Product Description

A story encompassing the entirety of human emotion, The Odyssey remains one of the greatest literary works in the history of the world. It is the story of the Trojan war hero Odysseus and his ten-year journey to return home to his family and kingdom. Having angered the gods with his pride after the Greek victory, he finds himself cast adrift at sea, facing dangers beyond measure and trials beyond understanding. Truly a staple of literature and an epic adventure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #274817 in Books
• Published on: 1999-08-01
• Original language: Greek
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

Customer Reviews

Excellent plain language translation
W.H.D. Rouse provides an excellent plain language translation of Homer's classic "The Odyssey". Other translations can make reading this classic a real chore, but Rouse's version was an easy read.

An epic odyssey
After so many people have said so much over countless centuries about Homer's "Odyssey," what is left for me to say? In this review I will not so much attempt to review the work itself as the translation. Suffice to say that it is a grand adventure that should not be missed. but average modern readers may miss it, being weary of reading it as poetry or are simply intimidated by its age.

If you are one of those people, fear not! W.H.D. Rouse's prose translation brings The Odyssey to the masses with flair. Reading it for school this year, I was a bit apprehensive of it at first, but eager to see what was so great about it. I needn't have been apprehensive at all. The prose reads just as well as modern novels, and the feeling and adventure of the book is well captured.

For those who don't know, this is the story of what became of Odysseus after he fought in the Trojan War (which is chronicled in The Iliad.) Several obstacles, including the wrath of Posiden, Greek god of the sea, bar him from returning home, where savage men, under the impression that he has died at war, consume his posessions and woo his wife. Watch as he braves these obstacles with the help of the goddess Athena so that he may return home and punish the insolent wooers.

While it's slow to start off, give it time -- at its best, The Odyssey is riviting, and it's obvious why it has been able to stand the test of time and is regarded as a classic. The action is exciting and will leave you breathless, but also there is humanity and real emotion here. All of that is perfectly captured in Rouse's translation, and he brings it accross to the reader with a remarkable strength and deftness. Reading it, it's as if you re being told the story orally (which, as Rouse notes in his preface, is how it was originally intended by Homer), and all of the energy of a live storytelling is present. I commend Rouse for his work, and thank him for bringing me The Odyssey. When you read it, you will, too!

Homer's World
This book is written as a novel in easy lucid style that reads as a story and a good read. However, much of the writings themselves are poetry, where various ancient Greek reciters read such passages with in depth acting and poetic style, which is a separate study in itself, one I have not read nor am reviewing here.

A great novel and read after first reading the Iliad, a different story, and the continuing saga of Odysseus' journey. The theme of the Odyssey is that of Odysseus' household dilemma with the wooing of his wife, Penelopia, by would-be marriage mates and his son Telemachos' problem of holding the household together from these men in devouring all the goods. In the end, order, revenge and justice is restored. Both of Homer's novels are beneficial in learning about Greek mythology and I recommend reading Edith Hamilton's book on the history of mythology.

Like its predecessor, the Iliad, this story is two stories, the comic background to the tragedy below, yet in this novel the gods are that much more active in human affairs, half mortals, mortal descendants of and involvement. However, there are relatively few gods that are actively involved in the Odyssey compared to their totality in number.

What really makes this book so inspiring is the gods themselves. The Greeks transformed a world full of fear into a world full of beauty. The gods become human, lovelier and more powerful, immortal, but often acted in a way no decent man or woman would.

Greek mythology is not so much a religion as it is a way of actively dealing in the deeper meanings of life. Nor is the Odyssey a Greek kind of bible. While myths may have real religious meanings, they are more explanations of the deeper answers in nature. And the Greeks transformed a world of nonhuman fearful gods into humanly divine that actively engaged in human affairs.

"Each god, like the men, shows what manner of god he is; and the scenes are full of delicate comedy, which gives the relief necessary for the grim stories. The gods are really the most human of Homer's creations, and there is plenty of variety in their setting." p. 290