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The Odyssey (Translated By W. H. D. Rouse)
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About the author
Homer
5,178 books7,679 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 28, 2026
AHHHH okay here's the thing...I'm sorry I really dissed Odysseus for the first 2/3rds and to be honest he did do sus stuff (I am not writing that off). But he was also really epic and also like ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE ARE SO ICONIC. Once I met Penelope the book was leagues better. She is literally goals. Totally wanna to be Penelope when I grow up (except for the having your husband leave for 20yrs...no thank you). Last 1/3 of the book made up for a lot of other things. Also...Odysseus defending his wife and family's honor alongside his son and telling his wife not to glory over the bloodshed and then also handcrafting their bed was HOT. I will not pretend that I didn't literally get chills driving home from work at their reunion, it was so precious. 🥹
All that to say...fiiiiiine it was good and I CANNOT wait for the movie.
All that to say...fiiiiiine it was good and I CANNOT wait for the movie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2026
Coming from Robert Fitzgerald’s version of the Iliad, and then moving onto W.H.D Rouse’s version of the Odyssey was a bit disorienting because I had already become accustomed to and gained a liking for the poem format of the Iliad after 6 months of reading it on and off. So I was a little surprised to be met with the “normal” format for this Odyssey book lols. But this made it more digestible and easier for me to read Odysseus’ tale, only took me 2 months for this!
I think about this saying how people who usually preferred the Iliad, were the kind who are looking for a sense of adventure & drama into their life ; and people who preferred the Odyssey were the kind who are looking to “go back home”. I think I actually prefer the Odyssey more than the Iliad because I wasn’t pushing myself too hard to really lock in and get thru reading every book/chapter. And the Odyssey was just a lot more ridiculous and entertaining!
Just going to reaction / commentary vomit all over this paragraph: I can’t believe Odysseus’ dog decided to finally give in to the House of Hades after recognizing him and sharing a discreet tender moment with him, oh he really said i can finally die now 😇😭 i finally understood during the latter books that Penelopeia was weaving a shroud or a burial garment for Laertes. . . that’s actually pretty sick. Oh why was the trifling women’s deaths a lil more disgraceful than the gallants like . . Ok. People are so mean to beggars! Penelopeia was so right for saying that it’s not their fault they’re at a destitute state. Zeus’ Law kinda eats too. That last part where Odysseus is reunited with his father was soo precious 🥹 I also really liked the section where Agamemnon and Akhilleus were discussing what happened to each other with other noble men at the House of Hades
I think about this saying how people who usually preferred the Iliad, were the kind who are looking for a sense of adventure & drama into their life ; and people who preferred the Odyssey were the kind who are looking to “go back home”. I think I actually prefer the Odyssey more than the Iliad because I wasn’t pushing myself too hard to really lock in and get thru reading every book/chapter. And the Odyssey was just a lot more ridiculous and entertaining!
Just going to reaction / commentary vomit all over this paragraph: I can’t believe Odysseus’ dog decided to finally give in to the House of Hades after recognizing him and sharing a discreet tender moment with him, oh he really said i can finally die now 😇😭 i finally understood during the latter books that Penelopeia was weaving a shroud or a burial garment for Laertes. . . that’s actually pretty sick. Oh why was the trifling women’s deaths a lil more disgraceful than the gallants like . . Ok. People are so mean to beggars! Penelopeia was so right for saying that it’s not their fault they’re at a destitute state. Zeus’ Law kinda eats too. That last part where Odysseus is reunited with his father was soo precious 🥹 I also really liked the section where Agamemnon and Akhilleus were discussing what happened to each other with other noble men at the House of Hades
January 26, 2026
“I long to be homeward bound,” Simon and Garfunkel
The Trojan War is over, and one of our hero kings is lost. His son (Telemachus) travels to find any information about his father’s fate. His wife (Penelope) must cunningly hold off suitors who are eating them out of house and home.
If he ever makes it home, Odysseus will have to detect those servants loyal from those who are not. One absent king against rows of suitors; how will he give them their just desserts? We look to Bright-Eyed Pallas Athena to help prophecy come true.
Interestingly, all the tales of monsters and gods on the sea voyage were told by Odysseus. Notice that no one else survives to tell the tale. Therefore, we have to rely on Odysseus’s word.
Many movies took sections of The Odyssey and expanded them into interesting stories in their own right.
Not just the story but also how it is told will keep you up late at night reading.
It is a tear-jerker when Odysseus returns, 20 years later, and the only one to recognize him is Argos, his faithful dog, who lived long enough to see him. Upon seeing his master return home, Argos dies.
You will, of course, want to buy the various translations to see the differences in reading style and content.
The Trojan War is over, and one of our hero kings is lost. His son (Telemachus) travels to find any information about his father’s fate. His wife (Penelope) must cunningly hold off suitors who are eating them out of house and home.
If he ever makes it home, Odysseus will have to detect those servants loyal from those who are not. One absent king against rows of suitors; how will he give them their just desserts? We look to Bright-Eyed Pallas Athena to help prophecy come true.
Interestingly, all the tales of monsters and gods on the sea voyage were told by Odysseus. Notice that no one else survives to tell the tale. Therefore, we have to rely on Odysseus’s word.
Many movies took sections of The Odyssey and expanded them into interesting stories in their own right.
Not just the story but also how it is told will keep you up late at night reading.
It is a tear-jerker when Odysseus returns, 20 years later, and the only one to recognize him is Argos, his faithful dog, who lived long enough to see him. Upon seeing his master return home, Argos dies.
You will, of course, want to buy the various translations to see the differences in reading style and content.
June 22, 2026
after going over bits and pieces of it throughout my schooling, i finally had the opportunity to read the odyssey in full!! and i completely understand why this is a classic. the plot is fantastic, the nonlinear storytelling is well done, the characters are a very classic good vs. evil, and the ending is heartwarming (i definitely teared up a little bit when the audio finished). i think a large part of why this story has stood the test of time is because readers love three main things: hope, clear morality, and a happy ending. i think the odyssey continues to inspire literally thousands of years later because readers cling to these three things. in a very broken and strange world, we all want justice to prevail and a clear compass to follow so that we too can have peace with our own homecoming.
August 1, 2026
I listened to this on Libby, and loved it, just saw Nolan's version last night, this was better. My trick for this... the Odyssey is 24 books, really chapters. Each chapter is 20-40 min long. After each chapter, I turned on my AI, recapped the chapter, and asked how I did, what did I miss, and did I really hear Calypso complaining about the patriarchy? It made it much easier and fun to get through.
August 17, 2025
The Odyssey is my favorite book but I wasn't impressed by this version of the story. I like the poetry form better it is easier to understand than this. I also don't like the fact that it's not all the chapters just the ones the author decided to rewrite in non poetry form.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2026
I have never read any other translation of the Odyssey but in general I'd say I understand why it's important. nevertheless... I wanted to unwind the spaghetti of my brain one noodle at a time through my ears the entire time. I have never had such a hard time finishing a short book.
January 21, 2026
Fantastic translation. Tbh found it to be better than the Stephen Fry one. And I’m not even going to try to rate Homer on Goodreads
January 14, 2026
It lives up to its hype. I love consuming heavily referenced media and retroactively understanding just how influential it is. As for this translation of it, it's the only version I've read, so I don't have a point of reference. I do think the reader's experience would be improved with a little poetic flair, though I appreciate Rouse's dedication to as faithful a translation as possible. I would recommend this book, especially if you find it in the clearance rack of half price books as I did.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews