Description
Book SynopsisThis is a complete translation into contemporary English of the ancient Greek epic by Homer. The translation by Charles Underwood is presented in prose to emphasize the distinctive narrative qualities that illustrate Homer’s mastery of stirring language and evocative storytelling.
Trade ReviewI admire this translation greatly. It has real precision without being stilted, retains just enough formal diction while being flexible and idiomatic, and achieves a real (and rarely caught) conversational tone--the essence of Homeric muthos. There were also some moments when a choice of adjective (e.g. "raw" to translate stugeroisin at Od.11.81) sent me back to the text with some skepticism, but allowed me to return with a new appreciation for the possibilities of meaning inherent in the Greek. All in all, this is a powerful and fresh interpretation (all translations being "readings"). The introduction, meanwhile, from Underwood’s distinctive ethnographic standpoint, is a compelling testimony to the perennial power of the poem.
-- Richard Martin, Anthony and Isabelle Raubitschek Professor in Classics, Stanford University
Underwood’s translation of the Odyssey may enter into a marketplace filled with different versions of the Homeric epic, but it is the first prose edition I have read that evokes much of the poem’s wonder. There’s a deceptive lightness and simplicity to the translation that pulls the reader in. On the surface, the language seems straightforward and clear, but as the sentences pile up, you feel the cadence of legend. By not trying to be poetry, this translation is in some remarkable way more poetic. For modern readers who have little experience of reading verse, especially sustained in epic poems, Underwood’s storytelling provides a welcome invitation to the reader to enter and get lost in Odysseus’ world.
-- Joel Christensen, Brandeis University, professor, Department of Classical Studies
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Introduction
Book I: Uninvited Guests
Book II: Disorder in the Court
Book III: The Old Horseman
Book IV: The Thread of Fortune
Book V: The Island
Book VI: Nausikaa
Book VII: The Phaiakians
Book VIII: Telling Moments
Book IX: The Wandering Eye
Book X: Kirke
Book XI: Shadows
Book XII: Hazards
Book XIII: Ithaka
Book XIV: The Keeper of Pigs
Book XV: Telemakhos Returns
Book XVI: Plans
Book XVII: Stranger in the House
Book XVIII: Almost Home
Book XIX: Face to Face
Book XX: Hard Words
Book XXI: The Contest
Book XXII: Slaughterhouse
Book XXIII: Give and Take
Book XIV Ends and Means
About the Translator
