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The Odyssey of Homer
The Odyssey of Homer is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1887. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.
- GenresClassics
460 pages, Paperback
Published March 17, 2017
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About the author
Andrew Lang
2,902 books556 followersTales of the Scottish writer and anthropologist Andrew Lang include
The Blue Fairy Book
(1889).
Andrew Gabriel Lang, a prolific Scotsman of letters, contributed poetry, novels, literary criticism, and collected now best folklore.
The Young Scholar and Journalist
Andrew Gabriel Lang, the son of the town clerk and the eldest of eight children, lived in Selkirk in the Scottish borderlands. The wild and beautiful landscape of childhood greatly affected the youth and inspired a lifelong love of the outdoors and a fascination with local folklore and history. Charles Edward Stuart and Robert I the Bruce surrounded him in the borders, a rich area in history. He later achieved his literary Short History of Scotland .
A gifted student and avid reader, Lang went to the prestigious Saint Andrews University, which now holds a lecture series in his honor every few years, and then to Balliol College, Oxford. He later published Oxford: Brief Historical and Descriptive Notes about the city in 1880.
Moving to London at the age of 31 years in 1875 as an already published poet, he started working as a journalist. His dry sense of humor, style, and huge array of interests made him a popular editor and columnist quickly for The Daily Post, Time magazine and Fortnightly Review. Whilst working in London, he met and married Leonora Blanche Alleyne Lang, his wife.
Interest in myths and folklore continued as he and Leonora traveled through France and Italy to hear local legends, from which came the most famous The Rainbow Fairy Books . In the late 19th century, interest in the native stories declined and very few persons recounting them for young readers. In fact, some educationalists attacked harmful magical stories in general to children. To challenge this notion, Lang first began collecting stories for the first of his colored volumes.
Lang gathered already recorded stories, while other folklorists collected stories directly from source. He used his time to collect a much greater breadth over the world from Jacob Grimm, his brother, Madame d'Aulnoy, and other less well sources.
Lang also worked as the editor, often credited as its sole creator for his work despite the essential support of his wife, who transcribed and organised the translation of the text, to the success.
He published to wide acclaim. The beautiful illustrations and magic captivated the minds of children and adults alike. The success first allowed Lang and Leonora to carry on their research and in 1890 to publish a much larger print run of The Red Fairy Book , which drew on even more sources. Between 1889 and 1910, they published twelve collections, which, each with a different colored binding, collected, edited and translated a total of 437 stories. Lang, credited with reviving interest in folklore, more importantly revolutionized the Victorian view and inspired generations of parents to begin reading them to children once more.
Last Works
Lang produced and at the same time continued a wide assortment of novels, literary criticism, articles, and poetry. As Anita Silvey, literary critic, however, noted, "The irony of Lang's life and work is that although he wrote for a profession... he is best recognized for the works he did not write," the folk stories that he collected.
He finished not the last Highways and Byways of the Border but died.
Andrew Gabriel Lang, a prolific Scotsman of letters, contributed poetry, novels, literary criticism, and collected now best folklore.
The Young Scholar and Journalist
Andrew Gabriel Lang, the son of the town clerk and the eldest of eight children, lived in Selkirk in the Scottish borderlands. The wild and beautiful landscape of childhood greatly affected the youth and inspired a lifelong love of the outdoors and a fascination with local folklore and history. Charles Edward Stuart and Robert I the Bruce surrounded him in the borders, a rich area in history. He later achieved his literary Short History of Scotland .
A gifted student and avid reader, Lang went to the prestigious Saint Andrews University, which now holds a lecture series in his honor every few years, and then to Balliol College, Oxford. He later published Oxford: Brief Historical and Descriptive Notes about the city in 1880.
Moving to London at the age of 31 years in 1875 as an already published poet, he started working as a journalist. His dry sense of humor, style, and huge array of interests made him a popular editor and columnist quickly for The Daily Post, Time magazine and Fortnightly Review. Whilst working in London, he met and married Leonora Blanche Alleyne Lang, his wife.
Interest in myths and folklore continued as he and Leonora traveled through France and Italy to hear local legends, from which came the most famous The Rainbow Fairy Books . In the late 19th century, interest in the native stories declined and very few persons recounting them for young readers. In fact, some educationalists attacked harmful magical stories in general to children. To challenge this notion, Lang first began collecting stories for the first of his colored volumes.
Lang gathered already recorded stories, while other folklorists collected stories directly from source. He used his time to collect a much greater breadth over the world from Jacob Grimm, his brother, Madame d'Aulnoy, and other less well sources.
Lang also worked as the editor, often credited as its sole creator for his work despite the essential support of his wife, who transcribed and organised the translation of the text, to the success.
He published to wide acclaim. The beautiful illustrations and magic captivated the minds of children and adults alike. The success first allowed Lang and Leonora to carry on their research and in 1890 to publish a much larger print run of The Red Fairy Book , which drew on even more sources. Between 1889 and 1910, they published twelve collections, which, each with a different colored binding, collected, edited and translated a total of 437 stories. Lang, credited with reviving interest in folklore, more importantly revolutionized the Victorian view and inspired generations of parents to begin reading them to children once more.
Last Works
Lang produced and at the same time continued a wide assortment of novels, literary criticism, articles, and poetry. As Anita Silvey, literary critic, however, noted, "The irony of Lang's life and work is that although he wrote for a profession... he is best recognized for the works he did not write," the folk stories that he collected.
He finished not the last Highways and Byways of the Border but died.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 6, 2020
At our wedding, my wife and I had our first dance to the song "Ulysses" by Josh Garrels. That song was a retelling of Homer's Odyssey, so this story has a special place in my heart.
But the song treats the story as an allegory for the Christian's longing for heaven, which is how I prefer to take the story too. Because as a mere story, though the Odyssey is one of the pillars of Western civilization, the epic is full of so much that I never want to be!
Odysseus is arrogant (the usual Greek hubris), a pathological liar (which the poem portrays in a positive light), repeatedly unfaithful to his wife, and a murderer. Not exactly a role model. Sadly he had as his own role models a Greek pantheon not at all above himself in their morality--Plato understood this and lamented it.
That said, the Odyssey is still a great story with memorable characters and events which seem poised to transcend themselves to a higher meaning. Many of the Ithacan's experiences have in fact risen above the epic itself to become timeless sayings or examples (i.e. "between Scylla and Charybdis").
But the song treats the story as an allegory for the Christian's longing for heaven, which is how I prefer to take the story too. Because as a mere story, though the Odyssey is one of the pillars of Western civilization, the epic is full of so much that I never want to be!
Odysseus is arrogant (the usual Greek hubris), a pathological liar (which the poem portrays in a positive light), repeatedly unfaithful to his wife, and a murderer. Not exactly a role model. Sadly he had as his own role models a Greek pantheon not at all above himself in their morality--Plato understood this and lamented it.
That said, the Odyssey is still a great story with memorable characters and events which seem poised to transcend themselves to a higher meaning. Many of the Ithacan's experiences have in fact risen above the epic itself to become timeless sayings or examples (i.e. "between Scylla and Charybdis").
December 29, 2020
I read the Iliad many years ago, but never got around to the Odyssey. This translation from 1937 was in our library, so I gave it a shot. I'm very glad I did. W.H.D. Rouse brings Homer's words to life with this translation. I see an ancient community, absorbed in daily life and populated with an array of mythical interlopers, who spice up what is otherwise a straight-forward tale of a man who seems to have nothing but bad luck until he finally makes it home after twenty years of wandering and cleans house. I'm reminded of the parables in the New Testament that use tasks, environments, and common people to illuminate a larger concept. As I read this, I understood what things might be most familiar to people in that time. Simple, proximal things that could be used as analogues for experiences beyond the everyday. The style is sometimes challenging but the images are as clear today as the day they were written. I see real people on these pages, even if they are given to attributing to gods, events that are just unusual.
September 29, 2019
Many a year has passed since my class in Greek Literature. "The Odyssey" was not in that class's syllabus but many of the characters and tales were covered in the plays of other Greek poets. So now one of those too many holes in my classical education has been plugged. I must admit to being surprised at the way the story unfolded, at the brevity of some of those all-too-well-known tales.
And now that I have completed this older translation (in narrative form), I immediately begin a more poetic and extremely modern rendition. How will the two compare? I'm eager to find out.
And now that I have completed this older translation (in narrative form), I immediately begin a more poetic and extremely modern rendition. How will the two compare? I'm eager to find out.
December 26, 2019
Great story, but such a terrible translation.
God, Heaven, Hell, and I think even the Devil make an appearance. I kept expecting Jesus to show up walking across the water to convey Odysseus home. Plus it's written as if this tale takes place in the British Isles rather than the Mediterranean.
I'm not going to force myself to slog through another dated mistranslation. Life is too short for that.
God, Heaven, Hell, and I think even the Devil make an appearance. I kept expecting Jesus to show up walking across the water to convey Odysseus home. Plus it's written as if this tale takes place in the British Isles rather than the Mediterranean.
I'm not going to force myself to slog through another dated mistranslation. Life is too short for that.
May 17, 2020
This is a clear translation in prose, rather then verse. I found it to be interesting to read - I have read other versions in the past. The story takes a bit to get going, and there is a lull in the back third as well. However, it is still fun to read, and references many other myths.
May 24, 2020
It took 52 years but I’ve added this classic to my library! Finally, I was ready to graduate from Percy Jackson to Odysseus :-). A story that has it all: adventure, mystery, action, history, and romance. I found myself channeling Harry Hamlin as Odysseus (gee, I wonder why :-).
October 31, 2022
Extremely powerful and moving. This would be a fantastic introduction to Homer for a young person. But it's still not nearly as good as the Robert Fagles translation. But, considering it was written in 1934, it reads like it could've been written today. Magisterial.
January 21, 2020
I could NOT stress enough how much I love reading this book. I know I will come back and reread this throughout the years.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews