Homer's Odyssey: Epic Tales of Conquest & Empire

by Homer, J.K. Jackson (Editor)

416 pages, Hardcover

Published February 17, 2026

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

[Boban Grujic · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, it needs to be said that this is not the original poem by Homer. It's written in the style of prose. Hopefully i will be able to read original epic as soon as possible.

Second thing, the book is gorgeous. It is a special edition, and for me, it really enhanced the reading experience.

As for the content inside, i enjoyed it less than Iliad. Might be because i am much more fond of the war scenes or epic battle descriptions, clash and duels of the ancient heroes etc. The other thing that might influenced the opinion of the epic, is the style used in telling the story, or maybe it's better to say: in retelling the story ('cause i'm not aware of the original poem). While in Iliad Homer sings in present time, as you are there right beneath the walls of Troy, half of the Odyssey (in this book) is told via memories of the Odysseus. All the adventures that Odysseus experienced on his way to Ithaca, are presented as his memories, while the second half of the book (when he finally reached his home) is described as in present tense.
We finally learn about the fates of some heroes, that were left untold at the end of Iliad, we also learn about the fate of the city of Troy and we learn who managed to successfully return to their homes after 10 years of war. There is also an interesting parallel between Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife and Penelope, Odysseus' wife, which is brought couple of times throughout the epic.
There are 24 books (or chapters) in this edition, which is the same as in original poem, but the ending and the last chapter felt pretty rushed. It would be interesting to see in what way Homer worded his ending in the original book.