I want to start with that because this is not one of those classics that I think is worth while only to get it under your belt or checked off a list.
Odysseus proceeds to work a web of deceit and revenge against the suitors that is a wonder to behold. Not an easy place to live is ancient Greece. Well Odysseus eventually makes it back to Ithaca, alone and in disguise, after all of this crew have been eaten, squashed, drowned or otherwise rendered life-impaired. Homer does a superb job of keeping the story epic while providing the reader with wonderful details about the life of the greek people during this period. Odysseus even takes a jaunt to the underworld where he speaks to Achilles and gets to listen to dead king Agamemnon go on an anti-marriage rant because his conniving wife poisoned him to death. It really is a perfect blend of fun and brain food. Not to fear, Athena goddess of guile and craftiness is a proud sponsor of Odysseus and, along with some help for big daddy god Zeus, throws Odysseus some Olympian help. Now that I have a firm grounding in the story, I plan to go back at some point and read the Pope version so that I can absorb the greater beauty of that translation.ĭelays and detours ensue which take up the first half of the story. However, I am glad I started with the Fagles version because it provided me with a much better comprehension of the story itself. In my opinion, the Pope language is more beautiful and far more poetic and lyrical than the Fagles translation. Very different treatments of the same scene. They wash, and to Ulysses take their way: So ends the bloody business of the day. While listening to the Fagles version, I would often follow along with the Pope translation and let me tell you While the overall story is the same, the presentation, prose and the structure are nothing alike.Īs an example, here is the same passage I quoted earlier from the Pope translation. The version I am reviewing and from which the above quote is derived is the Robert Fagles translation which uses contemporary prose and structure while remaining faithful to the content of the original. These versions can differ so much that I believe two people with identical reading tastes could each read a different translation and walk away with vastly different opinions on the work. Beautifully written, and encompassing themes of love, loyalty and heroism while commenting on many facets of the human condition.Īs important as this story is to literature, it is above all else Thankfully, there is no risk of that. There is nothing dry or plodding about the story. That should make even the most discriminating gore hound leg-humping happy. So my first non-school related" experience with Homers classic tale, and my most powerful impression, beyond the overall splendor of the story, was Case in point Want more violence you say? How about slaughtering over house guests for over-indulging in your hospitality? Can you say overkill!! And for the true splatter junkies out there, you can add in some casual rapes, widespread maiming, a score of people-squishing, crew members being chewed and swallowed, healthy doses of mutilation and torture, and one cyclops blinding.
The contents can be, very broadly, divided as follows: The Telemachy or Adventures of Telemachos, i-iv The Homecoming of Odysseus, v-viii and xiii. Book number and line number are the standard terms of reference. It has been divided, like the Iliad and probably at the same time, into twenty-four books.