The Odyssey

Thank you!

great

This was one of those "school assignment" books that I was glad was never assigned to me, though I was "required" to read portions of  The Iliad (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) , "way back when." Fragments of this story permeate our culture, from expressions like "rosy-fingered dawn," to metaphors like "sirens" calling us to our doom. A car company has named one of its models after this book, and one would assume hopes that the potential customer only associates it with long journeys, and forgets all the unpleasantness that the hero, Odysseus, experienced. One of the central themes is a recurrent one: soldiers coming home from wars are often not well-received by the stay-at-home folks, and, to recall another metaphor, although no hippie spat on Odysseus when he went through the San Francisco airport (for some rather obvious reasons) much other ill-fortune did befall him.When this book was offered to me by the Vine program, I decided it was decades overdue for me to place all those free-floating allusions into the proper context, by actually reading the story. Barry B. Powell, who is now retired in nearby Santa Fe, "knew his story well," having taught the Classics at the University of Wisconsin for over three decades. In his introduction he addresses the question of whether another translation of this work is really needed. And I think it answers it well and appropriately. Dactylic hexameter? Well, I hadn't heard of it either, but this is the complex meter that Homer composed in. Replicate that in English? Powell seems to have provided an English version that gives the reader a sense of rhythm, while at the same time eschewing both the archaically rigid and the cool-with-it-hip. The Golden Mean, a suitable format for reading the classics. Powell also provides a couple other essential "pluses" to his version of the Odyssey. There are some excellent maps of the region, to different scales, including one of the home of Odyssey, so the action can be more readily traced. And there are 50 or so full page black and white photos of the ancient depictions of this story, primarily on pottery and in sculpture. There is even a picture of Heinrich Schliemann's wife, wearing the "Jewels of Troy." He was the original excavator who located the site of this ancient city, thereby confirming at least part of the truth to the story.The 30-page introduction should be worth the price of the book alone. In general, I knew that the Trojan War occurred around the 12th century BC, and that Homer's composed his work four centuries later. Powell informed me that the intervening four centuries were a kind of "dark age" for the Greeks, and the 12th century BC was held by those in the 8th century BC as a type of "heroic past." The most astonishing idea that Powell posits is that the Greek alphabet was formulated especially to transcribe Homer's two classic works. Writing itself, other than that for "bookkeeping purposes" did not exist prior to Homer's works, which is why writing itself is never mention in his tales. Powell brings out the contrasting nature of archetypical wives when husbands are away at war. Penelope faithfully awaited the return of Odysseus, whereas Klytaimnestra, and her lover killed Agamemnon when he returned.The story itself commences with another archetype, the faithful and dutiful son, Telemachos. And right from the beginning there are the "suitors" of Penelope, in, Odysseus's house, eating and drinking his wealth - a classical form of war profiteers, and they are seeking her "hand", and probably a bit more. The "gods" will take human forms, and be arbitrary and capricious in playing favorites among the humans. As in most Greek dramas, prophecies play a significant role, and the character's "fate" often fulfills the "plans" of the gods. In his travels, Odysseus visits Phoenicia, Calypso, and many other locales, as well as the "underworld" and he meets some of those who died at Troy. The climatic portion of Homer's story is when Odysseus finally returns home, assesses the situation in disguise, with the suitors, and renders justice the old fashioned way, sans court proceedings.Homer is as far back as Western literature goes. It is the "fountainhead" of Western culture and civilization, involving those who lived around our "mother sea," the Mediterranean. Conforming to the dictates of "dactylic hexameter," Homer would refer to the Med as the "wine-dark seas." It would be a pleasure to go "home" and swim in them again. The Odyssey is one more inspiration, and for Powell's efforts in making it accessible to us all, 5-stars. The Iliad (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Used this for an Honors course where we discussed The Odyssey in depth and it's apparent that Barry B. Powell was incorrect in translating multiple scenes throughout the text. The general story is the same however many key details are interpreted incorrectly. If you're ripping this book apart for the sake of comparison to the original greek, this is not the text for you and if you're reading it just for fun, still get the Fagles edition.

Whether one likes a translation or not may have more to do with the temper of the times than with the quality of the translation. I had never liked the Fitzgerald translations of Homer's works, and then I tried another translator (whose name I have forgotten,) and I didn't like that fellow's translations either. Then I picked up Richard Lattimore's translation of Homer's "The Iliad" and I was blown away. I consider Lattimore's translation of "The Iliad" the best book I have ever read. ("War and Peace" comes in a close second.)So I intended to let a bit of time pass and then I'd read Lattimore's translation of "The Odyssey."Not only have I not enjoyed the translations of The Odyssey which I had previously read, I actually thought they were terrible. Not terrible translations, mind you, I just thought "The Odyssey" was a bad tale...a big come-down from "The Iliad." I doubted that "The Odyssey" could have been written by the same person who had authored "The Iliad." So I was in no rush to read Richard Lattimore's translation.Then, along came the opportunity to read a new translation of "The Odyssey" by Barry B. Powell. Powell's version has exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. I have actually enjoyed reading "The Odyssey" for the first time. I still don't think it's as good as "The Iliad" but it comes pretty close.For starters there are the footnotes...There are not too many footnotes, nor too few: the number of footnotes is just about right. And more important, the footnotes are short and informative and they enhance the reader's enjoyment of the poem.And then there's the text. Whereas it seemed to me that earlier translations had been overly concerned with matters of form, such as maintaining rhyme and meter, Powell presents us with strong characters engaging one another in dynamic situations. Take, for example, the well-known scene in which Telemachos pretty much "becomes a man."Here is this (probably teenage) young man, who suddenly (inspired by Athena) orders his mother to sort of "go to her room," and who then proceeds to lay down the law to his mother's suitors, who have been eating him and his mother out of house and home, telling them they may stay the night and feast and party, but then they have to leave. They can go to someone else's house and eat the other person out of house and home, but they can't stay in His house.Nor are his mother's suitors a collection of whining wimps (which was the impression I has previously been left with by other translators,) these fellows know their rights. And apparently, according to Greek tradition, Telemachos and his mom were obligated to show these guys everlasting hospitality. Well, Telemachos was having none of it. And most impressive, Telemachos doesn't show anger at these men. In fact it seems that it is the calm manner in which Telemachos takes command of the scene that convinces these guys that they should maybe rethink what they're doing. Not that a kid is going to scare them off though.I am much more impressed by this kind of translation than by translations that rhyme.This is an excellent translation. I could go on and on but I don't want to ruin the ending for any of you young kids out there. Will I eventually read the Richard Lattimore translation? Possibly. But now Lattimore can wait a little while longer. And maybe even longer than that. This was quite a bit of fun. Highly recommended.