Illustrated Odyssey

by Homer

Genres: Fiction, Classics

Hardcover

Published March 1, 1981

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

[Dollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a story! Poor Odysseus battles the Trojans for ten years and then he finally gets to sail home, but Poseidon is angry at him, so makes Odysseus suffer several more hardships such as losing his entire crew. So, it takes Odysseus nine more years after the Trojan War to get home. He’s been gone so long that everyone, including his beautiful and wise wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, all think he must have been killed. So, all of the young royals in the surrounding countryside set out to take over his palace and woo Penelope. She uses her wiles as long as she can to fend them off. She still cries every day for her lost husband. Telemachus is beside himself as the suitors keep slaughtering his cattle, goats and swine and are eating him out of house and home. The suitors show him no respect whatsoever. Everything changes quickly once the shrewd and mighty Odysseus arrives back at his palace. I had never read The Odyssey before, but recently read The Song of Achilles and wanted to continue on with Odysseus’ voyage home. Because I just watched Troy, Odysseus looked just like Sean Bean in my imagination. I enjoyed this edition of the story very much. It had a great introduction to the story, lots of photos of the sea and islands and many photos of ancient artifacts. It was written like a novel, so it was easy to read, except for the names, which were all Greek to me. I found it an entertaining read. I’m moving on to the Daughters of Sparta next, but I think I’ll watch The 300 again first. There has to be at least one warrior in that book that I can imagine as Gerald Butler.

[Andrew Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic. It is extraordinary that this work, written centuries before Christ, should be so fresh, vivid and, in many ways, modern.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read. Absolutely in love. Every little detail is amazing.