Which Translation of Homer's Odyssey Should You Read?

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Hardcore Literature Lecture Series
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0:00 how to find your favourite translation
0:45 what makes a good translation?
6:00 how to read Homer
8:28 your lifelong reading assignment
11:00 preparing for the Homer “taste test”
12:50 translation one
15:55 translation two
19:15 translation three
22:00 translation four
25:41 translation five
27:49 translation six
30:13 translation seven
32:40 translation eight
34:45 translation nine
37:00 creating your own translation
38:30 which translation is your favourite?
39:40 my personal favourites

[zat]

Wilson's is such a triumph. It's absolutely beautiful, understandable, cheeky, and —most important— the translation is a poem, an iambic pentameter poem. Outstanding work.

[daddybateman]

As a 17 years old kid from Burma, I can't thank you enough for these literature videos. I'm a STEM student but reading has always been my leisure. Thank you for introducing more books to me and all these analysis are top tier. I wish you good luck, man.

[_ongrod_]

Emily Wilson's for me, no doubt. As a native spanish speaker, with no knowledge of greek and very intimidated of reading The Classics™, her work was a great introduction. It made it approachable, understandable and engaging. I'm hoping I can get a copy of her translation of The Iliad soon in the future.

[proudfoot]

Robert Fitzgerald provides a good balance of accuracy and poetry. It’s also very good to listen to on Audible.

[ibnrushd]

1. Wilson is a gifted versifier, perhaps the best of the modern Homer translators. Her iambics are a marvel--fitting the meter line after line while remaining clear and natural. 2. That said, I would only recommend he Odyssey to a pre-teen, or an adult beginner looking for a modern "take" rater than fidelity. I have read all of Homer in Greek, so I frequently compare translations to the original. Wilson deliberately a) mis-translates, b) omits or invents words, and c) translates the same word in different ways, all in the service of biasing the reader for or against a character. Some have said that this is always the case in translation. But of the 7 Odyssey translations I have read, hers is by far the most egregious in this regard. 4. I have not yet read her Iliad, but a first glance suggests that she has taken a much more honest approach to its translation. 5. For a good analysis of her Odyssey, find Whitaker's (or Whittaker?) review online.

[YourFavouriteNightmareX]

I feel as though Alexander popes translation could be very hard to read at times and it felt drawn out at times, that being said he did create rich imagery for the battle in the Iliad.

[edwardpowers]

While in graduate school I was doing a dissertation on Thucydides' History of the Pelopnessian War, and Thucydides himself contrasted his effort with Homer's epic narrative of the Trojan war in his Iliad, so as part of my research I was instructed by my advisor to read George Chapman's Elizabethan translation. Chapman was recommended because of the poetic vigor and magnificence of his poetic rendition and Chapman's absolute love of Homer. At first I struggled with the Elizabethan English, but eventually fell in love with it and, I. The process, understood why the Greeks loved Homer and his Iliad. Later a professor of ancient Greek opined that Chapman's effort comes the closest to the muscular poesy of Homer's epic, and I have always appreciated the guidance of my professors for introducing me to the wonders of Chapman's Iliad and it absolutley enriched my understanding and appreciation of Thucydides.

[garbonomics]

I find Richmond Lattimore's translation to be my absolute favorite. Every other version is either too simplified to aid the modern reader or too different from the original Greek.

[DATo_DATonian]

You never cease to amaze me with the breadth and scope of the literary topics you choose for your videos. Imagine! an extensive examination of the best known translators of Homer and samples of their translations! I found these comparisons to be both illuminating and extraordinarily interesting. My choice would be the Butler translation for an initial exposure and then perhaps a comparative read with one of the more formal translators such as Chapman.

[elizabethd]

Fagle is my favorite. The readability really helps the story move. It has a very good flow and it reads like an action adventure. Admittedly, there feels like less poetry but I think it’s one of the best translations particularly if you’re trying to get a young person interested. My second favorite is Chapman. I really enjoyed the old-fashioned feel of it. Also it makes me feel smart. Which is a ridiculous reason to like it. But oh well. 😊

[lenochka]

Thank you for an excellent lecture on Odyssey's English translations. I was happy to learn that my favorites are exactly like yours - Samuel Butler, Emily Wilson and Robert Fagles. Stanley Lombardo and Christopher Logue interested me as well. I shall read both. It was a truly revelatory journey!

[Upgradeyourbooks]

Thank you for this. Your Anna Karenina blind taste test set me on the path of success with that amazing novel. My twelve year-old and I just did this Homer blind taste test with you during our breakfast. We liked Fagles, Butler, and Wilson, though I was personally most excited by the Lambardo. Ultimately, we have the Fagles in our home and will be going forward with it, but now with more confidence as it ranked well for both of us!

[SusanGraham_colorado]

So I just found your channel and love your content. I have always loved EV Rieu’s prose translation. I still have my copy from 8th grade, which is when I was first introduced to and fell in love with Homer. The story is that he translated it out loud for his wife and daughters while bombs were falling during WW2. I love that image…

[m.siriani]

Your channel is fantastic! I'm so glad I stumbled across it. You're an excellent teacher. Your videos are helping me get more out of reading literature than I every anticipated. Thank you!

[jukerdanz]

The Odyssey is one of my absolute favourite books and I have several translations. I must admit that I enjoy parts of A T Murray’s very much, ‘So saying he plunged beneath the surging sea but I went to my ships with my godlike comrades, and many things did my heart darkly ponder as I went’. My heart ached for Menelaus when I read this passage, it is so relatable. Thanks for this wonderful analysis.

[hannahpilling]

Getting back into the classics after a couple of years studying for an engineering degree but I had the pleasure of experiencing Emily Wilson read sections of her Iliad last week!

[jonathancrites]

I just found your channel yesterday, and I am loving what you’re doing. I’ve been trying to read more classics, and just finished this spring reading through Fagle’s Iliad. I loved it so much, and I find your comment near the end of the video to be true. That translation of the Iliad made me want to read more Homer via Fagles. So I picked up his translations of the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and the three Theban plays. Keep up the great work.

[Anna-whzn]

My favourite of the bunch you presented was the Fagle but I also liked the Lombardo and the Butler. I have read the E.V. Rieu translation and listened to W. H. D. Rouse, both of which I enjoyed immensely. I had no idea there were so many translations available. I would love more videos like this. It was interesting and very helpful.

[patriciam]

I just received my Great Books of the Western World this week. Hail, Adler! I listened to your translations and I rated Samuel Butler a 5 out of 5. I’m thrilled to find out this is the translation I have. I’m very curious about Emily Wilson’s translation and will get that too for a side by side read. Thank you so much for this exercise.

[charbird]

Here is the ranking I ended with:

1) Lombardo (1997)
2) Fagles (1990)
3) Murray (1919)
4) Lattimore (1951)
5) Wilson (2018)
6) Chapman (1598-1616)
7) Pope (1713-20)
8) Buttler (1898)

I personally own and have read Wilson's and Fagles' translations many times and highly recommend both, but I'm more than willing to give Lombardo a try! It got me hooked from the first line in the excerpt! I'd also like to pick up Murray's to start learning Ancient Greek. I suspect it will be invaluable in that endeavor.