The Odyssey

By Homer

Book Overview

"Earth breeds no creature frailer than a man, of all that breathe and move upon the earth."

The Odyssey is one of the oldest works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. It, and the Illiad are the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer.

The Odyssey follows the complex Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who after fighting for ten years in the bloody Trojan War is faced with another 10 year struggle in his effort to return home. The Odyssey details his path through a world of wonders and dangerous adventures as he desperately struggles to reclaim his kingdom and his family.

Displaying ingenuity over brute strength and keeping one's head rather than acting rashly were not as obvious to people in ancient times like they are today. These skills served our wily hero well and he triumphed over incredible obstacles including a descent into Hell, Cyclopses, cannibals, an assortment of other mystical creatures and the wrath of the sea god Poseidon. Meanwhile, his wife and son kept away those who were assuming Odysseus was dead or not returning and were vying for her hand and Ithaca's throne.

In the end, Oldysseus returns home, kills his wife's suitors, wins a contest to prove his identity and retakes the throne of Ithaca.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1722504420
• ISBN13: 9781722504427
• Release Date: February 2025
• Publisher: G&D Media
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A phenomenal deal for a little volume!

I was able to get a “Very Good Condition” copy of this for less than $5, and was very pleased with it. In the version I received, there has not yet been annotations seen in it, and the book itself is impressively small and easy to understand compared to the other times I’ve read translations of the Odyssey. Very good for the average reader, or for academics wanting to understand the story before looking at it more intellectually!

perfect

exactly what you want when thrifting homer

5 stars for being unique and comfortable in its own skin.

Most everybody knows about the Odyssey of Homer (the story and all that), so this review is about this particular translation by Stanley Lombardo. You have the classic English verse translations (Chapman, Pope, Cowper) and the classic prose translations (Butcher and Lang, Palmer), then you have the twentieth century crowd (Lattimore, Fitzgerald, Mandelbaum, Fagles, Rieu, Rouse, Shewring etc...) Some of these are verse and some prose, some literal and some poetic. Some are easy to read and some more difficult. Lombardo's translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey are somewhat unusual in that they are both verse and very clear and easy to read. Very much modern-day speech. Not that Fagles or Fitzgerald or Mandelbaum, for instance, (all verse translations) are difficult to read, but Lombardo's verse translation is really in a different category. His translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey sort of stand alone in their simple style and may be worth reading for that reason alone. I think also there is an unselfconsciousness in Lombardo's effort - and attitude - as well as a "very well then hang me, devils" confidence that comes through. Fresh, quick, engaging, spare, alive (typical words used by professional/academic reviewers for this translation...) An interesting touch by Lombardo is whenever Homer goes into one of his celebrated similes or metaphors Lombardo puts them into italics and sets them apart in the text. There are more of these in the Iliad than the Odyssey, but it is interesting to read them separate this way. He uses very much 'man on the street' expressions, and his verse reads very quickly, or, 'lightly' like a clear stream flowing easily over stones. I don't want to give the impression these are simplified versions of Homer's epics. They are real, unabridged translations. Serious translations, and though they are relatively new they seem to occupy a unique position in the gallery of English translations of Homer. They are worth aquiring for their uniqueness alone if you have the usual abiding interest and curiosity in new translations of Homer that most people develope who are drawn to these two epic poems.