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The Odyssey of Homer A Modern Translation
"In this Odyssey Professor Lattimore has achieved his chef-d'oeuvre as a trans- lator. Studied in retrospect, much of his previous work takes on the appearance, technically speaking, of prolegomena to this dazzling and well-nigh flawless performance.
"In the Odyssey he has found the ideal poem both for himself and for his au- dience; and he has come to it at the very height of his powers.... Here is a master in perfect control of his medium. The apparent ease with which he surmounts every problem, the perfect balance struck and maintained between vivid, fast- moving narrative and epic formality, the rhythmic subtleties, the freshness and vigour of language displayed from first page to last-all these make his Odyssey a landmark in the history of modern translation..
"He has, in fact, come about as near as any man could to conveying, in English, the utterly alien movement and structure of Homer's poetry..
"It would be a crime to underestimate the miraculous and self-effacing artistry with which Professor Lattimore has reanimated Homer for this generation, and perhaps for other generations to come."-The Times [London] Literary Supplement
"The best living translator of Greek poetry into English is Richmond Lattimore of Bryn Mawr....This is the best Odyssey in modern English."-GILBERT HIGHET
"The many admirers of Richmond Lattimore's Iliad will not be disappointed in his Odyssey. His complete Homer is indeed a splendid achievement, and I shall be very far from being alone in regarding it as much the best translation there is of a great, perhaps the greatest, poet."-REX WARNER, The New York Times Book Review
"Richmond Lattimore's translation of Homer's Odyssey is the most eloquent, per- suasive and imaginative I have seen. It reads as if the poem had originally been written in English."-PAUL ENGLE
"Richmond Lattimore's... Odyssey is his masterpiece. It has the accuracy that too many translators take to be beneath themselves; the images are Homer's own; and Lattimore does not permit himself flights of his own fancy."-WALTER KAUFMANN
HARPER & ROW, PUBLISHERS
COVER DESIGN BY EMANUEL SCHONGUT
"In the Odyssey he has found the ideal poem both for himself and for his au- dience; and he has come to it at the very height of his powers.... Here is a master in perfect control of his medium. The apparent ease with which he surmounts every problem, the perfect balance struck and maintained between vivid, fast- moving narrative and epic formality, the rhythmic subtleties, the freshness and vigour of language displayed from first page to last-all these make his Odyssey a landmark in the history of modern translation..
"He has, in fact, come about as near as any man could to conveying, in English, the utterly alien movement and structure of Homer's poetry..
"It would be a crime to underestimate the miraculous and self-effacing artistry with which Professor Lattimore has reanimated Homer for this generation, and perhaps for other generations to come."-The Times [London] Literary Supplement
"The best living translator of Greek poetry into English is Richmond Lattimore of Bryn Mawr....This is the best Odyssey in modern English."-GILBERT HIGHET
"The many admirers of Richmond Lattimore's Iliad will not be disappointed in his Odyssey. His complete Homer is indeed a splendid achievement, and I shall be very far from being alone in regarding it as much the best translation there is of a great, perhaps the greatest, poet."-REX WARNER, The New York Times Book Review
"Richmond Lattimore's translation of Homer's Odyssey is the most eloquent, per- suasive and imaginative I have seen. It reads as if the poem had originally been written in English."-PAUL ENGLE
"Richmond Lattimore's... Odyssey is his masterpiece. It has the accuracy that too many translators take to be beneath themselves; the images are Homer's own; and Lattimore does not permit himself flights of his own fancy."-WALTER KAUFMANN
HARPER & ROW, PUBLISHERS
COVER DESIGN BY EMANUEL SCHONGUT
- GenresPoetry
372 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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12 people want to read
About the author
Richmond Lattimore
127 books65 followersRichmond Lattimore graduated from Dartmouth in 1926 and received an A.B. from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar at Christ Church in 1932. He took his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1934.
He was an American poet and classicist known for his translations of the Greek classics, especially his versions of the Iliad and Odyssey, which are generally considered as among the best English translations available
He was an American poet and classicist known for his translations of the Greek classics, especially his versions of the Iliad and Odyssey, which are generally considered as among the best English translations available
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 12, 2025
“Telemachos, now yourself being present, where men do battle, and the bravest are singled out from the rest, you must be certain not to shame the blood of your fathers, for we in time past all across the world have surpassed in manhood and valor.”
The Odyssey is much quieter than the Iliad, with fewer characters and a lens that focuses solely on our main character and one of the heroes of the prior book, King Laertes’ son, Odysseus. For twenty years after the Trojan War, Odysseus struggles across the ocean to find his way home. He is often undermined by Poseidon, but is helped by other gods (namely Pallas Athene, aka Athena) throughout his journey to support his just mission back home to be reunited with his son Telemachus and wife Penelope (who has been surrounded by suitors trying to move in on the marriage). This episodic tale takes a very specific portion of his journey through each of the 24 ‘books’ of the story, where he encounters the Cyclops Polyphemus, sea monsters, lotus eaters, giant whirlpools, sirens bent on manipulating his crew to drown themselves in the sea, and many others. While I have taught this text many times, I have often used abridged or retold editions throughout the years, so it came as a surprise in rereading the original that the organization is much different than these retellings. Furthermore, the beauty of the book isn’t in what the kids find to be the most exciting elements (the action scenes - that are understandably the main focus of the mid-grade adaptations), but in the quiet loyalty and camaraderie that define heroism and masculinity in this ancient age.
“I wish you well, however you do it, but if only you knew in your own heart how many hardships you were fated to undergo before getting back to your country, you would stay here and be the lord of this household and be immortal.”
First, the gods and goddesses do not interfere with the actions of our hero very often, nor do they go on and on discussing what the right or wrong thing is for Odysseus to do. They are more spectators, wondering what choices he will make and in what way they can help based on their interpretation of a situation. The directions on how to avoid the sirens’ song, for instance, isn’t so much Poseidon screwing with them (although he is) and is more, ‘this is happening anyway as it has been foretold when he left Troy, so let’s tell him how to survive it... It isn’t going away.’ Only in that way is fate or the gods' hands involved in anything. Fate is fate. Here, human: here is how to survive this. By the way, by the time you get home, your crew and ship will be destroyed. That’s just the way it is.
“You are the race of men who are kings... no mean men could have sons such as you are.”
Second, Odysseus and his family aren’t just great warriors and honorable (with many superlatives coming before their names at every utterance), but they are clever. Telemachus is destined to be killed when he goes in search of his father, but avoids it because of some quick thinking in the route he takes before turning around and going back home anyway. Penelope has been able to avoid marrying any of the suitors by working all day, every day, on a loom to make a shroud for Laertes, but in the evenings she unravels her work to give her an excuse to perpetually work on her ‘web’ until the men go away. Odysseus, for his part, is constantly outwitting the things coming his way; his Nobody trick with Polyphemus, with him and his crew hiding under the sheep, is the most memorable to me (and I would say my students as well). One thing I didn’t remember, but is kind of nice, is their treatment of strangers and people on the road – constantly bathing the men, anointing them with oils, outfitting them with fresh fleeces and lush mantles for their journey after presenting big feasts and bottomless wine. They knew how to be hosts and hostesses, as Zeus commanded, and endlessly opened their doors, hearts, and generosity.
“How could I forget Odysseus the godlike, he who is beyond all other men in mind, and who beyond others has given sacrifice to the gods...” - Zeus.
But the biggest thing that stands out to me is the concrete, beautifully emotionally mature masculinity among these men, known as the most legendary, manliest heroes of all time and all literature. Odysseus is often given the titles and adjectives he totally deserves: brave Odysseus, kind Odysseus, relentless Odysseus, cunning Odysseus, godlike Odysseus, resourceful Odysseus, and by the end of the story, we are presented with these accolades and superlatives that we foist on any manly man of American Culture in 2025. These are our western values of masculinity in their most ancient, raw form... Except for one major aspect of his character throughout the book that I would say is entirely overlooked in the abridged retellings. The implications for our society’s view of masculinity is, in one word, embarrassing.
“His whole word had not been spoken when his beloved son stood in the forecourt. Amazed, the swineherd started up, and the vessels, where he had been busily mixing the bright wine, fell from his hand. He came up to meet his master, and kissed his head, and kissed too his beautiful shining eyes, and both his hands, and the swelling tear fell from him...”
In 2025 in America, we are exposed to a completely different expectation of masculinity. One that is definitively toxic and perhaps has been for quite some time. Reading The Odyssey has shown the true nature of true masculinity of the timeless nature – that at one point, long ago, one of the greatest heroes of all time (along with the other men surrounding him) hugged, kissed, cried, had empathy, and was not only unashamedly close to other men, but was always the first to engage the emotional world of humanity as children and women do... It wasn’t expressing love that was ever the delineation of the genders; rather, it was war that separated men from women. Doing a little research, and of course, I am not an expert or even a voice on any of these topics, it takes a simple Google to find many articles on the topic that show a clear demarcation in one specific point of history – in addition to their role in war, men became central to the workplace after industrialization. Additionally, during the 19th century, homosexuality had some major negative social moments – the trial and conviction of Oscar Wilde and the development of mental health research that in its early days considered homosexuality as a mental disorder with no clear merit in science whatsoever. Our society developed a resulting paranoia of being classified as homosexual. The result was, through our modern times, generations of men not only villified the prior, but also slowly eroded the emotional maturity, plysical closeness, and empathy among men, fathers and sons, and even enemies that occurs consistently throughout The Odyssey and has for thousands of years. The fear of being considered gay infiltrated every aspect of modern western culture and has done so at the expense of our humanity. What is most shocking is that homosexuality remained a mental illness (professionally) in the DSM until 1973.
“You wretch, so devious, never weary of tricks, then you would not even in your own country give over your ways of deceiving and your thievish tales. They are near to you in your very nature.”
That was my biggest takeaway from rereading this book in my forties. Perspective, education, and experience made a profound impact on my understanding and focus on this text. Less was this story the action scenes as it was of my youth and which still drive the adaptations, and more of a document of quiet intimacy among men, the importance of father-son relationships (and family as a whole), and the decreasing weight of the gods and goddesses interfering in everyday human objectives. There was a beautiful freedom humanity was gravitating toward: one of love and communication, sacrifice for justice and glory, and platonic love among the strongest of our heroic men wasn’t even a second thought to them.
“There the dog Argos lay in the dung, all covered with dog ticks. Now, as he perceived Odysseus had come close to him, he wagged his tail, and laid both his ears back... (Odysseus) secretly wiped a tear away.”
Rereading The Iliad and The Odyssey in 2025, in many ways, was being refreshed to a hyper humanness that is a stark opposite of the nihilism of the online marketplace of these ideas. We have come so far from this, in ways, that racism and homophobia among bulletin board posters, gamers, and trolls have entered a postmodern phase where vitriol and comments have an extremist phase on one end of the spectrum, and the same words are used with humorous ironic sarcasm on the other. The teeth of generations’ hate since the nineteenth century have been knocked out and added to a strange puppet head, all out of order. But what is wild is that it is all based on nonsense made up a hundred years ago.
The gods of these stories, and of our modern era, have disappeared. The love we had for one another has as well. Perhaps the twentieth century and boomer generation of men telling their kids, ‘no son of mine...’ and ‘boys don’t cry’ was the worst point and things are getting better, but it seems like one of the best times was when men were men as we were meant to be – in some ways that I have pointed out in The Odyssey during these times. Similarly, the gods were gods but already fading into legends and handing our experience into our own humanistic independent impulses that all faiths morph into over time. But one thing is certain, as everyone in these two books have attested... Odysseus is a man among men: godlike, fallible, emotionally intelligent, sensitive, but the backbone of the success of the Achaean empire, if only for a little while. The legend and the masculine life it should inspire, it seems, will go on forever. It is a message for the men of today who, in contrast, contradict everything he fought for.
The Odyssey is much quieter than the Iliad, with fewer characters and a lens that focuses solely on our main character and one of the heroes of the prior book, King Laertes’ son, Odysseus. For twenty years after the Trojan War, Odysseus struggles across the ocean to find his way home. He is often undermined by Poseidon, but is helped by other gods (namely Pallas Athene, aka Athena) throughout his journey to support his just mission back home to be reunited with his son Telemachus and wife Penelope (who has been surrounded by suitors trying to move in on the marriage). This episodic tale takes a very specific portion of his journey through each of the 24 ‘books’ of the story, where he encounters the Cyclops Polyphemus, sea monsters, lotus eaters, giant whirlpools, sirens bent on manipulating his crew to drown themselves in the sea, and many others. While I have taught this text many times, I have often used abridged or retold editions throughout the years, so it came as a surprise in rereading the original that the organization is much different than these retellings. Furthermore, the beauty of the book isn’t in what the kids find to be the most exciting elements (the action scenes - that are understandably the main focus of the mid-grade adaptations), but in the quiet loyalty and camaraderie that define heroism and masculinity in this ancient age.
“I wish you well, however you do it, but if only you knew in your own heart how many hardships you were fated to undergo before getting back to your country, you would stay here and be the lord of this household and be immortal.”
First, the gods and goddesses do not interfere with the actions of our hero very often, nor do they go on and on discussing what the right or wrong thing is for Odysseus to do. They are more spectators, wondering what choices he will make and in what way they can help based on their interpretation of a situation. The directions on how to avoid the sirens’ song, for instance, isn’t so much Poseidon screwing with them (although he is) and is more, ‘this is happening anyway as it has been foretold when he left Troy, so let’s tell him how to survive it... It isn’t going away.’ Only in that way is fate or the gods' hands involved in anything. Fate is fate. Here, human: here is how to survive this. By the way, by the time you get home, your crew and ship will be destroyed. That’s just the way it is.
“You are the race of men who are kings... no mean men could have sons such as you are.”
Second, Odysseus and his family aren’t just great warriors and honorable (with many superlatives coming before their names at every utterance), but they are clever. Telemachus is destined to be killed when he goes in search of his father, but avoids it because of some quick thinking in the route he takes before turning around and going back home anyway. Penelope has been able to avoid marrying any of the suitors by working all day, every day, on a loom to make a shroud for Laertes, but in the evenings she unravels her work to give her an excuse to perpetually work on her ‘web’ until the men go away. Odysseus, for his part, is constantly outwitting the things coming his way; his Nobody trick with Polyphemus, with him and his crew hiding under the sheep, is the most memorable to me (and I would say my students as well). One thing I didn’t remember, but is kind of nice, is their treatment of strangers and people on the road – constantly bathing the men, anointing them with oils, outfitting them with fresh fleeces and lush mantles for their journey after presenting big feasts and bottomless wine. They knew how to be hosts and hostesses, as Zeus commanded, and endlessly opened their doors, hearts, and generosity.
“How could I forget Odysseus the godlike, he who is beyond all other men in mind, and who beyond others has given sacrifice to the gods...” - Zeus.
But the biggest thing that stands out to me is the concrete, beautifully emotionally mature masculinity among these men, known as the most legendary, manliest heroes of all time and all literature. Odysseus is often given the titles and adjectives he totally deserves: brave Odysseus, kind Odysseus, relentless Odysseus, cunning Odysseus, godlike Odysseus, resourceful Odysseus, and by the end of the story, we are presented with these accolades and superlatives that we foist on any manly man of American Culture in 2025. These are our western values of masculinity in their most ancient, raw form... Except for one major aspect of his character throughout the book that I would say is entirely overlooked in the abridged retellings. The implications for our society’s view of masculinity is, in one word, embarrassing.
“His whole word had not been spoken when his beloved son stood in the forecourt. Amazed, the swineherd started up, and the vessels, where he had been busily mixing the bright wine, fell from his hand. He came up to meet his master, and kissed his head, and kissed too his beautiful shining eyes, and both his hands, and the swelling tear fell from him...”
In 2025 in America, we are exposed to a completely different expectation of masculinity. One that is definitively toxic and perhaps has been for quite some time. Reading The Odyssey has shown the true nature of true masculinity of the timeless nature – that at one point, long ago, one of the greatest heroes of all time (along with the other men surrounding him) hugged, kissed, cried, had empathy, and was not only unashamedly close to other men, but was always the first to engage the emotional world of humanity as children and women do... It wasn’t expressing love that was ever the delineation of the genders; rather, it was war that separated men from women. Doing a little research, and of course, I am not an expert or even a voice on any of these topics, it takes a simple Google to find many articles on the topic that show a clear demarcation in one specific point of history – in addition to their role in war, men became central to the workplace after industrialization. Additionally, during the 19th century, homosexuality had some major negative social moments – the trial and conviction of Oscar Wilde and the development of mental health research that in its early days considered homosexuality as a mental disorder with no clear merit in science whatsoever. Our society developed a resulting paranoia of being classified as homosexual. The result was, through our modern times, generations of men not only villified the prior, but also slowly eroded the emotional maturity, plysical closeness, and empathy among men, fathers and sons, and even enemies that occurs consistently throughout The Odyssey and has for thousands of years. The fear of being considered gay infiltrated every aspect of modern western culture and has done so at the expense of our humanity. What is most shocking is that homosexuality remained a mental illness (professionally) in the DSM until 1973.
“You wretch, so devious, never weary of tricks, then you would not even in your own country give over your ways of deceiving and your thievish tales. They are near to you in your very nature.”
That was my biggest takeaway from rereading this book in my forties. Perspective, education, and experience made a profound impact on my understanding and focus on this text. Less was this story the action scenes as it was of my youth and which still drive the adaptations, and more of a document of quiet intimacy among men, the importance of father-son relationships (and family as a whole), and the decreasing weight of the gods and goddesses interfering in everyday human objectives. There was a beautiful freedom humanity was gravitating toward: one of love and communication, sacrifice for justice and glory, and platonic love among the strongest of our heroic men wasn’t even a second thought to them.
“There the dog Argos lay in the dung, all covered with dog ticks. Now, as he perceived Odysseus had come close to him, he wagged his tail, and laid both his ears back... (Odysseus) secretly wiped a tear away.”
Rereading The Iliad and The Odyssey in 2025, in many ways, was being refreshed to a hyper humanness that is a stark opposite of the nihilism of the online marketplace of these ideas. We have come so far from this, in ways, that racism and homophobia among bulletin board posters, gamers, and trolls have entered a postmodern phase where vitriol and comments have an extremist phase on one end of the spectrum, and the same words are used with humorous ironic sarcasm on the other. The teeth of generations’ hate since the nineteenth century have been knocked out and added to a strange puppet head, all out of order. But what is wild is that it is all based on nonsense made up a hundred years ago.
The gods of these stories, and of our modern era, have disappeared. The love we had for one another has as well. Perhaps the twentieth century and boomer generation of men telling their kids, ‘no son of mine...’ and ‘boys don’t cry’ was the worst point and things are getting better, but it seems like one of the best times was when men were men as we were meant to be – in some ways that I have pointed out in The Odyssey during these times. Similarly, the gods were gods but already fading into legends and handing our experience into our own humanistic independent impulses that all faiths morph into over time. But one thing is certain, as everyone in these two books have attested... Odysseus is a man among men: godlike, fallible, emotionally intelligent, sensitive, but the backbone of the success of the Achaean empire, if only for a little while. The legend and the masculine life it should inspire, it seems, will go on forever. It is a message for the men of today who, in contrast, contradict everything he fought for.
December 8, 2024
5 stars.
June 20, 2025
Lattimore's translation is still my favorite. It hits the sweet spots of accuracy, precision, and just enough poetic grandeur.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews