The Odyssey, translated by E V Rieu,

by Homer

The Odyssey

Genres: Classics

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1987

About the author

Homer (Greek: Όμηρος born c. 8th century BC) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.
Homer's Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language which shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for its tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter.
Homer's epic poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" (τὴν Ἑλλάδα πεπαίδευκεν). In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, and film.
The question of by whom, when, where and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed continues to be debated. Scholars remain divided as to whether the two works are the product of a single author. It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity; the most widespread account was that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary.

French: Homère, Italian: Omero, Portuguese, Spanish: Homero.

Reviews

[Caroline Chesnut · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh??? i’ll come back. i am glad i did it and glad it’s over. rick riordan did it better

[Yawktha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the translation ! I came running to read this after listening to EPIC the musical. I wanted MORE scenes between Odysseus and Penelope. It's so cute how Odysseus says lol nope to literal IMMORTALITY because he loves Penelope that much?!! In the book i would say the character doing all the heavy lifting is Athena like there were so many times where Odysseus and Telemachus would be absolutely cooked if not for her. The amount of times Odysseus says "here's the truth" and proceeds to pull out a elaborate lie ?! And people also fall for it ?! The scene where Homer describes Odysseus's thighs in like one whole page like wow im not complaining. The chapter : The great bow is soooooooooooooo EPIC. Like its so cool and the epicness of Odysseus. Like the scene where he strings the impossible bow shoots the arrow through 12 axes Is soooooo AWESOME. love Penelope's character she only really appears towards the end but she makes an impact for sure . And the whole theme of wise and cunning family is so good like you can see the foreshadowing and the lies they tell when really YOU KNOW the truth. ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE REUNION?! so sweet. RIP ARGUS. The translation was good like it was written in a poetic way even though its prose which is accurate because this was originally a poem.

[Mike Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit more challenging than Swindon’s Magic Roundabout, or Ryanair to Rhodes, Odysseus’s journey was already legendary canon by the time of the Ninth Legion and Claudius’s Rome. I am very glad to have had the learned and donnish Rieus, father and son, to guide me for I should not have fully appreciated the thoughtful Telemachus, shrewd Odysseus, their wingèd words, tuneful lyre or Dawn, ever “fresh and rosy-fingered.” Epic tales of human endeavour, translated with gimlet clarity for phrase and meaning.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting version of the Odyssey, filled the heightened prose classic to translations of ancient texts. I liked it a bit less than Emily Wilson's Odyssey but still a great rendition of a great story

[Calum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not enjoy this translation.

[Ricardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

reading this book was an odyssey in and of itself

[David Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only translation of The Odyssey I’ve ever read but it’s wonderfully written and I’ll forever think of dawn as fresh and rosy-fingered (lol).

[Ilayda Mader · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read