Jill- OK Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I'm loading up my amazon cart for next year, and I find myself wondering how other folks decide which translations to use for their reading of ancients. I know Fagle's version of the Iliad is highly recommended...but I like my Lattimore's. :) But is one, well, more accurate than another? How does one find out something like that? Thanks for any advice or direction that anyone can give me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I use various sources such as this board, a lit teacher that I know and admire, and books like TWEM and Invitation to the Classics. Also, since Nan mentioned looking up her lit books on Wikipedia to see why they are important, I have started looking up titles there. At the end of the article it will usually list different versions, sometimes with descriptions. It also has connections to modern culture such as films that are based on or refer to the books, which is not what you asked about but which I find interesting. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahli Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Yes! I was just coming here to ask this. I am looking for a good version of the Iliad and Odyssey. I haven't read either yet! BTW, I highly recommend Stephen Mitchell's Gilgamesh, a New English Version. Loooved it. (It has some descriptive s*x moments in it, but I don't know whether all versions are like this or not.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I just use the ones TWEM recommends. SWB sometimes gives examples where she doesn't want to choose for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 Nan, I just got my copy of TWEM yesterday (!), so I'll take a look through it, and try some of the other suggestions as well. Keep 'em coming, if anyone else has any input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I use WTM, WEM, Invitation to the Classics, and Veritas Press catalog :) (basically what would be used in Omnibus). If I get a consensus I generally go with that. Just a thought - it might not be worth anything - but I got most of the ancients and medieval books from buy.com, they're about $1-2 less than Amazon - if you're getting a lot of books, that can add up. Plus they used to give $10 off every Google checkout - I did that a LOT. I'm not sure whether they still do that, but I saved a lot that way. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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