The OdysseySing to me of the resourceful man, O Muse, who wandered Odysseus--soldier, sailor, trickster, and everyman--is one of the most recognizable characters in world literature. His arduous, ten-year journey home after the Trojan War, the subject of Homer's Odyssey, is the most accessible tale to survive from ancient Greece, and its impact is still felt today across many different cultures. This lively free verse translation, from one of today's leading Homeric scholars, preserves the clarity and simplicity of the original while conveying Odysseus' adventures in a modern style. By avoiding the technical formality of earlier translations, and the colloquial and sometimes exaggerated effects of recent attempts, Barry B. Powell's translation deftly captures the most essential truths of this vital text. Due to his thorough familiarity with the world of Homer and Homeric language, Powell's introduction provides rich historical and literary perspectives on the poem. This volume also includes illustrations from classical artwork, detailed maps, explanatory notes, a timeline, and a glossary. Modern and pleasing to the ear while accurately reflecting the meaning of the original, this Odyssey is a superlative translation for twenty-first-century readers. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Book 1 Telemachos in Ithaca | 37 |
Book 2 Telemachos Calls an Assembly | 52 |
Book 3 Telemachos in Pylos | 66 |
Book 4 Telemachos in Sparta | 82 |
Book 5 Odysseus and Kalypso | 109 |
Book 6 Odysseus and Nausicaä | 126 |
Book 7 Odysseus in the Phaeacian Court | 139 |
Book 15 The Pig Herders Tale | 281 |
Book 16 Father and Son | 299 |
Book 17 The Faithful Dog Argos | 314 |
Book 18 Presents from the Suitors | 332 |
Book 19 Odysseus Scar | 346 |
Book 20 A Vision of Doom | 365 |
Book 21 The Contest of the Bow | 377 |
Book 22 The Slaughter of the Suitors | 392 |
Book 8 The Stranger in Town | 151 |
Book 9 Odysseus in the Cave of Cyclops | 169 |
Book 10 Odysseus and Kirkê | 190 |
Book 11 Odysseus in the Underworld | 210 |
Book 12 Odysseus on the Island of the Sun | 233 |
Book 13 Home at Last | 249 |
Book 14 Odysseus in the Pig Herders Hut | 265 |
Book 23 Husband and Wife | 409 |
Book 24 Father and Son | 420 |
439 | |
Credits | 441 |
Pronouncing GlossaryIndex | 443 |