus make his way home. From Chapters IX to XIII (9-12) Odysseus tells the Phaiakians who he is and about his Wandering which is why this portion of the story is referred to as "The Great Wanderings", it begins with the aftermath of the fall of Troy and then goes into his adventures with: 1. Kikonians 2. Lotus-Eaters 3. Polyphemos and the Cyclopes 4. Aiolos 5. Laistrygones 6. Circe 7. Visit to the Land of the Dead 8. Sirens 9. Skylla and Charybdis 10. Cattle of Helios 11. The loss of all of his companions 12. His arriving on Ogygia 4 ~ "Odysseus on Ithaka" is the final section of the book from Chapters XIII to XXIV (13-24), Odysseus must learn about the situation of his home and how best to deal with the treacherous suitors who are ruining his families livelihood, Athena (She plays the role of guardian spirit for Odysseus and Telemachos in the story) helps him by disguising him as a beggar with her godly powers who can observe who is still loyal to him and who isn't loyal to him, during this time he, Telemachos, Eumaios the Swineherd and Philoitios the Oxherder plan how they will get rid of the suitors. They are able to kill the vile suitors and regain control of Odysseus's home with the aid of Athena and Zeus. Homer gives us a story with the values of: 1. Patience 2. Loyalty 3. Fidelity 4. Determination and the Resolution to never Give up no matter how much you suffer 5. The understanding of the After-Effects of what can happen after a long war (Nostoi) 6. Necessity for Cleverness and Wisdom 7. Respecting ones home and ones guests by providing proper hospitality I believe Homer should be more acknowledged for these great stories he has given to us, the Iliad is an incomplete story in the "Epic Cycle" but it still gives us a lot of lessons, teaches us a lot and is altogether a great story. There is a reason why Homer is my Favorite Author because of his great stories. I disliked having to shorten the overview of the Odyssey because it is such a great book, There were so many parts to the book that I really enjoyed and if anyone wants to talk about this book then I would be more than happy to talk about this book :D My Recommendation is that everyone read a good scholarly translation of Homer's Odyssey like Richard Lattimores translation because it will do more justice to Homer, the translation you read really makes a difference on how you look at the story. I know that having read this translation has me excited for the day I can read Homer's "Iliad" and Odyssey" in the Original Ancient Greek like it was meant to be read.

Lately, the wandering of my reading has taken me home to Homer, once again. I began by reading “Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller, a novel which I can’t recommend more highly, and from there to “The Iliad” in a translation by Robert Graves. Then I moved onto “The Odyssey” and this time read from the Lattimore translation after having previously studied at length the Fitzgerald translation. Homer proves that the test of time is a valid one: that is, there is a reason that the writing has endured 2800 years and remains widely read. In the case of the “Odyssey” it seems that the experience of Odysseus in his wandering home after the sack of Troy is the journey of humanity itself. His encounters and trials and experiences as well as his defeats and suffering and losses are all too human. Every human being, if s/he lives long enough, must come to grips with most of the experiences of the heroic figures of Homer in a version suitable to the context of our era. I sense that Homer envisioned Odysseus as a perfect human being for his heyday: he was expert in the art of war and a fierce warrior as well as highly resourceful, intelligent, fit, courageous, strategically gifted, spiritual, handsome, wealthy and highly regarded by the gods and mortal beings. He shares many of the same frustrations as Achilles who is also a demi-god with one human and one godly parent. So their strengths and perfections, which distinguish them among others, emerge into play from their godliness which in turn drives them onto inhuman tasks which are frustrated by their human imperfections. In the case of Achilles his anger cannot be restrained and his brooding over the loss of Breiseis to Agamemnon costs him not only the life of his dearest friend, Patroclus, but also nearly the loss of the war by the Greeks. Odysseus is able to channel his suffering and his frustrations into decisive action which does not destroy him. Achilles is killed on the battlefield of Troy far from home like Patroclus but Odysseus manages to keep his wits about him and channel his frustration and suffering into constructive action. It helps that Odysseus is much beloved by Pallas Athene who comes to his rescue whenever Homer has placed Odysseus into such a bind in the storyline that only divine intervention enables the epic to continue. Consider the monsters and trials that Odysseus overcomes after he survives the 10-year war throughout his further 10-year wandering home: you may recognize them all around you. Consider the Lotoseaters so addicted to their soul killing habits that they are incapable of constructive action. Or the Wandering Rocks which are treacherous shoals or obstacles which shift and transfigure as Odysseus seeks to navigate his black, hollow ship through them. Or the Sirens which sing to him tragically about the truth of the Trojan War to lure his ship onto the rocks of his destruction. Or the harsh winds of Aeolus which blow him off course and confound his sense of direction. What starving sailors can forsake their bellies when the sacred oxen of Helios are grazing gently beneath the sun? How do you defeat a one-eyed monster with tunnel vision like the Cyclops? Odysseus blinds the only eye of the Cyclops and escapes: is history not full of Manichaeans with limited vision and without humanity who have lorded over us? Then, of course, there is Circe, the sensual vixen whose honey wine turns men into swine – of course, this hardly ever happens in real life, right? Who would have thought that the highest blessing of human beauty such as Helen’s could cause so much tragedy on a grand scale sufficient to launch a thousand ships and a decade of brutal war? There is the trip to the dead shades of Hades to consider, as always. Homer is constantly forcing his readers to suffer the deaths of their favorite heroes with Odysseus as an exception. Was it Shaw who wanted his audiences to suffer as much as possible? If so, he learned it from Homer. What about the battle for fidelity between a handsome, powerful king and a beautiful but distant, wealthy wife over 20 years? What about the struggle between a father and his child, whom he hasn’t seen enough because his work requires him to travel widely? Or of the simple challenge of just getting from here to there over a long distance during storms with lost luggage, labor disputes, bad management, misfortune and confusion in translation to overcome. Then there are the gods: the Greeks gave a godly name and human attributes to every force of man and random nature, and then sets them against each other. Gods of war, the sea, the sun, the wind, death, the earth, harvest, the chase, etc. forever seem almost randomly to make life difficult for the human race which continues to cause its own downfall but insufficiently to wipe us off the face of the planet – so far. How easily offended are the gods and how great is their wrath in power struggles with these inhuman forces which in Homer never cease because the gods, like humans, always want what they want, when they want it, no matter what. There is rarely compromise in Homer: only catastrophic defeat as one god singly, or in an alliance, overpowers others. The gods are forever taking sides and evening out the power struggle to ensure that it is protracted and desperate and bloody in its consequences. There are perpetually sacrifices to make at the cost of great suffering and no easy ways out and, while ample irony exists, there is virtually no comedy: the only laughter in Homer comes in brutal displays of irony. So it’s no wonder that James Joyce, later in life one-eye-blind with an eye-patch like Cyclops, chose Leopold Bloom as his bald Odysseus and Stephen Dedalus as his brilliant, younger Telemachus and Molly Bloom as Penelope in his genius work of one day in the life of three Dubliners a century ago. “The Odyssey” and its characters are immortal because there is so much about them then that is so much like us now. In a way it’s reassuring that the essence of human nature has survived nearly three millennia and yet in another sense it’s horrific to wonder that we haven’t learned more or even anything from the lessons of history. We continue to endure the nightmare of ancient history from which we can never seem to awaken. So I’ll wander home again to Homer in another few years by way of yet another masterful translation. Because we never really seem to arrive properly at home and like Odysseus seem destined to wander all our lives in great circles. Immortal genius, Homer, is a journey well worth the fare. By all means embark.

Ich habe diese Übersetzung im Studium kennengelernt und seit damals immer wieder darin gelesen. Wer ausreichend Englisch versteht, sollte sie sich unbedingt besorgen und außerdem gibt es sie auch als Ebook. Das heißt; wer wenig Platz hat, braucht sich keine Gedanken machen über Stauraum.

Robert Lattimore's translation is irreproachable. This is indispensable for anyone who loves ancient Greek literature.

I was attracted to Lattimore's translation due to his accessible feel for the Greek meaning and the way he keeps Homer's intent at the same time as letting the story flow. Based on an oral tradition, you find that Odysseus's adventures are retold in different ways throughout with varying emphases. It is a reminder that the charm of the classics is that they are told from the perspective of the time, very different to what is important now. Far for me to criticise Homer for dragging the story out, but its charm is also its Archilles heal!

Was looking for a book that provided a rhetorical narrative and this is a great one! This is a new verse translation and was a moderately easy read. Shares the story about Odysseus and his treacherous journey returning home after the Trojan war. It’s a classic read and I highly recommend!

This is not a new translation, the translator Richard Lattimore died a few years ago, but it is one of the best blank verse translations I have ever read (the other really good one is by Francis Caulfeild, but you would be lucky to find a copy now). The translator has attempted to reproduce in English blank verse the style and idiom of Homer's original Greek version (dating from about 2600 years ago). I am not qualified to comment on the technicalities of Lattimore's Greek-English translation, but I have been enjoying The Odyssey in English translations for several decades now and know a 'good read' when I find one. There is a very good introduction which, yes, gives the plot away, but that does not matter as Homer's original audience knew the story well anyway - what made Homer's Odyssey so good was the way he told it; and in essence it is the same thing that makes Lattimore's translation so good - there is a freshness that keeps you reading, and although I have read a number of different versions, each of them several times, this book is still compulsive reading. The introdction also covers the construction of the story, which starts halfway through, then fills in the earlier events like a 'flashback' before continung to the end (yes, Homer thought of this way of telling a story long before our current film/TV industry did). There is an exhaustive and very helpful glossary, mostly concerning the identities of the numerous people and gods who appear or are referred to in the story. Yes, this is a recommended book to anyone who wants something a bit more demanding than airport pulp fiction and who can be patient with and open to the idiosyncracies of a very old, and comparatively expansive, writing style. The "Odyssey" of Homer (P.S.)