Need help choosing translation(s) of Illiad & Odyssey

[Teddi]

Lombardo--especially in audio form--has been highly recommended to me. Here I see plugs for Lattimore, who some say is stuffy and high-brow.

 

What translation(s) did you choose and why?

[kathleen]

We really like Fagles for both, because my son's lit prof said the translations were "readable, poetic, and accurate." Fagles also came out with a translation of The Aeneid a couple of years ago, fortunately, not long before he passed away (just last month). My son, who translated that in his Vergil class last year thinks it's the best tranny he's read.

[clwcain]

Richmond Lattimore is still the standard college translation of both the Illiad and the Odyssey. I used it in both middle school and in college.

 

I wouldn't characterize Lattimore as "stuffy", but he made an effort to maintain some of the Greek constructions in his translation, even at the expense of a more rhythmic English construction.

 

My personal preference is for the more recent translations done by Robert Fagles. I found the translation to have a more rhythmic feel than Lattimore.

 

I have not heard of the Lombardo, so I cannot offer any advice there.

 

I understand that Robert Fitzgerald also did translations of Homer's work, but I am only familiar with his translation of Virgil's Aeneid.

 

You might want to try looking at each through the library, or request all three and do a compare/contrast of the first book (chapter).

[Kimberly in Sedona]

Robert Fagles was (is) our favorite! My oldest also read Stanley Lombardo and Richmond Lattimore. I actually thought it was great to read several translations. Not all my daughters were up to that though, laughs.

[Beth in SW WA]

We really like Fagles for both, because my son's lit prof said the translations were "readable, poetic, and accurate." Fagles also came out with a translation of The Aeneid a couple of years ago, fortunately, not long before he passed away (just last month).

 

Great article about Fagles:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/books/29fagles.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin

[Chris in VA]

Another Fagles fan here. Lattimore is Eliana's fav--maybe she'll chime in.

[Pam in MA]

You can get the audio of Fagle's "The Odyssey" read by Ian McKellan.

[Beth in SW WA]

You can get the audio of Fagle's "The Odyssey" read by Ian McKellan.

 

This is in my Amazon wish list -- I'm dropping lots of hints for my birthday :)

Am I a nerd or what?

[Michelle in AL]

I just finished the Odyssey by Lombardo's based on an opinion here and loved it. I did compare it shortly to a different online version. Lombardo's seemed to have a more flowing poetic language to me.

I haven't read Fagles or Lattimore though, so I can't compare.

[MIch elle]

I just finished listening to The Iliad and enjoyed it. I liked the summary at the beginning of each book by Susan Sarandon and the music during certain parts. You can listen to part of it at audible .com

[Lori D.]

We just finished Fagles' Iliad and Odyssey earlier this year and really enjoyed them. They are extremely readable *out loud*. I also highly recommend the Garlic Press Publishers' study guide for The Odyssey; it has chapter summaries; discussion questions; writing assignments and other activity ideas; and teaches about some literary elements and uses examples from the text. And, it lists specific page numbers and quotes from FOUR different translations! (Fagles, Lattimore, Fitzgerald, and Rouse)

 

See it at:

Rainbow Resource:

http://rainbowresource.com/product/Odyssey+Discovering+Literature+Teaching+Guide/007442/1209168505-2056837

 

Garlic Press Publishers:

http://garlicpress.com/cgi-bin/shop_gp.cgi?product=LITERATURE

 

 

 

BEST of luck finding the best translations for your family. And enjoy! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Beth in SW WA]

 

Butler has prose translations of Homer... pedestrian is the adjective I would apply to them. Rieu's has a little more flavor, but Butler's is sold and straightforward....

 

Great, I own an old copy of this from 1942 -- w/ my dear Gramma's handwriting in the margins. It must have been her's from high school back in the old days...

[LisaNY]

I found a few sites that compared some of the more popular translations:

 

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1997/97.01.09.html

 

http://www.eiu.edu/~agora/064/LeddyALL.htm

[Jill- OK]

Someone else likes Lattimore's...and it's Eliana!:001_smile:

 

I haven't finished this yet, but I love it, and this is the translation I ordered for my kids.

 

The language is beautiful, but understandable.

[Plaid Dad]

I'm using Lattimore for my homeschool tutoring class right now; it's my favorite as well.

 

In the second class I brought in examples of how 8 or 10 different translators, from Chapman on down, tackled the first few lines of the Iliad. One of the students took an immediate dislike to Fagles; people seem to either love his work or hate it.

[Deidre in GA]

I just finished listening to The Iliad and enjoyed it. I liked the summary at the beginning of each book by Susan Sarandon and the music during certain parts. You can listen to part of it at audible .com

 

i had ds 14 listen to the Lombardo Iliad. i even bought the book. Lombardo brings into modern vernacular the rich spirit of the work. it is thoroughly enjoyable, so much so that i bought the Odyssey to listen to on my own. i read a comment once that some people seem to think that all 'classical' work must be read in Elizabethan english. blech. most translations i previewed were too dry for my son - or me for that matter. Lombardo makes the story come alive.

[Mom to Many]

We liked Fagles. We read one with the audio and one without.

[Guest book_lover]

I heard about a new translation on NPR by Ian Johnston specifically written for those reading these books for the first time. The translations are on the translator's own website at:

 

http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/

 

and also on the publisher's website here:

 

http://www.richerresourcespublications.com/

 

The full texts are available on both of these sites and can also be purchased in regular book form. There are a lot of positive reviews on the website and I found the translations to be wonderfully readable and beautiful. They are much easier for us to read than other versions we've tried. I think I saw a comparison of some of the more well known translations on one of these sites and it is also available in audio form, which is nice, as we can read and listen at the same time. It helps it all come alive.

[Maverick]

Wow, Eliana, I am so impressed that you have read and compared so many different translations! My dc will be using Lattimore for their Great Books class in the fall (Iliad & Odyssey). Ds #2 is studying Greek and wants to read Homer in the original before he finishes high school.