The Iliad and The Odyssey: Translated by Samuel Butler

by Homer .

Think you've experienced The Iliad and The Odyssey? You haven't seen anything until you read Homer's classics in the able hands of Samuel Butler! This fantastic translation includes a fully functioning table of contents. Buki Editions always presents you with the best editions at rock-bottom prices!

Genres: Fiction, Classics

392 pages, Paperback

Published October 27, 2020

Reviews

[Zorina Akhund]

Would make a great movie

[Taylor Courbron]

Wow.. a classic for a reason! Never had to read this in high school so had to before I see the movie. This was fantastic and totally engulfing. Book 17 when Argos recognizes Odysseus after all those years while he’s in disguise had me in TEARS. Then passing away after getting long awaited reprieve after finally seeing his owner and knowing he’s safe and returned home😭😭😭😭 respect to Homer for shouting out the loyalty to dogs in this classic. The lessons in this book are countless. Definitely took more brain power than the mindless thrillers I’ve been reading to get through😂

[Jack Cuddihy]

Finally finished both just in time to watch The Odyssey tomorrow

[Finnley]

To start with a positive, the second half and last 200 pages were incredibly gripping and this is where the old English really showed its potential in the book. Characters such as Hector and Odysseus (Ulysees) become very human despite their constant relations to the Gods.
The gods themselves have a dynamic similar to high school drama which I believe to be one of the better interpretations from my experience at having read the Greek mythology.
My main issue came within the first two hundred pages where I struggled to read more than 15 pages or roughly one book / chapter. Comparatively I read the last 200 pages within two days. The reason was that there was not allot of context given so my understanding had to be based on Google summaries or the occasional summaries provided by an author before the chapter begins.
In the translation Samuel also used allot of the same metaphors specifically about lions or boars multiple times within the span of two or three pages which very quickly became boring and something I can firmly say isn’t attributed to the old English used.
A minor criticism although I was probably more affected than anybody at having learned exclusively Greek names, Samuel decided in his translation to use the Roman / Latin names which if you don’t want to use them names most of the other translations use the Greek ones.

To only be able to give it three stars feels harsh given that the last 200 pages are some of my favourite literature I’ve ever read but I cannot ignore the first half of the book which made me consider not finishing it and the continued issues I had with the metaphors.

However despite any criticism any version of the Iliad is worth a read as is it a story passed through generations and generations which I believe should continue to be passed down

[Mark Emmanuel]

One of the books of all time.

Better than the Iliad. Homer had a glow up fr.

Only reason I'm not giving it a 5 is because I'm too dumb to genuinely appreciate this work in it's fulness. I'll have to read a translation that preserves the poetic element of the piece, though I really do enjoy Butler's prose translation.

[Julian Johnson]

I wish I had read the Fagles or Wilson translation instead, but it seems like this captures the essence of the story.

[Ajax Sextus Frantzen]

Homer is the goat

[Jake Fabian]

Still laughing about Ajax killing himself over not winning Achilles armor and then being petty about it in the Underworld