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The Odyssey Paperback – Deckle Edge, November 29, 1999

by Homer (Author), Robert Fagles (Translator), Bernard Knox (Introduction)

4.7 3,760 ratings

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The great epic of Western literature, translated by the acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles

A Penguin Classic

Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, presents us with Homer's best-loved and most accessible poem in a stunning modern-verse translation. "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy." So begins Robert Fagles' magnificent translation of the Odyssey, which Jasper Griffin in the New York Times Book Review hails as "a distinguished achievement."

If the Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, the Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of an everyman's journey through life. Odysseus' reliance on his wit and wiliness for survival in his encounters with divine and natural forces during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War is at once a timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance.

In the myths and legends retold here, Fagles has captured the energy and poetry of Homer's original in a bold, contemporary idiom, and given us an Odyssey to read aloud, to savor, and to treasure for its sheer lyrical mastery. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox's superb introduction and textual commentary provide insightful background information for the general reader and scholar alike, intensifying the strength of Fagles's translation. This is an Odyssey to delight both the classicist and the general reader, to captivate a new generation of Homer's students. This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition features French flaps and deckle-edged paper.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Robert Fitzgerald's translation is] a masterpiece . . . An "Odyssey" worthy of the original." -"The Nation"
"[Fitzgerald's" Odyssey" and "Iliad"] open up once more the unique greatness of Homer's art at the level above the formula; yet at the same time they do not neglect the brilliant texture of Homeric verse at the level of the line and the phrase." -"The Yale Review "
"[In] Robert Fitzgerald's translation . . . there is no anxious straining after mighty effects, but rather a constant readiness for what the occasion demands, a kind of Odyssean adequacy to the task in hand, and this line-by-line vigilance builds up into a completely credible imagined world."
-from the Introduction by Seamus Heaney

About the Author

Homer was probably born around 725BC on the Coast of Asia Minor, now the coast of Turkey, but then really a part of Greece. Homer was the first Greek writer whose work survives. He was one of a long line of bards, or poets, who worked in the oral tradition. Homer and other bards of the time could recite, or chant, long epic poems. Both works attributed to Homer – the Iliad and the Odyssey – are over ten thousand lines long in the original. Homer must have had an amazing memory but was helped by the formulaic poetry style of the time.

In the Iliad Homer sang of death and glory, of a few days in the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. Mortal men played out their fate under the gaze of the gods. The Odyssey is the original collection of tall traveller’s tales. Odysseus, on his way home from the Trojan War, encounters all kinds of marvels from one-eyed giants to witches and beautiful temptresses. His adventures are many and memorable before he gets back to Ithaca and his faithful wife Penelope. We can never be certain that both these stories belonged to Homer. In fact ‘Homer’ may not be a real name but a kind of nickname meaning perhaps ‘the hostage’ or ‘the blind one’. Whatever the truth of their origin, the two stories, developed around three thousand years ago, may well still be read in three thousand years’ time.

Robert Fagles (1933-2008) was Arthur W. Marks ’19 Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, at Princeton University. He was the recipient of the 1997 PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His translations include Sophocles’s Three Theban Plays, Aeschylus’s Oresteia (nominated for a National Book Award), Homer’s Iliad (winner of the 1991 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award by The Academy of American Poets), Homer’s Odyssey, and Virgil's Aeneid.

Bernard Knox (1914-2010) was Director Emeritus of Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. He taught at Yale University for many years. Among his numerous honors are awards from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His works include The Heroic Temper: Studies in Sophoclean Tragedy, Oedipus at Thebes: Sophocles’ Tragic Hero and His Time and Essays Ancient and Modern (awarded the 1989 PEN/Spielvogel-Diamonstein Award).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

I

Athene Visits Telemachus

Tell me, Muse, the story of that resourceful man who was driven to wander far and wide after he had sacked the holy citadel of Troy. He saw the cities of many people and he learnt their ways. He suffered great anguish on the high seas in his struggles to preserve his life and bring his comrades home. But he failed to save those comrades, in spite of all his efforts. It was their own transgression that brought them to their doom, for in their folly they devoured the oxen of Hyperion the Sun-god and he saw to it that they would never return. Tell us this story, goddess daughter of Zeus, beginning at whatever point you will.

All the survivors of the war had reached their homes by now and so put the perils of battle and the sea behind them. Odysseus alone was prevented from returning to the home and wife he yearned for by that powerful goddess, the Nymph Calypso, who longed for him to marry her, and kept him in her vaulted cave. Not even when the rolling seasons brought in the year which the gods had chosen for his homecoming to Ithaca was he clear of his troubles and safe among his friends. Yet all the gods pitied him, except Poseidon, who pursued the heroic Odysseus with relentless malice till the day when he reached his own country.

Poseidon, however, was now gone on a visit to the distant Ethiopians, in the most remote part of the world, half of whom live where the Sun goes down, and half where he rises. He had gone to accept a sacrifice of bulls and rams, and there he sat and enjoyed the pleasures of the feast. Meanwhile the rest of the gods had assembled in the palace of Olympian Zeus, and the Father of men and gods opened a discussion among them. He had been thinking of the handsome Aegisthus, whom Agamemnon’s far-famed son Orestes killed; and it was with Aegisthus in his mind that Zeus now addressed the immortals:

‘What a lamentable thing it is that men should blame the gods and regard us as the source of their troubles, when it is their own transgressions which bring them suffering that was not their destiny. Consider Aegisthus: it was not his destiny to steal Agamemnon’s wife and murder her husband when he came home. He knew the result would be utter disaster, since we ourselves had sent Hermes, the keen-eyed Giant-slayer, to warn him neither to kill the man nor to court his wife. For Orestes, as Hermes told him, was bound to avenge Agamemnon as soon as he grew up and thought with longing of his home. Yet with all his friendly counsel Hermes failed to dissuade him. And now Aegisthus has paid the final price for all his sins.’

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0140268863
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (November 29, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 541 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780140268867
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140268867
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1050L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.35 x 5.75 x 1.31 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Ancient & Classical Poetry
- #6 in Epic Poetry (Books)
- #170 in Classic Literature & Fiction

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4.7 3,760 ratings

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Homer

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Homer was probably born around 725BC on the Coast of Asia Minor, now the coast of Turkey, but then really a part of Greece. Homer was the first Greek writer whose work survives.

He was one of a long line of bards, or poets, who worked in the oral tradition. Homer and other bards of the time could recite, or chant, long epic poems. Both works attributed to Homer - The Iliad and The Odyssey - are over ten thousand lines long in the original. Homer must have had an amazing memory but was helped by the formulaic poetry style of the time.

In The Iliad Homer sang of death and glory, of a few days in the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. Mortal men played out their fate under the gaze of the gods. The Odyssey is the original collection of tall traveller's tales. Odysseus, on his way home from the Trojan War, encounters all kinds of marvels from one-eyed giants to witches and beautiful temptresses. His adventures are many and memorable before he gets back to Ithaca and his faithful wife Penelope.

We can never be certain that both these stories belonged to Homer. In fact 'Homer' may not be a real name but a kind of nickname meaning perhaps 'the hostage' or 'the blind one'. Whatever the truth of their origin, the two stories, developed around three thousand years ago, may well still be read in three thousand years' time.

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jennifer device

"War abroad and war at home"

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024

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Have to give 5 stars given this is one of the most important books in the Western Canon.

I actually enjoyed this more than The Iliad, but I would definitely recommend reading that one first so you understand the background. Lots of characters so helps to read this and take notes too.

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Marcela

My daughter love this book

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024

Amazing book.

A Riveting Adventure Tale

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2014

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As I said in a recent review of Robert Fagles' translation of the Iliad into English, there are very few people on the planet with the necessary knowledge to judge his work as a translator of Homer, and so I cannot comment on the quality of the translation other than to say that I enjoyed the end product immensely. I'll confine my comments more narrowly towards the poem itself and Homer, its author.

After reading Fagles' translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey I am struck by one thing and that is this. At no time do any of the major characters (Achilles, Odysseus, etc.) show regret for killing any of the numerous people that they do. They may regret that they offended the gods in some way but that is not the same thing as admitting moral culpability. So for example, in Book 9 of the Odyssey, Odysseus recounts how after leaving Troy (which he sacked) his ships attacked the city of Ismarus, home to the Cicones. His men killed all the men of the town and took all the women as sex slaves. Never once does Odysseus show regret for this action which took place after the Trojan War was already over. Never once does any god or goddess (e.g., Athena) chastise him for this action or punish him for it. He and his men are punished for other lesser offenses such as killing the cows of the Sun, but the attitude that Homer clearly has is that all things are fair in war.

This is clearly the attitude of Homer's own times and it stands in stark contrast to our own. The Homeric gods do not uphold a consistent standard of morality applicable to all human beings. Indeed, since they fight amongst each other and since they each have their own agenda all that a man need do to survive is to find favor with a particular god or goddess who will protect him. And that seems to be what Odysseus does with Athena protecting him although Poseidon wants him to suffer. So the question of whether Odysseus is morally right would not even enter Homer's mind. It is beside the point. If we keep this point in mind I think we can understand the flow of the poem much better.

It does seem ironic that a man like Odysseus would be zealous for supplicants' rights, supposedly granted by Zeus, in the case of himself being the supplicant (e.g., in Phaeacia, etc.) while at the same time refusing Leodes in Book 22 who pleads for his life. Odysseus lops off his head with a sword. Apparently Homer sees no contradiction in this since no explanation is ever given, but then again Odysseus is the man of twists and turns. I doubt his moral rectitude was ever the main point. Homer makes him out to be somewhat prickly and unapproachable. If he were written today we would call Odysseus the antihero which is quite ironic given that he is one of the prime archetypes of the Greek hero.

Of course, the travels and travails starting with the island of the Cyclops are great fun. It's hard to imagine that Homer had some historical itinerary in mind although I would note that at the time of writing the Odyssey (725 - 675 BCE) the Greeks were exploring and establishing colonies around the entire Mediterranean. There must have been fabulous sailors' tales in circulation concerning the strange people the Greeks were coming into contact with. This would have been similar to the fantastic tales that came out of the European age of exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries. All it would take would be for Homer to latch onto some of the more outrageous tales and adapt them to his own needs.

Book 11 which has Odysseus and crew voyage to Hades, the Land of the Dead, was quite interesting although it was never quite explained why the spirits in Hades couldn't build their own ships and leave Hades the way Odysseus did. In any case the Odyssey is a lot of rollicking good fun for the most part. It is one of the first adventure stories ever told and it's still a great read all these centuries later.

12 people found this helpful

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Jonathan fiore

Simply the best translation in English of Homer

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2024

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1. Fagel's translation makes the text come alive. After reading his Iliad, my 9th grade students begged to read the Odyssey over their Christmas break. It comes with great notes, maps, and guides. If your a teacher of classics/lit: this is a must have.

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2023

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The media could not be loaded.

Me gusta la textura de la portada, pero sus hojas parecen haber sido cortadas con una regla , es un papel muy grueso (más de lo normal)

2 people found this helpful

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Allison Craig

Great Quality

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024

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My son mentioned wanting this book only a couple of days before Christmas, came in just in time! Very happy boy!

2 people found this helpful

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Dawn McEwen

Classic Read

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2023

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I read every book my children are reading in English or History class at the same time they are. It provides good discussions, keeps them on track with their reading assignments, and I often look at a classic with new perspective. I recommend this for all parents. I am down to my youngest and feel as have gone through high school three more times after my own. It is wonderful.

9 people found this helpful

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Alex

A great sequel to The Iliad

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2016

Verified Purchase

The Odyssey is one of Western Civilization's greatest works of art, and it is also accessible to most readers. There is gold here not only a mile deep but also an inch beneath the surface. Everyone should spend some time and acquaint themselves with the stories which are at the roots of our culture.

The Odyssey tells the tail of Odysseus, an Aegean hero from The Iliad, and his struggle to return home. Within this story are weaved complex themes of the causes of misfortune that befalls mankind, the longing for home, the journey from childhood into manhood, the changes journeys bring about, and the constant struggle of violence and retribution that seems to exist pervasively in time and across cultures.

The Odyssey is truly a sequel to The Iliad because it builds off of and responds to many of the ideas presented there. For example, The Iliad paints a vivid picture of the pride and desire for glory that compels mankind into conflict. In that book, great honor is won in conflict. Here, in The Odyssey, we see the misfortunes that arise as consequences of our quests for glory. Thus, we see that Homer paints an incredibly perceptive view of mankind, and how we cause our own misfortune. We are locked in eternal struggle due to our own impulses and desire to rise above ordinary. We engage in conflict to, in some way, complete ourselves. As a result, retribution comes down on us in one form or another. This circle continues, and seemingly hasn't stopped revolving close to three-thousand years later. Homer is important to us because what is written here is still relevant. Humans may have new technology and clothes, but we are still cut from the same cloth as Telemachus and Odysseus.

I read the Robert Fagles Penguin Deluxe edition, and I found the translation to fit my needs perfectly. Fagles keeps a close eye on the rhythms and beats of the English language and is direct when the poem turns towards bloodshed.

15 people found this helpful

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bob rempel

The Odyssey with translation by Robert Fagles

Reviewed in Canada on October 23, 2023

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Fagles' translation of Homer's The Odyssey is compelling, poetic, and a delight to read and to contemplate.

Kindle Customer

BAD PAGES

Reviewed in Mexico on February 27, 2023

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I GOT THE BOOK COMPLET AND ON TIME BUT SEEMS THE EDGES WERE CUT IN A BAD WAY AND IT LOOKS BAD

Nuen

Good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2024

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Good

Tami

Amazing book

Reviewed in Germany on December 22, 2023

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An amazing translation of Homer's Odyssey. It's easy to understand.

Blok

Awesome edition

Reviewed in India on October 19, 2020

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I’m totally at a loss of words for this beauty!
This seller: Rk & company (Not Amazon Fulfilled) had quoted the price at ₹469 + ₹54 delivery charges, and initially I was a bit skeptical about it. But this turned out to be my best purchase of all times; Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition at such a low cost is definitely worth it!
This edition has an amazing feel due to its French Flaps and Deckle Edges, giving it a classy look. The translation is by Robert Fagles, considered the best of all.

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