The Odyssey

Praise for Robert Fagles Translation of The Odyssey

“Wonderfully readable… Just the right blend of roughness and sophistication.”—Ted Hughes

“Robert Fagles is the best living translator of ancient Greek drama, lyric poetry, and epic into modern English.”—Garry Wills, The New Yorker

“Mr. Fagles has been remarkably successful in finding a style that is of our time and yet timeless.”—Richard Jenkyns, The New York Times Book Review

Homer

Homer was likely born around 725 BC on the coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), then considered part of Greece. He is credited as the first Greek writer whose work survives, belonging to a tradition of bards or poets who performed epic poems orally. Both the Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to Homer, are extensive works originally chanted from memory, aided by the formulaic style of poetry.

The Iliad recounts events from the Trojan War, focusing on the struggles between the Greeks and Trojans, with mortal actions unfolding under divine observation. The Odyssey is a collection of adventure tales detailing Odysseus’s perilous journey home from the Trojan War, filled with encounters with mythical creatures and enchantresses before his return to Ithaca.

The historicity of Homer and the sole authorship of these epics are debated; “Homer” might have been a nickname, possibly meaning “the hostage” or “the blind one.” Regardless of their origin, these stories, developed approximately three millennia ago, continue to be read and studied today.

Robert Fagles (1933-2008)

Robert Fagles was the Arthur W. Marks ‘19 Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, at Princeton University. He received the 1997 PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His notable translations include Sophocles’s Three Theban Plays, Aeschylus’s Oresteia (which was nominated for a National Book Award), Homer’s Iliad (winner of the 1991 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award), Homer’s Odyssey, and Virgil’s Aeneid.

Bernard Knox (1914-2010)

Bernard Knox was the Director Emeritus of Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C., and previously taught at Yale University for many years. Among his many accolades, he received awards from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His published works include The Heroic Temper: Studies in Sophoclean Tragedy, Oedipus at Thebes: Sophocles’ Tragic Hero and His Time, and Essays Ancient and Modern (which won the 1989 PEN/Spielvogel-Diamonstein Award).

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