The Odyssey

With the Trojan war finally over after many long years, Odysseus wants nothing more than a swift journey home where his throne and beloved wife, Penelope, await him. But Poseidon, the sea god, bears a grudge against him and plans to prevent his return across the wine-dark sea to Ithaca. Many tests of strength and character ensue as Odysseus's journey stretches out over the years, taking in a multitude of strange and wonderful places and creatures. That's the basic plot of the epic poem Homer told nearly 3,000 years ago, but, even now, a new English translation is a true literary event. The ancient story is told in easy-going, beautiful poetry, the characters speak naturally and the action moves along briskly. Even the gods come across as real people, despite the divine powers they constantly exercise. The Odyssey really is a gripping, fast-moving read.

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"I long to be homeward bound" Simon and Garfunkle - Rated
The Trojan War is over and one of our hero kings is lost. His son (Telemachus) travels to find any information about his father's fait. His wife (Penelope) must cunningly hold off suitors that are eating them out of house and home.

If he ever makes it home Odysseus will have to detect those servants loyal from those who are not. One absent king against rows of suitors; how will he give them their just deserts? We look to Bright Eyed Pallas Athena to help prophecy come true.

Interestingly all the tales of monsters and gods on the sea voyage was told by Odysseus. Notice that no on else survives to tell the tale. So we have to rely on Odysseus' word.

Many movies took sections of The Odyssey, and expanded them to make interesting stories those selves.

Not just the story but the way in which it is told will keep you up late at night reading.

Back to Homer - Rated
Fangles' version of Homer's epic marks a return to the origin of epic poetry. The Odyssey was meant to be read aloud! Fangles' verse speaks to today's reader (instead of at or down at him or her) and retains Homer's poetic grace. Amen. I loved The Odyssey when I first read it (a prose edition) in 8th grade, but this retelling of it blew me away.

¤ Paltry, Un-Homeric Sequel to the Illiad ¤ - Rated
The Illiad is a jewel, a human epic in the best possible sense of the term. The Odyssey, however, is a pathetic, lost little child of a poem, obviously written by some eager, but mediocre, student of Homer's, after the poet's death. Whereas the Illiad is tightly woven in conception and plot, the Odyssey forgets its purpose to the extent that ITS forsaken wandering overshadow Odysseus'. Whereas the Illiad delights in detail, the Odyssey will content itself with a "the garden was beautiful, and Argeiphontes delighted in it. When his eyes had finished feasting, he entered the dwelling," or will simply say a chair was "well-made" or somesuch. The one exception to this utter lack of sense and poetry is Book 20, which starts out by celebrating the simple act of unlocking a closet, describing the key and the door with love, and ends just as Odysseus will begin to take his long-awaited, sweet revenge. (Perhaps this book was the Homeric seed, which was doomed to germinate on infertile, incompetent soil?) Whereas the Illiad gave us glorious heroism, the Odyssey is a series of disconnected scenes of men crying and eating pigs. Reading it makes one sick to one's heart. Read the Illiad, my dear friends, (I recommend Lattimore), but let the poor Odyssey lie.

Homer is not for morons! - Rated
There some people who are not ready to ready and understand the greatness of his thought, richness of language, solid vision of reality, desire for the sublime things and uncomparable imagination just like there are people who avoid sunlight if they were for too long in the darkness. Iliad and Odyssey are monuments of humanities always anew, someone who deny this reality must READ THEM FOR REAL, and not to repeat contemporary prejudices, nationalisms and stupidities he or she read in a an simplory review or newspaper, because Homer is newer today than the newspaper released in the morning. May you admire this sunlight!

A decent adventure story - Rated
I enjoyed reading this story, yet I think much of its acclaim comes from its age. At times it does seem to ramble a bit. My fervent suggestion to those contemplating this is make sure you get a translation appropriate to your purpose. I was only interested in the story of it so I made sure my copy was translated in plain English. As it turns out, many are written in verse which I think would make it near impossible to read to the end.