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Product Description
Product Description
The epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature. Confronted by natural and supernatural threats - shipwrecks, battles, monsters and the implacable enmityof the sea-god Poseidon - Odysseus must test his bravery and native cunning to the full if he is to reach his homeland safely and overcome the obstacles that, even there, await him.
About the Author
Homer is thought to have lived c.750-700 BC in Ionia and is believed to be the author of the earliest works of Western Literature: The Odyssey and The Iliad.
E V Rieu was a celebrated translator from Latin and Greek, and editor of Penguin Classics from 1944-64. His son, D C H Rieu, has revised his work.
Peter Jones is former lecturer in Classics at Newcastle. He co-founded the 'Friends of Classics' society and is the editor of their journal and a columnist for The Spectator.
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First Sentence
Tell me, Muse, the story of that resourceful man who was driven to wander far and wide after he had sacked the holy citadel of Troy. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tell me, Muse, the story of that resourceful man who was driven to wander far and wide after he had sacked the holy citadel of Troy. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This book is a joy to encounter. It is an English translation of Homer's (c.750BCE) ancient Greek Classic, often referred to as the second book in Western literature - the first being Homer's Illiad. It is the story of Odysseus' 20 year return journey back to the Greek island of Ithaca, from the Trojan War - the Trojan War campaign being the subject of the Illiad. It is believed to have originally been a poem describing events dating to around 1,200BCE. Homer appears to have written this story of oral tradition onto paper for the first time. Although Homer lived in the 8th century (BCE), which was the Iron Age in Greece, the Odyssesy continuously refers to weapons and armour being made of bronze, which again suggest an earlier time. However, although the core of the story may well be hundreds of years older thanHomer's time, nevertheless, certain curious contemporary practices appear to be recorded. In around 1,200 BCE, the habit for dealing with the dead was burial, in Homer's time it was cremation. Homer cites in the Odyssesy that dead people were 'cremated'. This means that oral traditions are not static but continue to develop all the time, around a much older core story.
The paperback (1991) edition contains 394 numbered pages and contains the following sections:
1) Preface.
2) Introduction - Peter V Jones.
3) Brief Reading List - Peter V Jones.
4) The Odyssesy - Pages 1-394.
The original text of this translation was published in 1946, by EV Rieu, the co-founder of the Penguin Classics series (with Sir Allen Lane). The purpose of this series was to produce modern English version of literary classics that everyone could easily access. The Oydssey was the first published Penguin Classic, whilst the Illiad was the second. EV Rieu was an Oxford scholar. His son, DCH Rieu, also an Oxford scholar, has revised his father's text because he feels certain aspects could be improved. For instance, DCH Riev believes his father's rendition over elaborated in parts, added politenesses not present in the Greek original, and omitted the mention of the influence of Greek gods in the text - instead of 'a god put this idea in my mind,' EV Reiu says 'it occured to me'. DCH Rieu's revised text has a greater succintness, without losing the over-all appeal of his father's original. Following in his father's footsteps, DCH Rieu has assisted his father in the translation, although, of course, many decades later (the early 1990's).
Peter Jones, a Cambridge scholar, has produced what can only be described as the most 'blissful' of introductions! His understanding and knowledge of Homer's Odyssesy is a sheer joy to encounter. He expertly places Homer within a clear historical context, and then places his writing into a correct perspective. Jones interprets facts and offers guidance with a natural ease. He presents a very interesting over-view of the chronological order of events in the book, and explains key issues and makes very profound and insightful comments. It is one of those pieces of literature that the reader wishes would never end. This translation of a Greek Classic has the feel of a 'Classic' about it. A rendition that presents the beauty of Homer's Greek original, in contemporary English. A perfect book.
The paperback (1991) edition contains 394 numbered pages and contains the following sections:
1) Preface.
2) Introduction - Peter V Jones.
3) Brief Reading List - Peter V Jones.
4) The Odyssesy - Pages 1-394.
The original text of this translation was published in 1946, by EV Rieu, the co-founder of the Penguin Classics series (with Sir Allen Lane). The purpose of this series was to produce modern English version of literary classics that everyone could easily access. The Oydssey was the first published Penguin Classic, whilst the Illiad was the second. EV Rieu was an Oxford scholar. His son, DCH Rieu, also an Oxford scholar, has revised his father's text because he feels certain aspects could be improved. For instance, DCH Riev believes his father's rendition over elaborated in parts, added politenesses not present in the Greek original, and omitted the mention of the influence of Greek gods in the text - instead of 'a god put this idea in my mind,' EV Reiu says 'it occured to me'. DCH Rieu's revised text has a greater succintness, without losing the over-all appeal of his father's original. Following in his father's footsteps, DCH Rieu has assisted his father in the translation, although, of course, many decades later (the early 1990's).
Peter Jones, a Cambridge scholar, has produced what can only be described as the most 'blissful' of introductions! His understanding and knowledge of Homer's Odyssesy is a sheer joy to encounter. He expertly places Homer within a clear historical context, and then places his writing into a correct perspective. Jones interprets facts and offers guidance with a natural ease. He presents a very interesting over-view of the chronological order of events in the book, and explains key issues and makes very profound and insightful comments. It is one of those pieces of literature that the reader wishes would never end. This translation of a Greek Classic has the feel of a 'Classic' about it. A rendition that presents the beauty of Homer's Greek original, in contemporary English. A perfect book.
63 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first time, read it for the tale.
The tale of the wandering of Odysseus and the trials, tribulations and adventures that befall him as he attempts to return to his rocky Ithaca and Penelope of the shapely ankles. It's a rollicking read. You'll be reminded of snippets of Sindbad, Aladdin, Watership Down, Captain Corelli's bloody Mandolin and so many other later works that involve a "homecoming". But this was the first.
The first time these stories about men, gods and monsters were all pulled together into a pretty coherent narrative. Most of the sub-tales such as Odysseus' trip into Hell, his encounter with monsters such as Polyphemus the Cyclops and the Harpies; with Proteus, the Sirens and the witch Circe were all probably part of a repetoire of tales delivered by the local poet/entertainer long before someone called Homer grabbed the posthumous glory by having them ascribed to him.
Homecomings are still a pretty popular genre in film, television and print. There must be something in the plot device which touches an unconscious part of us. It's a bit feelgood; it's a bit dreadful. It engages us all. Is Odyseus going to get home? What will happen to his wife and son? What would I do?
So, read it first for the story. And surprise yourself at how well you recognise the motivations and actions of characters placed in these situations over 2700 years ago. We haven't changed much, have we?
Then read it again.
This time, read it for the world of Odysseus. For what it tells you about the way we lived in a pre-literate, feudal society where any kind of progress was hard-won and very easily lost. Read it for the similes and metaphors Homer uses to describe things and events to an audience to make them come alive and be real to them. What do they tell you about the world back then? What do they tell you about the experiences of the audience and how would they feel, contrasting their life with that of this epic tale?
Read it for the insight into man's relationship with the gods. How did the ancient audience perceive them? Were they beings to be feared and propitiated? Wasn't that what kings were, too? Was there something more in the relationship between Odysseus and Athene? Something a little more human? Hmmmm.
Every page has something new to tell us about this now lost world. Look carefully and you can see stuff about the role of women in Homeric society; there's stuff about the etiquette and meaning of gift-giving in there. There's even stuff about how economics worked all those years ago. In fact, if you look closely enough (and stare at a few vase paintings as well) you can make an entire academic career out of this book.
But that would be missing the point.
Read it (at least) twice. It's got to be the best fiver you'll ever spend.
The tale of the wandering of Odysseus and the trials, tribulations and adventures that befall him as he attempts to return to his rocky Ithaca and Penelope of the shapely ankles. It's a rollicking read. You'll be reminded of snippets of Sindbad, Aladdin, Watership Down, Captain Corelli's bloody Mandolin and so many other later works that involve a "homecoming". But this was the first.
The first time these stories about men, gods and monsters were all pulled together into a pretty coherent narrative. Most of the sub-tales such as Odysseus' trip into Hell, his encounter with monsters such as Polyphemus the Cyclops and the Harpies; with Proteus, the Sirens and the witch Circe were all probably part of a repetoire of tales delivered by the local poet/entertainer long before someone called Homer grabbed the posthumous glory by having them ascribed to him.
Homecomings are still a pretty popular genre in film, television and print. There must be something in the plot device which touches an unconscious part of us. It's a bit feelgood; it's a bit dreadful. It engages us all. Is Odyseus going to get home? What will happen to his wife and son? What would I do?
So, read it first for the story. And surprise yourself at how well you recognise the motivations and actions of characters placed in these situations over 2700 years ago. We haven't changed much, have we?
Then read it again.
This time, read it for the world of Odysseus. For what it tells you about the way we lived in a pre-literate, feudal society where any kind of progress was hard-won and very easily lost. Read it for the similes and metaphors Homer uses to describe things and events to an audience to make them come alive and be real to them. What do they tell you about the world back then? What do they tell you about the experiences of the audience and how would they feel, contrasting their life with that of this epic tale?
Read it for the insight into man's relationship with the gods. How did the ancient audience perceive them? Were they beings to be feared and propitiated? Wasn't that what kings were, too? Was there something more in the relationship between Odysseus and Athene? Something a little more human? Hmmmm.
Every page has something new to tell us about this now lost world. Look carefully and you can see stuff about the role of women in Homeric society; there's stuff about the etiquette and meaning of gift-giving in there. There's even stuff about how economics worked all those years ago. In fact, if you look closely enough (and stare at a few vase paintings as well) you can make an entire academic career out of this book.
But that would be missing the point.
Read it (at least) twice. It's got to be the best fiver you'll ever spend.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I will avoid hubris by not attempting to rate "the Odyssey" per se! My five stars are for the translation by E.V. Rieu in the Penguin Classics edition, updated by his son and Peter Jones to make it even more readable for the current generation. The transparent, joyful prose makes this a superb experience for child or adult. It doesn't read like a translation. There is no tortured struggle with the Greek. There are no King James' bible archaisms. I can't see how it could be made more accessible or joyful for modern readers. If a teenager watches a film of this epic and asks for the "book version", give them this this! They will instantly get the message that the film version is never better than the original book.
One reviewer had trouble digesting some paragraphs. Were they reading a different translation? I had little trouble digesting this; the only (slight) difficulty was with the large cast of characters. Greek Gods are dropped in without much explanation, and as I'm not an expert on Ancient Greek Myth I needed some help with placing these endlessly interesting characters. Fortunately the editors provide a superb glossary! This gives you a short sentence about every place and person involved -- no more or less than you need to get on with the story.
Rieu's translation was the first of the Penguin Classics,the series which he and Sir Andrew Lane founded. His aim was to translate classics into good modern English. So I guess he thought he had to to a really good job on this first book. And he did! The vision of founding the Penguin Classics came to him while translating the Odyssey aloud to his wife and daughters while bombs dropped on London during the blitz. You might call him "the ace who launched a thousand books".
One reviewer had trouble digesting some paragraphs. Were they reading a different translation? I had little trouble digesting this; the only (slight) difficulty was with the large cast of characters. Greek Gods are dropped in without much explanation, and as I'm not an expert on Ancient Greek Myth I needed some help with placing these endlessly interesting characters. Fortunately the editors provide a superb glossary! This gives you a short sentence about every place and person involved -- no more or less than you need to get on with the story.
Rieu's translation was the first of the Penguin Classics,the series which he and Sir Andrew Lane founded. His aim was to translate classics into good modern English. So I guess he thought he had to to a really good job on this first book. And he did! The vision of founding the Penguin Classics came to him while translating the Odyssey aloud to his wife and daughters while bombs dropped on London during the blitz. You might call him "the ace who launched a thousand books".
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Odyssey
I had never read this book, and find that afterall it is the story of a journey. For modern taste I found the hero a bit of a wet weekend, but I am glad to have read it and it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lou
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Published 9 months ago by Taki
Nice and old book, but it's not as wine, it doesn't gets better as it...
"Odyssey" is probably one of most striking examples of remains of the early european region literature, and more concretely, of the ancient Greek civilization. Read more
Published 11 months ago by ManInsideTheHelm
Not for light-weight readers (nearly 3000 year old book)
I find that the negative reviews of this book are quit pathetic and not really fare towards readers with a refined literary palette. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Castalia Press
Visiting The Odyssey again
I first read The Odyssey about 60 years ago when a new translation by E. V. Rieu was much publicised and available from Penguin. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Alan Gray
A classic classic
This beats Illiad by miles. Its so well written and translated just reads like a marvellous adventure novel. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Sontee
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