The Odyssey, translated by E V Rieu,

by Homer

The Odyssey

Genres: Classics, Adventure, Greece

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]

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

[Mike Clarke]

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.

[Yawktha]

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.

[Simon]

I bought my Penguin Classics translation of Homer's "The Odyssey" by E. V. Rieu, when I was a schoolboy and first read it then. Now I have listened to the audio version of his son's revised translation narrated expertly by George Blagden. I have been very strongly reminded of what a thoroughly entertaining epic this is, which reads easily like a modern adventure novel, despite its great age. Of course, this was the intention of the translators, to make the poem accessible to the contemporary reader whilst remaining true to the original Homeric Greek. In both these aims they succeed remarkably well, whilst listening to the epic being spoken is true to the tradition of the Greek bards who once recited it.

[Angelique]

In an attempt to prepare for watching The Odyssey (2026) better, I read this book. To be frank, it’s a tough read. There wasn’t anything in the prose that particularly caught my eye. Most stories I had heard of and seen performed so I didn’t have trouble understanding it. I’m a sucker for Ancient Greek literature and hope that I can read more translations to better grasp the epic and one day read in it original Ancient Greek.

PS: This was also a random copy of the only English translation of Odyssey that I picked up in Fnac. I didnt rly explicitly chose this translated vr or research anything. Even though it usually makes a big difference.

[Allister]

Well, the first two times I read Homer’s Odyssey were for Classical Civilisation in college, where I spent months deconstructing it and analysing practically every word for my A-Levels. Needless to say, being forced to pick apart every line of this epic doesn’t exactly make for the most enjoyable reading experience.

So, it wasn’t until I picked it up for the first time willingly earlier this year that I was finally able to appreciate it for what it is: a great, if not an epic (pun fully intended) piece of Greek mythology. There’s something very different about reading Homer because you want to, rather than because you’re expected to write essays about it.

[Jason R]

Rieu writes a prose version of both Iliad and odyssey that is great for a first read. Once you know the story and the key points it makes it even more enjoyable when you follow with another translation. From most direct to most poetic after Rieu’s prose, I’d suggest Wilson then Lattimore then Fagles, then Pope. I know there are others but there seems to be a lot written about these in particular and they are the ones I am familiar with

Obviously, the story itself defines classic, and a copy belongs on every bookshelf

[Amber M]

I was familiar with the story from Percy Jackson, EPIC the musical, and the Christopher Nolan adaptation. This however despite being overshadowed by modern interpretations, did not disappoint. I was on the edge of my seat. The characters would just drop masterful lines at the perfect moments. I was scared to start this because everyone told me it was long and boring… it most certainly was not. I just binged the last several chapters until midnight because I couldn’t put it down.

[Thomas]

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]

Did not enjoy this translation.

[Ricardo]

reading this book was an odyssey in and of itself

[David Hobson]

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).

[Kerrin ! ♡]

Unfortunately darlings, I am DNFing this translation.

While the story is beautiful, Rieu's writing is just ughhhhhhhhhhhh.

[M.S.V.V.Sesharao]

Worthy reading

[Victoria Bridenbecker]

This book I have read is so worth it to enjoy.

[Leif Hamilton]

Epic

[jasmin simopoulos]

reread this before rewatching the movie again. ugh so much better

[Ilayda Mader]

An enjoyable read