The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)

The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)

by Homer (Author), Homer (Author), Peter Jones (Introduction), E. V. Rieu (Translator), D. C. H. Rieu (Translator)

Synopsis

Homer's "The Odyssey" is an epic that has endured for thousands of years, and this "Penguin Classics" edition is translated by E.V. Rieu, revised by D.C.H. Rieu, and contains an introduction by Peter Jones. 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 - from the witch Circe who turns his men into pigs, to the twin terrors of Scylla and Charybdis; from the stupefied Lotus-Eaters to the implacable enmity of the sea-god Poseidon himself - Odysseus must test his bravery and native cunning to the full if he is to reach his homeland safely. But the danger is no less severe in his native Ithaca, as Odysseus finds himself contending with the suitors who, in his absence, have begun to surround his wife Penelope...E.V. Rieu's translation of "The Odyssey" was the first "Penguin Classic" to be published, and has itself achieved classic status. For this edition, Rieu's text has been sensitively revised and a new introduction added to complement his original introduction. Seven greek cities claim the honour of being the birthplace of Homer (c. 8th-7th century BC), the poet to whom the composition of the Iliad and Odyssey are attributed. The "Iliad" is the oldest surviving work of Western literature, but the identity - or even the existence - of Homer himself is a complete mystery, with no reliable biographical information having survived. If you enjoyed "The Odyssey", you might like Homer's "The Iliad", also available in "Penguin Classics". "One of the world's most vital tales..."The Odyssey" remains central to literature". (Malcolm Bradbury).

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 416
Edition: Rev Ed
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Published: 30 Jan 2003

ISBN 10: 0140449116
ISBN 13: 9780140449112

Media Reviews
[Robert Fitzgerald's translation is] a masterpiece . . . An Odyssey worthy of the original. -The Nation

[Fitzgerald's Odyssey and Iliad] open up once more the unique greatness of Homer's art at the level above the formula; yet at the same time they do not neglect the brilliant texture of Homeric verse at the level of the line and the phrase. -The Yale Review

[In] Robert Fitzgerald's translation . . . there is no anxious straining after mighty effects, but rather a constant readiness for what the occasion demands, a kind of Odyssean adequacy to the task in hand, and this line-by-line vigilance builds up into a completely credible imagined world.
-from the Introduction by Seamus Heaney

Author Bio
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.