The Odyssey in Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)

May 01, 2016 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, drama, audio-books, adventure, poetry, read-2016, mythology, greek-literature

From BBC Radio 4 - Drama:
In Simon Armitage's new version of Homer's Odyssey, a high ranking government minister with a colourful past is sent on a delicate diplomatic mission to Istanbul. When his trip ends up in a horrific bar room brawl, social media explodes and the enigmatic darling of a political party becomes Europe's most wanted man overnight. Chased by the authorities, damned by religious leaders, pursued by those looking for vengeance and head-hunted by fanatics, his Odyssey begins.

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Mar 25, 2017 Maggie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, folklore-mythology, fiction, poetry, greco-roman-classics

After 10 years of fighting in the Trojan War, Odysseus has spent the 10 following years on the seas, punished by Poseidon for killing his cyclops son Polyphemus. He encounters gods and cannibals, gets into several shipwrecks, and spends the final seven years trapped on an island by the goddess-nymph Calypso whom he sleeps with, all the while pining for home and his wife Penelope. 10 years later, and there are suitors vying for Penelope, consuming Odysseus’ food and wine and lazing around in his After 10 years of fighting in the Trojan War, Odysseus has spent the 10 following years on the seas, punished by Poseidon for killing his cyclops son Polyphemus. He encounters gods and cannibals, gets into several shipwrecks, and spends the final seven years trapped on an island by the goddess-nymph Calypso whom he sleeps with, all the while pining for home and his wife Penelope. 10 years later, and there are suitors vying for Penelope, consuming Odysseus’ food and wine and lazing around in his palace. His son Telemachus, angry at the suitors and missing his father, goes, with Athena’s help, in search of news of his father, then returns to find his father disguised by Athena as an old beggar. They return to the palace, and the pair scheme a plot that leads to them killing the suitors, and Odysseus is reinstated to his throne and reunited with his family and household. And everything takes place with Athena’s help and blessings.

Given that this was written in 800 B.C. (plus-minus a few hundred years), it’s really quite amazing how advanced writing was at that time. (Of course, by writing, I also mean speaking, depending on whether you believe that Homer wrote his verses or that these are poems passed down via an oral tradition and compiled by later writers.) I mean, the whole thing is written in dactylic hexameter. Fagles, who wrote the particular English translation that I read, couldn’t even translate it into iambic pentameter, or any other sort of rhythm. Not that I’m knocking Fagles’ translation – it reads as smoothly as prose, and the language is modern without losing any of the ancient Greek formality, nobility or majesty.

I was surprised at how human the characters were. I thought this would be a traditional epic poem, with heroism and fighting and battles, where the men are valiant and the women are captivating. And yes, there was plenty of that, but there were also real human emotions. Odysseus is not just a great warrior, he’s also sentimental and loving. He cries. He isn’t portrayed as being perfect either. His arrogance and impetuosity leads him into trouble several times, especially with Polyphemus. But there is also character development. Odysseus, at the end, shows self-control in keeping his calm when the suitors abuse him, thinking he is a beggar. Telemachus, his son, also has a coming-of-age experience, growing from a whiny prince to a man fighting alongside his father, even if he isn’t quite strong enough to string his father’s bow yet. There is something for everyone here: battle, love (between lovers, between parent and child, and between friends), nostalgia, homesickness, and wily schemes and tricks.

Homer’s poetry give modern readers much of our knowledge of Greek mythology, but surprisingly, much of The Odyssey was unfamiliar to me. Off the top of my head, the only two parts that I’d read before were the one where the sailors stuff their ears with beeswax while passing by the sirens’ land, and the one where Odysseus and his men escape from the cyclops’ cave by blinding him and then tying themselves to his sheep while the sheep leave the cave. Reading this with fresh eyes gave me unexpected insights into ancient Greek culture. I knew that they honoured their heroes and heroines, but I was surprised at how much they worshipped their gods as well. Everything good that happens is credited to the gods, and everything bad is seen as punishment from the gods. A man’s character is determined in large part by the number and quality of his sacrifices to the gods. This dependence on gods is something that modern-day Christians can learn from. If the Greeks depended so wholly, in everything, on pagan gods, how much more must we depend on the true God? ...more

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