The Odyssey in Never too Late to Read Classics

Feb 14, 2020 Antonomasia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: scribd, 2019, epic-poems-and-novels-in-verse, mythology, greece, 2020, classical-antiquity, poetry, ancient-world-texts, audio

It's the Odyssey read by Ian McKellen, of course it's awesome.

Listening, I would often imagine it dramatised, the old bearded man sitting in a hall of an evening telling his story to feasters by the glow of a fire, the scene sometimes fading into others showing the action of the poem.

It felt so much more alive and enjoyable just listening to it than I found the Iliad, also in Fagles' translation, when I read it several years ago - or even compared with some of the times when I read the text of t ...more

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Jun 22, 2022 midnightfaerie rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature, poetry, classics, classic-tomes

So, the Iliad took me forever to get through and I really didn’t like it. I think it was the war and a lot of gore. That being said, I just did not want to pick up The Odyssey for the longest time. I dreaded it, really. But it was taunting me, that I had read the first half and not the second, so I finally did. And I’m so glad I did. While not one of my favorite stories ever, still, an amazing story overall. Ulysses taking years to get home after the war, he encounters many mythical monsters, hu So, the Iliad took me forever to get through and I really didn’t like it. I think it was the war and a lot of gore. That being said, I just did not want to pick up The Odyssey for the longest time. I dreaded it, really. But it was taunting me, that I had read the first half and not the second, so I finally did. And I’m so glad I did. While not one of my favorite stories ever, still, an amazing story overall. Ulysses taking years to get home after the war, he encounters many mythical monsters, human dilemmas, and some crazy problems. I mean, it takes him ten years to get home! But he handles it all with wisdom and cunning and the writing was amazing. Homer did a fantastic job of creating riveting imagery that really kept you in the story. I’m not too much into mythology, but loved the fantasy elements of this story, from the giants to the sirens, I was constantly taken in by the action and suspense. I still don’t like the gods and goddesses that much. I feel like they are powerful beings in a soap opera, playing with their human toys and using them for vengeance with their petty quarrels. I really don’t know how anyone could handle that religion. I’d be so afraid I’d do something wrong and be smite down unknowingly. They were too human for me. Other than that, the story was told beautifully.

Whether or not you enjoy this story, it’s hard to argue that it’s a classic. The themes run rampant throughout: courage, wisdom, fighting supernatural beings, humility, great deeds of strength, heroism, etc. There are so many more. It is written in dactylic hexameter, also called Homeric hexameter. Who has a style of writing named after them? It’s withstood the test of time and it’s not even a book, it’s a poem! So engrossed in the story, you don’t even realize it’s a poem. It’s so unique in so many ways, I think anyone would be hard pressed to dispute that it at least has merit as a classic.

There was only one part I hated. When Ulysses finally sees his dog after 20 years, he dies of joy. Really? We had to kill the dog? ...more

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Nov 17, 2024 Shirley (stampartiste) rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-classics, read-date-unknown, published-1899-and-earlier, classics-500-plus-pages, to-read-in-2023, to-read-in-2024, challenge-bingo-2024

I am so glad that I have finally taken the time to read Homer’s The Odyssey. I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Flagles’ English translation. He kept the same epic poem style and made it very readable. One of my favorite expressions, which Homer repeated again and again was describing sunrise as “Dawn with her rose-red fingers”. That left an indelible impression in my mind of what the sky looks like when the Sun first rises in the morning.

Having heard disjointedly all of my life about Ulysses, the Cycl ...more

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Apr 09, 2023 Delirious Disquisitions rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adult, classics, favorite-authors, literature-required-reading, fantasy

I'm insanely proud of myself for getting through the rest of this tonight. It was such an incredible experience reading it from start to finish when I only had the chance to read certain chapters before for class. I'm raring to go and read Illiad after hearing so much about it in here. I've a sneeking suspicion I might like it even more than this. 4.75 stars (just short of perfection for that awkward bit that was Book XXIV). ...more

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Nov 14, 2014 Nancy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I had vague memories of reading The Odyssey for an English class. The various adventures came back to me as I read. I must not have read this very closely the first time around. I probably shimmed a lot of it way back when. I listened to the book this time, and I got into the story more. I especially enjoyed the last chapters of the book. There are so many different Gods mentioned in The Odyssey. It's hard to keep track of all of them. I kept wondering how all the suitors would be defeated, whic ...more

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