The Odyssey

By Homer

Book Overview

The epic tale of Odysseus's journey home--one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature

Now a major motion picture directed by Christopher Nolan

A Penguin Classic

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.

E. V. Rieu's translation has long been beloved and celebrated by scholars and readers alike, and for this Penguin Classics edition, classicist D. C. H. Rieu has revised the work of his father. This edition also includes an introduction by Peter V. Jones.

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140449116
• ISBN13: 9780140449112
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

I liked it

Although I ordered the wrong translation, the book was in great shape.

Must Read

A fantastic poem, great intro into Greek writing. The humor and storytelling is very enjoyable. Only note would be to get the poem translation. Do NOT get the narrative translation, it makes it unnecessarily difficult to read.

Such A Lovely Book!

I love the interior cover design and mini illustrations to go along with the poem inside! The artistic language used to tell ideas and events are wonderful as well. I really love how they use long chunks of dialogues to tell about more events and stories. Overall the many adventures of Odysseus is certainly wonderful to read about.