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The Odyssey

(Graphic Classics)

Homer,

Robert Fagles (Translator)

Bernard Knox (Introduction)

3.75 · Rating details · 783,084 ratings · 10,435 reviews

Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of Troy.

So begins Robert Fagles' magnificent translation of the Odyssey, which Jasper Griffin in The New York Times Review of Books hails as "a distinguished achievement."

If the Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, then the Odyssey is liter ...more

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Paperback, 541 pages

Published November 30th 2006 by Penguin Classics (first published -720)

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3.75 ·

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· 783,084 ratings · 10,435 reviews

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Aug 25, 2008 Stephen rated it really liked it

Shelves: easton-press, mythstories-and-legends, 1499-and-before, fantasy, poetry-plays-and-essays, quests, classics, classics-european

So my first “non-school related" experience with Homer’s classic tale, and my most powerful impression, beyond the overall splendor of the story, was...HOLY SHIT SNACKS these Greeks were a violent bunch. Case in point:

...they hauled him out through the doorway into the court,
lopped his nose and ears with a ruthless knife,
tore his genitals out for the dogs to eat raw
and in manic fury hacked off hands and feet.
then once they’d washed their own hands and feet
they went inside again to join ody

...more

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Dec 19, 2016 Charlotte May rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction, favourites, mythology

Quite possibly one of my favourite books!
It was this novel that ignited my love for Greek and Roman mythology and antiquity - leading me to choose a degree in Classical Civilisations.
I always look back on The Odyssey with fondness - I love all the monsters he faces and the gods who involve themselves with Odysseus' trials as he makes his way home after the Trojan War.
LOVE LOVE LOVE.

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Jan 12, 2010 Alex rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, favorite-reviews, reading-through-history, metafiction, unreliable-narrators, top-100, rth-lifetime

"Okay, so here's what happened. I went out after work with the guys, we went to a perfectly nice bar, this chick was hitting on me but I totally brushed her off. Anyway we ended up getting pretty wrecked, and we might have smoked something in the bathroom, I'm not totally clear on that part, and then this gigantic one-eyed bouncer kicked us out so we somehow ended up at a strip club. The guys were total pigs but not me, seriously, that's not glitter on my neck. And then we totally drove right by ...more

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Apr 16, 2010 Kalliope rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classical, classics, greece, re-reads, 2014

I have read The Odyssey three times. The first was not really a read but more of a listen in the true oral tradition. During embroidery class one of us, young girls on the verge of entering the teens, would read a passage while the rest were all busy with our eyes and fingers, our needles and threads. All learning to be future Penelopes: crafty with their crafts, cultivated, patient and loyal. And all wives.

The second read was already as an adult. That time I let myself be led by the adventures ...more

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Nov 27, 2015 Glenn Russell rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Ever since I first read Homer’s epic describing the adventures of Odysseus back in my school days, three of those adventures fired my imagination: The Lotus Eaters, The Cyclops and the Sirens, most especially the Sirens. I just did revisit these sections of this Greek epic and my imagination was set aflame yet again. How much, you ask? Here is my microfiction as a tribute to the great poet:

THE SIRENS

This happened back in those days when I was a member of an experimental performing-arts troupe down in Greenwich Village. We would read poetry, dance and act out avant-garde plays in our dilapidated little theater. For a modest charge people could come in and watch for as long as they wanted.

Somehow, a business executive who worked downtown in the financial district heard of what we were doing and spoke with our director about an act he has all worked out but needed a supporting cast and that he would pay handsomely if we went along with him.

Well, experimental is experimental and if we were going to be well paid we had nothing to lose. The first thing he did was pass out our costumes. In addition to himself, he had parts for three men and three women. The play we were to perform was so simple we didn’t even need a written script. He was to be Odysseus from Homer’s epic and three men would be his sailors. As for the women, we would be the singing Sirens.

So, after he changed – quite a sight in a loincloth, being gray-haired, jowly, pasty-skinned and potbellied – we went on stage and he told the sailors how no man has ever heard the hypnotic songs of the Sirens and lived to tell the tale but he, mighty Odysseus, would be the first. He instructed the sailors to tie him to the ship’s mast. They used one of the building’s pillars and when he cried out as the Sirens sang their song the sailors, who had wax in their ears, were to bind him to the mast even tighter.

Meanwhile, three of us ladies were on stage as the Sirens, in costume, bare-breasted and outfitted with wings. We began singing a sweet, lilting melody. Mike – that was the businessman’s name – started screaming and the sailors tightened the ropes that bound him. The sailors were glad their ears were plugged as Mike screamed for nearly half an hour.

When the ship passed out of earshot of the Sirens, the sailors unbound mighty Odysseus and he collapsed on our makeshift stage, a mass of exhausted middle-aged flesh. The audience applauded, even cheered and we continued our performance of Odysseus and the Sirens every night for more than a week. Then one night Mike outdid himself. His blue eyes bulged, the veins in his neck popped and his face turned a deeper blood-scarlet than ever before. And what I feared might happen, did happen – Mike had a heart attack. We had to interrupt our performance and call an ambulance.

We all thought that was the end of our dealing with Mike aka Odysseus until our director received a call from the hospital. Mike told her he was going to be just fine and would be back on stage next week. We called a meeting and everyone agreed that we would suggest Mike seek psychiatric help but if he insists on playing Odysseus, he will have to take his act elsewhere.
...more

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Mar 01, 2017 Ana O rated it really liked it

Shelves: mythology, classics, war

Oh Odysseus, how I love thee.. But, bro, you need to get a grip.

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Apr 29, 2014 Renato Magalhães Rocha rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 100-best-books-world-library, all-stars, 2014, reviewed

It's impossible not to smile when you start reading such a classic and, after only the first few pages, you realize and completely understand why it's regarded as one of the most important works in literature. I'm always a little anxious when I tackle such important and renowned books for being afraid of not comprehending or loving them - War and Peace and Don Quixote, for example - as they seem to deserve. Not that I'm obligated to like them, but I always feel such buzz comes for a reason and I It's impossible not to smile when you start reading such a classic and, after only the first few pages, you realize and completely understand why it's regarded as one of the most important works in literature. I'm always a little anxious when I tackle such important and renowned books for being afraid of not comprehending or loving them - War and Peace and Don Quixote, for example - as they seem to deserve. Not that I'm obligated to like them, but I always feel such buzz comes for a reason and I try to at least find out why. With The Odyssey, once again, I find that the ones who have read it before me were right: it's amazing.

I didn't have plans to read The Odyssey any time soon - I've never devoted much time to epic poems and this one has more than 12,000 verses -, but because I've been eying Ulysses on my shelves for quite some time, I decided to prepare myself for it and read about Odysseus with a great group here on Goodreads. To call Homer's book simply "a preparation" for Joyce's work is now not only unfair, but also absurd to me. However, I'm glad that I finally read it, whatever the reason behind it was.

The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus's (Ulysses) journey back to his home Ithaca to return to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus after twenty years of absence. Our hero left his home to fight in the Trojan War - that alone lasted ten years - and encountered too many obstacles that kept him away for another ten years. Back in Ithaca, people had already lost hope that he could still be alive and his wife was being courted by suitors who wanted to marry her.

Alongside the emotional and heartfelt story, what grabbed my attention here was the poem's style and structure. For a work that's believed to have been written in the 8th century BC, its quality and refinement certainly amazed me. Some of the story is told through flashbacks, some of it is told through different narrators and its narratives are non-linear, so I was positively surprised.

I could try to write an analysis about the recurring themes on the book - vengeance, spiritual growth, hospitality - or try to decipher its symbolism - much has been written about Odysseus's bow, Laertes's shroud, the sea -, but I feel I would fail and wouldn't be able to do it in a deep level, especially after having read the great introduction and notes written by Bernard Knox.

What kept me away from Homer's work was the fear that it would be too dense and heavy on mythology - it is mythological, of course -, making it hard for me to understand it. Although labored, the narrative is quite simple and easy to follow. Knox's notes were a great companion to fill in the details I needed to comprehend the book in a deeper level.

Rating: it's my belief that a great book not only satisfy your expectations, but also inspire you to delve further into its writer's other works, similar subjects or even other books from the same time period. The Odyssey raised my interest about Greek mythology and The Iliad, so I guess it served its purpose with high colors. Because of that, 5 glowing and beautiful stars. ...more

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Jan 25, 2018 Kevin Ansbro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, awesome-premise, classic-literature, divinity, greece, inspirational, mythology, quest, years-ahead-of-its-time, poetry

"I’m not normally a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me, Superman!"
—Homer (Simpson)

Following James Joyce’s lead, I used Homer’s heroic story as inspiration and research for a novel-in-progress.
But how can I, a mere mortal, do justice to the most famous epic poem ever written? An encounter with a work of this magnitude should be shared, rather than reviewed.
Homer is the great, great, great (recurring) grand-daddy of modern literature and this colossus is as immortal as the gods ...more

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Feb 25, 2018 Trish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: greece, islands, literature, mythology, one-for-the-ages, something-completely-new

The first line in Emily Wilson’s new translation of the Odyssey, the first by a woman scholar, is “Tell me about a complicated man.” In an article by Wyatt Mason in the NYT late last year, Wilson tells us

“I could’ve said, ‘Tell me about a straying husband.’ And that’s a viable translation. That’s one of the things [the original language] says…[But] I want to be super responsible about my relationship to the Greek text. I want to be saying, after multiple different revisions: This is the best I

...more

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Feb 11, 2018 Το Άσχημο Ρύζι Καρολίνα rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Κι αν πτωχική την βρεις, η Ιθάκη δεν σε γέλασε. Έτσι σοφός που έγινες, με τόση πείρα, ήδη θα το κατάλαβες η Ιθάκες τι σημαίνουν.

Η ψυχή μου το ξέρει, πόσο μεγάλη ανάγκη το είχα να το κάνω ξανά αυτό το μεγάλο ταξίδι μαζί με τον πολύπαθο Οδυσσέα. Και διάλεξα τη μετάφραση εκείνη, την πρώτη, απο τα σχολικά μου χρόνια, του Ζήσιμου Σίδερη, αλλά είχα από δίπλα και το αρχαίο κείμενο για να παίρνω διπλή χαρά, από τη γλώσσα μου αυτήν την πανάρχαια, τις λέξεις που ακόμα μιλούμε και που με αυτές ακόμα και σή ...more

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Jul 06, 2018 Barry Pierce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ancient, read-in-2018

I mean, it's no Ulysses.

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Nov 18, 2017 Manuel Antão rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, favorites

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Representation of Human: "The Odyssey" by Homer (translated by Robert Fitzgerald; read by Dan Stevens)

I humbly declare this book to be the greatest literary work of mankind. If you don't learn Greek (worth it just to read this Meisterwerk, never mind the rest of the immortal trove of Greek literature) you can read it in so many translations that have become classics in their own use of the English language, Fagles and Murray, just to m If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Representation of Human: "The Odyssey" by Homer (translated by Robert Fitzgerald; read by Dan Stevens)

I humbly declare this book to be the greatest literary work of mankind. If you don't learn Greek (worth it just to read this Meisterwerk, never mind the rest of the immortal trove of Greek literature) you can read it in so many translations that have become classics in their own use of the English language, Fagles and Murray, just to mention two. Oh, what the Hades, let's throw in a third, not just for its brilliant translation, but also owing to the exotic character behind it: no less than Lawrence of Arabia.

The Homeric poems were sung in a less-enlightened time, in comparison with the later Greek tragedies, and with the later epics too. Apollonius' Argonautica was composed, post Greek Tragedy, and his audience would have been, no doubt, familiar with Euripides' Medea. Questions such as how justice and revenge affect societies were addressed by Aeschylus in the Oresteia; likewise, the reception of the anthropomorphic gods, and their pettiness, was raised by Euripides in Hippolytus and the Bacchae. Furthermore, the real nature and brutality of warfare was also raised in the Trojan Women. Throw in how one state views another state, and questions of racial identity, and you have The Persians by Aeschylus, and Medea by Euripides. Additionally, if you include Philoctetes by Sophocles, and the issue of how youth should conduct themselves is also raised. If you consider, too, Ajax by Sophocles, and you find that the bloodthirsty myths of an earlier age are filtered through questions that C5 Athenian society faced. What is better, the brute force of an unsophisticated Ajax, or the sophistry and rhetorical arguments of Odysseus in Ajax? By the time we arrive at Virgil, and The Aenied, brutal events such as the death of Priam by Neoptolemus in Aeneid Book II, are tempered with a more enlightened approach. Neoptolemus is condemned for killing Priam, and rightly so, as mercy is important, and exemplifies the Romanitas of 'Sparing the humble, and conquering the proud'. However, Aeneas doesn't show mercy in his killing of Turnus at the end of Book XII.

If you're into Greek Literature, read on. ...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Riku Sayuj rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Riku by: Ian "Marvin" Graye

Shelves: favorites, classics, epic-stuff, r-r-rs, translated, epics, great-books-quest, religion, spiritual, philosophy

I started this as I was told it is essential reading if I ever want to give a shot at reading Ulysses. I was a bit apprehensive and spent a long time deciding on which translation to choose. Finally it was Stephen's review that convinced me to go for the Robert Fagles' version. I have no way of judging how good a decision that was.

This translation, by Robert Fagles, is of the Greek text edited by David Monro and Thomas Allen, first published in 1908 by the Oxford University Press. This two-volum

This translation, by Robert Fagles, is of the Greek text edited by David Monro and Thomas Allen, first published in 1908 by the Oxford University Press. This two-volume edition is printed in a Greek type, complete with lower- and uppercase letters, breathings and accents, that is based on the elegant handwriting of Richard Porson, an early-nineteenth-century scholar of great brilliance, who was also an incurable alcoholic as well as a caustic wit. This was of course not the first font of Greek type; in fact, the first printed edition of Homer, issued in Florence in 1488, was composed in type that imitated contemporary Greek handwriting, with all its complicated ligatures and abbreviations. Early printers tried to make their books look like handwritten manuscripts because in scholarly circles printed books were regarded as vulgar and inferior products — cheap paperbacks, so to speak.

First up, I enjoyed the book, even the droll parts. It was fun to repeatedly read Odysseus's laments and Telemachus' airy threats about the marauding suitors.

But now that I have finished it, how do I attempt a review? What can I possibly say about an epic like this that has not been said before? To conclude by saying that it was wonderful would be a disservice. To analyse it would be too self-important and to summarize it would be laughable.

Nevertheless, I thought of giving a sort of moral summary of the story and then abandoned that. I then considered writing about the many comparisons it evoked it my mind about the Indian epics that I have grown up with, but I felt out of my depth since I have not even read the Iliad yet.

With all those attempts having failed, I am left with just repeating again that it was much more enjoyable than I expected. That is not to say that it was an epic adventure with no dull moments. No. The characters repeat themselves in dialogue and in attitude, all major dramatic points are revealed in advance as prophesy and every important story event is told again at various points by various characters.

Even though I avoided it as much as I can, I could not at times avoid contrasting my reading experience with that of the epics I have grown up with and I remember thinking to myself that in comparison this reads like a short story or a novella. Maybe this impression is because I am largely yet unaware of the large mythical structure on which the story is built. I intend to allay that deficiency soon.

The characters are unforgettable, the situations are legendary and I am truly happy that I finally got around to a full reading of this magnificent epic. It has opened up a new world. ...more

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Aug 07, 2016 James rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1-fiction, 4-written-pre-20th-century

Book Review
4 out of 5 stars to The Odyssey, published around 800 BC and written by Homer. I was tasked with reading this epic work as part of an Advanced Placement English course in between my junior and senior years of high school. I loved literature back then as much as I do now, and my reading habits probably grew from everything my teachers encouraged us to read during the summer hiatus and mid-year breaks. We sampled literature from all over the world, and this Greek tome was one of the Book Review
4 out of 5 stars to The Odyssey, published around 800 BC and written by Homer. I was tasked with reading this epic work as part of an Advanced Placement English course in between my junior and senior years of high school. I loved literature back then as much as I do now, and my reading habits probably grew from everything my teachers encouraged us to read during the summer hiatus and mid-year breaks. We sampled literature from all over the world, and this Greek tome was one of the many we read. We only read certain sections, as it's over 500 pages long, but I finished it on my own over winter break that year. It often depends on the translation version you read, as it might make it better or worse for you. I don't recall which one the teacher selected, but it must have been good as I did my quarterly papers on both this book and Homer's other work, The Iliad. The Odyssey was an amazing tale of a journey through the famed Trojan Wars in ancient Greece. Meeting all the gods and goddesses, understanding the genealogy and family structure, the plots between all their shenanigans and games... for someone with my hobbies and interests, this was perfect. The only part I found a bit dull was when it truly went into war-time battle descriptions, as reading details about fighting is not typically something I enjoy. But the soap opera-like quality of these characters cum deity realities was just absorbing fun. The lyrics and the words fly off the pages. The images and the metaphors are pretty. And if you know enough about Greek history, you almost feel as if you're in the story.

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. ...more

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Apr 28, 2008 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, literature, poetry, legends, mythology, epic, 08th-century-bc

Οδύσσεια = The Odyssey, Homer
The Odyssey Characters: Odysseus, Penelope, Helen of Troy, Achilles, Agamemnon, Telemachus, Minerva, Polyphemus
عنوانها: ادیسه؛ اودیسه؛ اثر: هومر؛
عنوان: ادیسه؛ اثر: هومر؛ مترجم: سعید نفیسی؛ تهران، بنگاه ترجمه و نشر، 1337؛ چاپ دوم 1344؛ چاپ سوم 1349؛ در 576 ص؛ چاپ چهارم 1359؛ موضوع: اساطیر یونانی - قرن هشتم پیش از میلاد
ترجمه سعید نفیسی با عنوان اودیسه نیز چاپ شده است
کی از دو کتاب کهن اشعار حماسی یونان اثر هومر در قرن هشتم پیش از میلاد است. این کتاب همچون ایلیاد، به ص Οδύσσεια = The Odyssey, Homer
The Odyssey Characters: Odysseus, Penelope, Helen of Troy, Achilles, Agamemnon, Telemachus, Minerva, Polyphemus
عنوانها: ادیسه؛ اودیسه؛ اثر: هومر؛
عنوان: ادیسه؛ اثر: هومر؛ مترجم: سعید نفیسی؛ تهران، بنگاه ترجمه و نشر، 1337؛ چاپ دوم 1344؛ چاپ سوم 1349؛ در 576 ص؛ چاپ چهارم 1359؛ موضوع: اساطیر یونانی - قرن هشتم پیش از میلاد
ترجمه سعید نفیسی با عنوان اودیسه نیز چاپ شده است
کی از دو کتاب کهن اشعار حماسی یونان اثر هومر در قرن هشتم پیش از میلاد است. این کتاب همچون ایلیاد، به صورت مجموعه‌ ای از سرودها گردآوری شده اما شیوه ی روایت آن با ایلیاد تفاوت دارد. ادیسه سرگذشت بازگشت یکی از سران جنگ تروآ (ادیسیوس یا الیس) فرمانروای ایساکا است. در این سفر که بیش از بیست سال به درازا می‌انجامد ماجراهای بسیاری برای وی و همراهانش پیش میآید. در نهایت ادیسیوس که همگان گمان می‌کردند کشته شده، به وطن خود باز گشته و دست متجاوزان را از سرزمین و زن و فرزند خود کوتاه می‌کند. ادیسه در این داستان ماجراهای بسیاری ئترد. او در جنگ با تروآ تصمیم می‌گیرد اسبی از جنس چوب و بسیار بزرگ بسازد و با حیله اسب را به عنوان هدیه ی صلح و آشتی وارد قلعه تروآ بکند. او خود و افرادش در داخل اسب مخفی میشوند تا بتوانند قلعه را تصرف کند؛ اما یک پیشگو، پادشاه تروآ را از بردن اسب به داخل قلعه منع می‌کند و پوسایدون فرمانروای قدرتمند دریا حیوان دست آموزش را می‌فرستد تا پیشگو را هلاک کند. پادشاه تروآ سرانجام اسب را داخل قلعه می‌آورد و شب هنگام ادیسه شبیخون زده؛ و قلعه را تصرف می‌کند. او در حالی که با غرور می‌اندیشد که به تنهایی قلعه را تصرف کرده؛ پوسایدون عصبانی شده، ادیسه را محکوم می‌کند تا ابد در دریا سرگردان بماند. ادیسه در کشتی خود در دریای بی‌انتها به نفرین پوسایدون دچار می‌شود. دیری نمی‌گذرد که به جزیره‌ ای می‌رسد. در آن جزیره، غاری پیدا می‌کند که در آن غار غذای فراوانی وجود دارد. در غار با افرادش به عیش و نوش مشغول می‌شود؛ غافل از آنکه صاحب غار غولی یک چشم؛ بنام پولیتیموس فرزند پوسایدون است. پولیتیموس یکی از افراد ادیسه را می‌خورد؛ و ادیسه با نیرنگ معجون خواب آوری به او می‌خوراند و سپس با چوبی که انتهای آن تیز است، در خواب غول را کور می‌کند. غول در حالی که از درد فریاد می‌زند سنگ عظیمی که غار را پوشانده کنار می‌زند؛ و ادیسه و همراهانش فرار می‌کنند. ادیسه دوباره راهی دریا می‌شود و برای برداشتن آب به جزیره‌ ای پا می‌گذارد، در آن جزیره با آنوس فرمانروای باد و طوفان، و پسرعموی پوسایدون برمی‌خورد؛ و آنوس به باد فرمان می‌دهد که ادیسه را ظرف نه روز به ایساکا زادگاهش برساند؛ و باد را داخل کیسه کرده و به ادیسه می‌دهد. در راه در حالی که به ایساکا رسیده بودند، و ادیسه در خواب بود؛ افرادش به او خیانت کرده و در کیسه را به امید یافتن طلا باز می‌کنند. اما طوفان حاصل از باد داخل کیسه، آنها را دوباره در جزیره‌ ای ناشناخته در دریا می‌برد. و ... داستان ده سال از مسافرت ادیسئوس در بازگشت از جنگ تروا ست. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Apr 13, 2016 Fernando rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

"Volver, con la frente marchita, las nieves del tiempo platearon mi sien. Sentir, que es un soplo la vida, que veinte años no es nada, que febril la mirada, errante en las sombras, te busca y te nombra. Vivir, con el alma aferrada, a un dulce recuerdo que lloro otra vez."

Concuerdo totalmente con el periodista y traductor Joan Casas, cuando en el prólogo de esta edición nos dice que si se hubieran reunido temas y canciones para una banda de sonido de este libro, hubiera sido su tema principal "Vo "Volver, con la frente marchita, las nieves del tiempo platearon mi sien. Sentir, que es un soplo la vida, que veinte años no es nada, que febril la mirada, errante en las sombras, te busca y te nombra. Vivir, con el alma aferrada, a un dulce recuerdo que lloro otra vez."

Concuerdo totalmente con el periodista y traductor Joan Casas, cuando en el prólogo de esta edición nos dice que si se hubieran reunido temas y canciones para una banda de sonido de este libro, hubiera sido su tema principal "Volver", ese inmortal tango de Gardel y Le Pera, que es el más odiseico de todos los tiempos, puesto que esas sentidas estrofas concuerdan con la historia de este héroe, Laertíada, raza de Zeus, agudisimo Ulises, aunque para mí con una salvedad: jamás Ulises vuelve con la frente marchita sino con ésta bien alta, más allá de los padeceres, deshonras y pérdidas que sufre en su periplo de retorno durante diez años, luego de otros diez luchando en Troya cuando finalmente pisa su amadísima Ítaca.
Siempre consideré que para leer la Odisea me era indispensable primero terminar la Ilíada aunque en realidad lo correcto sería primero leer la Teogonía de Hesíodo, en donde el aedo cuenta el origen del mundo hasta la aparición de todos los dioses del Olimpo que luego Homero y el resto de los poetas griegos más importantes tomarán como parte de sus relatos épicos y tragedias.
Luego viene la batalla de Troya tal como nos lo es contada en la Ilíada, y posteriormente, los libros que narran los retornos por un lado, de Ulises en la Odisea, el de Eneas en la Eneída luego de la destrucción de Troya (esto narrado por el poeta latino Virgilio pero que tiene directa conexión con los otros poemas épicos), junto con el regreso de Agamenón a su casa, narrado por Esquilo, con un resultado completamente opuesto al de Ulises, puesto que a diferencia de Penélope, es asesinado por su esposa Clitmnenestra y Egisto, su amante y posteriormente la Orestíada, también de Esquilo, que cuenta la venganza de Orestes, hijo de Agamenón, matando al asesino de su padre.
Lamentablemente yo no mantuve ese orden de lectura. Leí primero la Eneida, luego la Ilíada y Odisea y ahora comencé con la Teogonía.
Pero volvamos a esta maravilla de libro. Realmente he disfrutado de la misma manera que en la Ilíada lo que Homero nos cuenta en la Odisea con la diferencia que en este libro me ha sido aún más placentera su lectura, dado que noto una prosa más clara y más amena que en la Ilíada, más allá de estar escrita en hexámetros. Tal vez sea cierto lo que dicen los historiadores acerca de Homero y es que puede que separen a la Ilíada de la Odisea muchísimos años.
Es como que la primera fue relatada por un jovencísimo Homero, tal vez de 25 años, digamos, mientras que la segunda tienen otro tenor en sus hexámetros, como si las hubiera relatado un Homero de sesenta años.
Yendo a la historia propiamente, en la Odisea nos encontramos nuevamente con la intervención divina, con la diferencia de que en este libro no son tantos los dioses que aparecen. Díria que son cuatro: Poseidón, Zeus, Palas Atenea y Hermes.
La historia comienza cuando Homero narra la desgracia de Ulises mientras es retenido en una cueva por la ninfa Calipso quien a cambio le ofrece la inmortalidad. Palas Atenea oye los ruegos que le hace Ulises y lo libera, más le advierte que sufrirá muchos males y la muerte merodeará siempre a su alrededor.
Por el otro lado se viven las angustiosas horas de su esposa, la discreta Penélope y su único hijo Telémaco con el agravante de que creyendo la supuesta muerte del héroe es, su palacio visitado por muchos pretendientes, quienes comienzan a devastar todos las riquezas que Ulises dejó asi como cortejar también a Penélope para desposarla. Esto lleva a Telémaco a emprender un viaje en busca de su padre primero a Pilos y luego a Esparta en donde se encuentra con viejos héroes de guerra como el anciano Néstor y el átrida Menelao, hermano de Agamenón.
Ulises, en su travesía llega a Feacia en donde es recibido con amabilidad y honores. Allí encontrará a Demódoco, un aedo ciego, lo que nos hace pensar que Homero se homenajea a sí mismo para formar parte de las leyendas que este libro narra.
Pronto se tornará tortuosa su travesía y comienzan sus males cuando desata la furia del dios Poseidón por asesinar a su hijo (son tres los dioses más importantes en la mitología griega: Zeus, rey del Olimpo, portador de la égida y dueño del rayo y el trueno, Poseídon, quien sacude la tierra y controla los mares y Hades quien gobierna el Tártaro y el mundo de los muertos), el cíclope Polifemo que mantiene cautivo a Ulises y sus hombres en una caverna. También tiene especial climax su encuentro con Circe, la perversa diosa que convierte a los dioses en animales que pone a Ulises y todos hombres a prueba y más tarde las cosas se ponen realmente negras durante su llegada a la isla donde pastan las Vacas del Sol, ya que serán castigados duramente y funesto será el desenlace que vivencien.
Más allá de tantas desgracias, siempre, en toda la historia, es Palas Atenea la diosa de proteger tanto a Ulises como a Penélope y Telémaco durante sus reiterados infortunios y cuenta además con la ayuda fundamental de otro dios: Hermes (o Mercurio en la mitología romana) cuando con "palabras aladas" deben hecerse llegar a uno u otros los mensajes más importantes.
Pero durará poco la paz para Ulises cuando ya lejos de Feacia tendrá que afrontar lo que Poseidón le tiene conjurado en su destino: sortear el acecho de las Sirenas que para muchos es la forma más fácil de identificar al libro, aunque a este encuentro Homero le dedica sólo una pequeña porción de hexámetros.
Para mí, el escollo más difícil, y mortal que debe sortear Ulises es en el estrecho entre dos los peñascos en los que se encuentran las infernales criaturas marinas que son Escila y Caribdes y es creo el peor momento que vive en toda su travesía. La muerte hace estragos en este pasaje.
Otro capitulo que me apasionó es su viaje hasta el Hades porque me hizo recordar al inovidable Canto VI de la Eneida cuando Eneas desciende a los infiernos para rescatar a su padre Anquises y por supuesto, al Infierno de Dante junto a Virgilio, quien casualmente creador de la Eneida. Todo esto forma parte de la "Hilación universal", como dice un querido amigo mío.
En el Hades, pasados los campos de Asfódelo, Ulises se reencontrará con las sombras de sus amigos muertos en la batallas en Troya. Desfilarán ante él Agamenón, asi también como la sombra su amada madre, muerta de pena, a Tiresias, el adivino ciego tebano (sí, el mismo que aparece en la tragedia Edipo Rey de Sófocles), a su admiradísimo e ilustre Pélida, Aquiles, a la sombra del bravo Ayax Telamonio ofendido y también un desfile innumerable de seres mitológicos como los titanes Tántalo, Sísifo y Hércules, hijo de Zeus. Le es encomendado enfrentarse con la gorgona Perséfone, pero no se arriesga y sigue su camino.
Y así, un día llega finalmente a su amada Ítaca, pero no será fácil tener a su esposa e hijos en sus brazos. Disfrazado por Palas Atenea como un mendigo deberá vivir un sinfín de deshonras y desgracias más aún ante una caterva de desagradables pretendientes que esquilman y saquean los bienes de su morada. Tanta insolencia los hará pagar caro, puesto que Ulises divino junto con su hijo telémaco, Eumeo y Filetio convertirá los pisos del palacio en un auténtico río de sangre, necesario para finalmente abrazar a su amada esposa y a su anciano padre Laertes. Finalmente reinará la paz porque Zeus, ante los ruegos de Palas Atenea así lo dispuso.
Veinte años no es nada, agudísimo Ulises.
Puedes descansar tranquilo, ya que el fin justificó los medios. ...more

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May 30, 2013 Roy Lotz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: highly-recommended-favorites, oldie-but-goodie, best-words-best-order

To this day, the most interesting research project that I’ve ever done was the very first. It was on the Homeric Question.

I was a sophomore in college—a student with (unfortunate) literary ambitions who had just decided to major in anthropology. By this point, I had at least tacitly decided that I wanted to be a professor. In my future lay the vast and unexplored ocean of academia. What was the safest vessel to travel into that forbidden wine-dark sea? Research.

I signed up for a reading project ...more

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Nov 03, 2017 Kris marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-releases, classics, classical-world, greece, epic, mythology, poetry

See article in The New York Times Magazine Section, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/ma...

The Paris Review has excerpts: https://www.theparisreview.org/poetry...

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Mar 04, 2014 Pink rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Where do you start with a book such as this? An epic tale that has been around for almost three thousand years. I have no idea. What I do know is that I read it and loved it. I had little foreknowledge of the story and I haven't looked into the meanings or history too deeply. Instead I've tried to appreciate the story on it's own merits, getting swept away like Odysseus on the sea. There were quiet contemplative events and dramatic battles, personal struggles and wider societal issues. Gods and ...more

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Aug 03, 2015 [P] rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bitchin

My parents split when I was very young. The arrangement they made between them was that my brother and I would spend the weekends with our father, but would live, during the week, with my mother. One winter, when I was ten years old, it started to snow heavily and gave no indication of stopping any time soon. It was a Sunday morning and my brother and I were due to leave dad’s and return to what, for us, was home. The snow, however, had other ideas.

To go home we had to catch two buses. The first ...more

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Jul 23, 2016 Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, adult-fiction, ancient-world-lit-harvardx, 2018-read, reread

Odysseus is the ultimate anti-hero, and that's probably why - as much as he annoys me at times with his antics - I'll always prefer him to Achilles. Sure, one can't deny how unreliable and prejudiced he is as a narrator - just look at how he twists the reality when describing the Cyclops' life and culture - but that's precisely - in addition to the engaging structure - what makes The Odyssey so readable and less 'old-felt' than The Iliad. Well assuming you're reading a translation in verses, o ...more

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Jul 16, 2016 Michael Finocchiaro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classics, read-in-en-and-fr, greek-classic, favorites

I first read extracts of the Odyssey in junior high and high school and some years later purchased the highly acclaimed Fitzgerald translation. It is a masterpiece that brings out the strengths of this iconic story of the voyage of Ulysses from the fall of Troy back to his native Ithaca and his beloved and besieged Penelope. The story is highly readable and full of adventure and misadventure, monsters and heroes and ultimately a triumphant voyage home. Yes, it is very masculine in perspective so ...more

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Jul 27, 2009 J.G. Keely rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: epic, reviewed, greece, sea-story

It's funny how many people feel intimidated by this book. Sure, it's thousands of years old, and certainly Greek culture has some peculiarities, but the book is remarkably, sometimes surprisingly modern, and most translations show the straightforward simplicity of the story.

Perhaps like The Seventh Seal, The Odyssey has gotten a reputation for being difficult because it has been embraced by intellectuals and worse, wanna-be intellectuals. But like Bergman's classic film, The Odyssey is focused o ...more

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Jun 29, 2015 Ken rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-in-2015, classics-newly-read, world-literature

I shelved this as "classic newly-read" only because I don't think I ever read a full version in verse. Parts in prose. And B-movies starring either Kirk Douglas or Anthony Quinn or Charlton Heston as the toga-clad avenger.

Like butter, this translation of Fagles'. Loved how smooth it read. And the repeating tropes modifying various nouns: "sparkling-eyed Athena," "bright-eyed goddess," "Dawn with her rose-red fingers," "wine-dark sea," "Odysseus, master of craft," etc.

What threw me was how fast t ...more

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Jul 26, 2018 Magrat Ajostiernos added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, club-pickwick, clásico

Podríamos darlo por leído.
Quizás.
Hay que admitir que la última parte la leí en diagonal porque estaba agotada. No era el momento para ponerme con ella, he pasado un mes difícil y lo menos que me apetecía era ponerme con una lectura de este talante.
En ningún momento me enganchó aunque tiene algo especial, las historias en sí me parecieron fascinantes pero no logré conectar en ningún momento por como estaban escritas. Se me hizo largo, monótono y repetitivo.
Eso sí, me he quedado con unas ganas e ...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Ted rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, ancient-greece-works

The salt-encrusted reader has completed his voyage.

He has met many mythical men and gods, some women also. The scheming killer Aegisthus, divine Calypso, the Sun God, the savage Cyclops who filled his belly with human meat; the enchantress Circe with her braided hair; the prophet Tiresias; Scylla, barking and howling, and Charybdis, who sucks black water down; Owl-eyed Athena; silver-bowed Apollo; Artemis, Aphrodite, the Harpies.

He has seen vernal dawn touch the sky with flowers; seen her finger ...more

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Aug 02, 2018 Elena rated it liked it · review of another edition

3-3.5*
El primer texto clásico que leo y muy a mi pesar reconozco que me ha costado un poco. Tenía dos ediciones diferentes: una en prosa y otra en verso, y por cabezonería lo leí en verso cuando yo misma veía que en prosa lo entendía y podía seguir la historia mucho mejor, además de que la traducción me gustaba más.
Por un lado muy contenta de haberlo leído y recordando momentazos épicos de la trama pero por otro un poco apenada porque no ha tenido el impacto que esperaba.
¿Recomendaciones para se ...more

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Nov 16, 2013 Foad rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: محبوب-ها, عجایب-نگاری-ها, خلاصه-ش-رو-خوندم, فیلمش-رو-دیدم, فانتزی, اسطوره-شناسی, صد-کتاب-برتر-گاردین

آخرین سفر اودیسئوس

تصور عمومی این است که پایان سفر "اودیسئوس"، جایی ست که با شادی و خوشحالی به آغوش خانواده اش بر می گردد.
اما این پایان نیست. نه برای اودیسئوس، نه. برای اودیسئوس این تازه آغاز اصلی ترین ماجراست. اودیسئوسی که "کوکلوپس" غول یک چشم را کور کرد، اودیسئوسی که از دهان هیولای دریا "خاروبدیس" بیرون جست، اودیسئوسی که با "پوزئیدون" خدای دریا پنجه در پنجه افکند، اودیسئوسی که یارانش را از هزار مهلکه گذراند، حال باید بنشیند و همسرش "پنه لوپه" را تماشا کند که چطور آرام آرام پارچه می بافد و پسر ج آخرین سفر اودیسئوس

تصور عمومی این است که پایان سفر "اودیسئوس"، جایی ست که با شادی و خوشحالی به آغوش خانواده اش بر می گردد.
اما این پایان نیست. نه برای اودیسئوس، نه. برای اودیسئوس این تازه آغاز اصلی ترین ماجراست. اودیسئوسی که "کوکلوپس" غول یک چشم را کور کرد، اودیسئوسی که از دهان هیولای دریا "خاروبدیس" بیرون جست، اودیسئوسی که با "پوزئیدون" خدای دریا پنجه در پنجه افکند، اودیسئوسی که یارانش را از هزار مهلکه گذراند، حال باید بنشیند و همسرش "پنه لوپه" را تماشا کند که چطور آرام آرام پارچه می بافد و پسر جوانش "تله ماخوس" را ببیند که چطور هر روز و هر روز گوسفندان را به چرا می برد، بنگرد که چطور همه چیز به آرامی کسالت بار و بی معنایی می گذرد و او قدم به قدم به سوى مرگ محتوم خود پیش می رود، مرگی که بارها در ماجراجویی های خود شکستش داده بود. اما اکنون، چگونه باید پیرمرْگى را شکست داد؟

"هومر"، به شیوه ی نویسندگان امروزی، تنها مقدمات داستان اودیسئوس را برای ما باز گفته و داستان را دقیقاً در نقطه ی شروع به پایان رسانده تا خودمان حدس بزنیم چه تراژدی عظیم و توصیف ناپذیری در برابر اودیسئوس، این قهرمان محبوب ما قرار گرفته است: تراژدی بی معنایی و کسالت. تراژدی زندگی آرام!

این است که شاعران بعدی، زندگی اودیسئوس را از همان جا که هومر به پایان رساند، آغاز کرده اند: همواره همین است، چه در روایت "دانته"، چه در روایت "آلفرد تنیسون"، اودیسئوس، اودیسئوسی که از مبارزه با خدایان و دیوها سربلند بیرون آمده بود، اکنون در مبارزه با زندگی آرام، کمر خم می کند. عاقبت بوی نمک دریاهای ناشناخته، بوی شن ساحل های دوردست، آرامش نمی گذارد. چه پایانی جز این می شود برای او تصور کرد؟ یک بار دیگر یارانش را جمع می کند، و فریاد می زند «زندگی آرام و بیهوده را واگذارید و بیایید بار دیگر به جستجوی چیزی که خود نمی دانیم چیست بادبان بکشیم!»

«کوشیدن، جستجو کردن،
نیافتن، و باز تسلیم نشدن.»
آلفرد تنیسون، اولیس ...more

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Jan 15, 2018 Emer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5stars, everyone-read-these, reviewed, all-the-pretty-covers, challenge-atoz2018, adult-general-fiction, read2018, hellas, classics

Last year I read Homer's The Iliad and loved the storyline but I was left with a sense that there was something missing from my reading experience. At times the Iliad bored me with its clunky writing style and, at the time, I concluded that this was down to the translation that read.

So this year I decided to read two versions of Homer's classic epic poem The Odyssey simultaneously to decide if I would have a different reaction to the different translations of the same texts.

And I 100% did!

I ch ...more

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Sep 19, 2018 Jennifer added it · review of another edition

Shelves: western-canon-starter-kit

Thrilled to have finally read this!

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SciFi and Fantasy...: Feb 12: "Odyssey" Buddy Read	13	28	18 hours, 53 min ago
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About Homer

Homer

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In the Western classical tradition, Homer (Greek: Όμηρος) is considered the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest of ancient Greek epic poets. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.

When he lived is unknown. Herodotus estimates that Homer lived 400 years before his own time, ...more