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The Odyssey
1997 AVC CORPORATION set of 4 AUDIO CASSETTES
560 pages, Paperback
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156 people want to read
About the author
Homer
4,721 books7,049 followersHomer (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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 12, 2024
The Odyssey completed my reading of Fagles translations of Homer and Virgil’s Aeneid and I believe it was my favorite though I greatly enjoyed reading each of them and I look forward to future re-readings. The theme of hospitality reverberated throughout this book and it especially resonated with me in this season of my life as I currently reside outside of my home country in another culture that greatly values hospitality in a similar way. I also really loved the theme of the return of the rightful king. There were so many scriptural parallels with Jesus’ parables of faithful and unfaithful servants, justice, purification, and setting things right. Finally, I really loved the story that the Odyssey tells of the greater story seen through Odysseus having suffered many metaphorical deaths before he is exalted as well as Penelope who also “died” many times through the years in her grief and had to exhibit great self possession to be found faithfully waiting for Odysseus. I was inspired to similarly wait for my coming King. So much to love in this book. I highly recommend!
November 30, 2024
I didn’t enjoy a single moment of it but I can’t stop thinking about it?????????
December 30, 2025
so violently heinously misogynistic.
i just do not like the odyssey as much as the iliad. i also like the iliad section of the aeneid better than the odyssey section so i think this is just a preference that will stay.
fagles' translation here is also not as exciting to me as his iliad one. one day i shall read the wilson but also idgaf about the odyssey so.
hard to properly gauge my opinion on it because my reading of it is so scattered - know the story, obviously, read probably ten chapters or so for an epics class in my undergrad, and then realised earlier this year that i'm going to oxford for a classics masters and i haven't fucking read the odyssey in full. so i started it midway through the year and finished it months and months later, three months into my damn masters. so like i don't know what the hell's going on. and it's also totally irrelevent to my studies here because i'm writing about late republic/early empire roman literature.
glad i'm finished with it!
i just do not like the odyssey as much as the iliad. i also like the iliad section of the aeneid better than the odyssey section so i think this is just a preference that will stay.
fagles' translation here is also not as exciting to me as his iliad one. one day i shall read the wilson but also idgaf about the odyssey so.
hard to properly gauge my opinion on it because my reading of it is so scattered - know the story, obviously, read probably ten chapters or so for an epics class in my undergrad, and then realised earlier this year that i'm going to oxford for a classics masters and i haven't fucking read the odyssey in full. so i started it midway through the year and finished it months and months later, three months into my damn masters. so like i don't know what the hell's going on. and it's also totally irrelevent to my studies here because i'm writing about late republic/early empire roman literature.
glad i'm finished with it!
August 2, 2025
Definitely enjoyed it. (though I recommend it with caveats, due to content)
October 23, 2023
Preparing for new translation - reviewing the one I started with. Funny how glaring unacceptable things are now in my crotchety older age than when I was 18, when I was able to overlook things more easily.
December 10, 2024
Took a long time for me to finish, but this book was great from start to finish. No wonder it's called an epic, what a great story of twists and turns!
April 26, 2025
History’s favourite unreliable narrator: Odysseus
June 14, 2025
The Odyssey. Translated By Robert Fagles. Introduction and Notes By Bernard Knox.
It’s pretty hard to review Homer’s Odyssey, given that the book’s an established classic; nothing I say about it is going to change anything. I don’t know any Greek, either, so I can’t even comment on the translation, beyond saying that at times it seemed a bit stilted to me; but maybe that reflects the original.
That said, I was struck by the Jungian elements of the story, and I think it would be interesting to read a thorough, high-level analysis of it from that angle.
I would also note that the book is, to the modern reader, highly plot-based; and, while there is some portrayal of character, there is little character development, and little below the surface. It ain't Shakespeare, in other words.
The Introduction, by Bernard Knox, has a few useful insights, and the Translator’s Note at the end made the useful point that presenting an oral poem that may have had musical elements as written literature itself presents important questions and issues. Beyond that, all I can say is that the translation was well received, so it’s probably worth your while if you’re looking for a translation of this poem.
It’s pretty hard to review Homer’s Odyssey, given that the book’s an established classic; nothing I say about it is going to change anything. I don’t know any Greek, either, so I can’t even comment on the translation, beyond saying that at times it seemed a bit stilted to me; but maybe that reflects the original.
That said, I was struck by the Jungian elements of the story, and I think it would be interesting to read a thorough, high-level analysis of it from that angle.
I would also note that the book is, to the modern reader, highly plot-based; and, while there is some portrayal of character, there is little character development, and little below the surface. It ain't Shakespeare, in other words.
The Introduction, by Bernard Knox, has a few useful insights, and the Translator’s Note at the end made the useful point that presenting an oral poem that may have had musical elements as written literature itself presents important questions and issues. Beyond that, all I can say is that the translation was well received, so it’s probably worth your while if you’re looking for a translation of this poem.
January 8, 2025
A verse translation this time! Wow, I haven’t read anything in verse in a long time. It was quite good, I could feel the cadence even reading in my head.
I thought the introduction was very interesting and helpful for someone who knows very little about Homer/Ancient Greece. I especially enjoyed the discussion about whether this was an oral tradition that was written down or a written poem. Knox writes that the repeated lines and lists of specific adjectives in front of each characters name suggests that parts of the poem were verbally composed. The performer would insert these stock phrases to even out the line meter.
So this came from an oral tradition, but I agree with him that the length and detail of the story feels that the author spent time writing and editing. The hypothesis that Homer was a prominent performer who picked up the new-fangled skill of writing felt compelling to me. He still uses the style he knows so well, but now can expand it even further, grow it out to be a great epic. Imagine how exciting that would be, to realize that you could take the art form to the next level.
I thought the introduction was very interesting and helpful for someone who knows very little about Homer/Ancient Greece. I especially enjoyed the discussion about whether this was an oral tradition that was written down or a written poem. Knox writes that the repeated lines and lists of specific adjectives in front of each characters name suggests that parts of the poem were verbally composed. The performer would insert these stock phrases to even out the line meter.
So this came from an oral tradition, but I agree with him that the length and detail of the story feels that the author spent time writing and editing. The hypothesis that Homer was a prominent performer who picked up the new-fangled skill of writing felt compelling to me. He still uses the style he knows so well, but now can expand it even further, grow it out to be a great epic. Imagine how exciting that would be, to realize that you could take the art form to the next level.
June 4, 2025
On the one hand, Homer is awesome and this is an excellent translation. On the other hand, Odysseus is a bit of a jerk and his cleverness is over-rated (I’m still mad at him for eating Polyphemus’s cheese, that was rude). Even with all of Odysseus’s many flaws, this was a compelling story - though the ending was a bit weak IMHO.
January 27, 2024
What? Anything less than 5 stars for the Odyssey?!?!
Doi.
I haven't read other translations, but this one was engaging, clear, and bloody. A classic read. I read it aloud to my 14 and 12 year old, and they stayed interested the entire time. We *loved* the monologues.
Doi.
I haven't read other translations, but this one was engaging, clear, and bloody. A classic read. I read it aloud to my 14 and 12 year old, and they stayed interested the entire time. We *loved* the monologues.
September 17, 2023
A bloody ending will always get a high rating from me…
September 21, 2023
Read books 9 and 11
November 10, 2023
Wonderful translation. Robert Fagles, what a loss!
August 13, 2024
Gorgeously rendered. I became an instant Fagles devotee.
May 19, 2025
meh significantly less good than the Iliad imho
June 3, 2025
Amazing, timeless tale
December 19, 2025
I have a lot to say about this book. But I’ll say it later.
October 12, 2025
kinda crazy thinking im reading a 3000yr old story, imma be honest beginning was a bit repetitive but it gets worth it after that, i dont read much but out of everything ive read this is my favourite as of now. The last half didnt let down the hype ive heard about the odyssey. Incredible tale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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May 22, 2025This book has a leather-like cover, This 2016 Edition was printed for Barnes & Noble, Inc. by Sterling Publishing Co. Inc. ISBN: 978-1-4351-6310-2; Cover art Jessica Hische.
The preface, written by Samuel Butler in 1900, was interesting to me:
" 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 epitomized 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 one he is within easy reach of Sicily, resolve 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 preface, written by Samuel Butler in 1900, was interesting to me:
" 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 epitomized 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 one he is within easy reach of Sicily, resolve 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.
............
February 23, 2025
My advice for reading this classic is five-fold:
1. You must have a good guide to really get the brilliance of this text. My two favorites are "the Great Courses" and Ascend: the Great Books podcast (with accompanying written guide).
2. The second read through will be the best one, although it shouldn't be the last one.
3. Write in the text as you read - your own observations, "markers" to keep track of the story (such as circling the speaker's name every time it changes), and import the best of your guide's commentary (#1) right into your book for future reads.
4. Read this edition (Fagles). It's very readable and the deckled edge paperback is a joy to hold.
5. Read the Iliad first and undertake the same advice in #1-4.
1. You must have a good guide to really get the brilliance of this text. My two favorites are "the Great Courses" and Ascend: the Great Books podcast (with accompanying written guide).
2. The second read through will be the best one, although it shouldn't be the last one.
3. Write in the text as you read - your own observations, "markers" to keep track of the story (such as circling the speaker's name every time it changes), and import the best of your guide's commentary (#1) right into your book for future reads.
4. Read this edition (Fagles). It's very readable and the deckled edge paperback is a joy to hold.
5. Read the Iliad first and undertake the same advice in #1-4.
April 2, 2024
Never realized fully half of the Odyssey is the slaughter of the suitors! Listened to the audiobook narration with Ian McKellen, which was great.
April 25, 2024
this is the odyssey translation that i read for the first time in tenth grade english and i still like it the best out of the (admittedly few) translations i've read. i love that he just lies for fun it's so great. the one thing about this translation is that it definitely makes no effort to err on the side of "less misogyny" but if you go into a homeric epic expecting good treatment of women i'm afraid you're out of luck
March 12, 2025
Took a break for about a month, once I picked it back up I finished the last 40% in less than a week
A timeless story and an interesting one, but holy shit he retells his tale of misery a million times
I wish that I was coated in oil and draped in fine shirts at all times and that Athena made me more taller to all eyes and my build more massive
Looking forward to Christopher Nolan’s take on it
8/10
A timeless story and an interesting one, but holy shit he retells his tale of misery a million times
I wish that I was coated in oil and draped in fine shirts at all times and that Athena made me more taller to all eyes and my build more massive
Looking forward to Christopher Nolan’s take on it
8/10
November 15, 2025
Not my favorite thing ever(note I had to read this for school), but it was still enjoyable and I like it way better than the Iliad. The reunions at the end were sweet, but the actually ending was quite lacking. Nevertheless I still think it is an important piece of literature and think everyone should read it at some point in there life.
September 17, 2024
3.75 stars
December 28, 2024
amazing, i love imagery and i love the grandeur and depiction of this golden age Greek society
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews