Homer: Odyssey Book IX

by Egbert J. Bakker (Editor)

Book IX of the Odyssey is one of the most often read and discussed sections of Homeric poetry. It contains Odysseus' narrative of his encounter with Polyphemus the Cyclops, which not only typifies him as the trickster-hero that he is, but also resonates thematically with later parts of the narrative. This edition provides solid support in reading, understanding, and enjoying this essential episode. The Commentary is designed to be helpful to undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars, providing assistance in understanding Homeric language from elementary to advanced levels. The constant attention to narratological details contributes to the literary appreciation of the episode. The Introduction offers a particularly full guide to Homeric meter, language and dialect as well as discussing in detail the place which the Cyclops episode occupies both in the Odyssey as a whole and in Greek mythology and culture as an expression of the colonial imagination.

272 pages, Paperback

Published January 23, 2025

Reviews

[Daniel]

Book 9 is the start of the Apologos and contains probably the most famous section of the Odyssey, the visit to the Cyclopes (pl. !). It really is a feast! The stabbing scene is so gross but so entertaining at the same time.
In the books in which Odysseus narrates, the Greek always feels a bit more difficult, but maybe that's only my impression.
Bakker's edition is superb. The language section in the introduction is well-organised and not overloaded. Loved the section on particles. Didn't work through the whole commentary (a task for the future), but the sections I consulted always contained interesting observations and discussions on the interpretation; the emphasis is on linguistic explanations.

[Ava]

Book IX is one of the highlights of the Odyssey, and Bakker’s commentary makes you understand why. The introduction does an excellent job of contextualizing this episode within both the thematic landscape of the Odyssey and of cross-cultural myth. I learned a lot here about Ogre Blinded myths in other myth-making cultures! What’s more, the second half of the introduction is an outstanding guide to the “technical” aspects of reading Homer: dialect, meter, linguistics, formularity. Your “techne” will be all the better for it.

The commentary after the text is also very thorough, of course. For Bakker, and so for “Homer,” no word is unimportant, and as a consequence you’ll find notes in the commentary for just about every single word and phrase in the text, right down to the particle.

The bibliography is varied and robust. I appreciate the coexistence of narratology, ecocriticism, pragmatics, philology, and so much more…

This edition is not to be missed! I recommend for any undergraduate, even with minimal experience with Homer. But it’s not just for students: this commentary has much to offer for scholars at any level of study.

[Madeleine]

This is the (in)famous Polyphemus episode, and this commentary does an excellent job of clarifying almost every grammatical question you could have in all 566 lines. The introduction also expands on the larger Indo-European "ogre blinded" myth genre, which was new to me and super exciting.

This was also the first extended bit of Homeric Greek I've read, so hooray!

[keerti]

good commentary and i like his choices for the manuscript. not entirely sure on the interpretation of nature vs culture when he comments on the contrast of Cyclopes in Theogony. loved his comments on the irony of metalworking craft.