The Odyssey
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The Odyssey
(Penguin books)(Penguin classics)
Penguin Books, 2006, c1996
- : pbk
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
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  Yamagata
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  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
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  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
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  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
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  Okinawa
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  United Kingdom
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Note
Translated from the Ancient Greek
"Suggestions for further reading": p. 517-520
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Literature's grandest evocation of life's journey, at once an ageless human story and an individual test of moral endurance, Homer's ancient Greek epic The Odyssey is translated by Robert Fagles with an introduction and notes by Bernard Knox in Penguin Classics.
When Robert Fagles' translation of The Iliad was published in 1990, critics and scholars alike hailed it as a masterpiece. Here, one of the great modern translators presents us with The Odyssey, Homer's best-loved poem, recounting Odysseus' wanderings after the Trojan War. With wit and wile, the 'man of twists and turns' meets the challenges of the sea-god Poseidon, and monsters ranging from the many-headed Scylla to the cannibalistic Cyclops Polyphemus - only to return after twenty years to a home besieged by his wife Penelope's suitors. In the myths and legends retold in this immortal poem, Fagles has captured the energy of Homer's original in a bold, contemporary idiom.
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 Robert Fagles' translation of The Iliad, also available in Penguin Classics.
'Wonderfully readable ... Just the right blend of roughness and sophistication'
Ted Hughes
'A memorable achievement ... Mr Fagles has been remarkably successful in finding a style that is of our time and yet timeless'
Richard Jenkyns, The New York Times Book Review
'His translation of The Odyssey is his best work yet'
Garry Wills, New Yorker
by "Nielsen BookData"