ktgrok Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Bonus points if he can get it on his Kindle, or I can pick it up at a local bookstore quickly. Something very readable, but not a picture book version, obviously. He, of his own free will, asked if that could be his first lit book for the year, now that he is back homeschooling. Um, yes, Yes it can. so...I want him to like it, and keep reading. thinking I will get the Memoria Press lit guide for it, unless someone says otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 My favorite one is Fitzgerald, and DS also liked Fagles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I would second the recommendation for Fitzgerald. My older daughter is currently reading The Odyssey transl. by Fitzgerald and it flows very well. I would also recommend the Vandiver (Teaching Company/Great Courses)lectures to go along with it. We used Vandiver's course for The Iliad and are currently using her course for The Odyssey and we loved/are loving these lectures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Oh, absolutely add the Vandiver courses!!! They really enhanced our understanding, and she is a very lively entertaining lecturer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I find the Mandelbaum translation the easiest to read and understand, although Fagles and Fitzgerald are excellent and could be considered more "beautiful." Any of the three would be fine. Definitely get the Vandiver lectures, if you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 The translations by Richard Lattimore continue to be highly regarded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Well just to confuse matters, I'll put in my usual plug for the Lombardo translation, which is also the version that Lukeion uses in their literature classes. It is more modern and perhaps less "poetic" than Fagles and Fitzgerald, but it's very accessible and enjoyable. Both the complete and abridged versions are available in paperback or on kindle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Lattimore is my favorite. I prefer it for The Iliad as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 We used Lattimore for the Iliad and apparently Vandiver prefers this translation for both Iliad and Odyssey. I just read the Great Courses guide for the lectures for The Odyssey and she shares her choice and why she prefers it. I already had the Fitzgerald translation for The Odyssey on hand, so we'll probably just stay with it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlisonK Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Our vote (DS16 and I) vote for Fagles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Well just to confuse matters, I'll put in my usual plug for the Lombardo translation, which is also the version that Lukeion uses in their literature classes. It is more modern and perhaps less "poetic" than Fagles and Fitzgerald, but it's very accessible and enjoyable. Both the complete and abridged versions are available in paperback or on kindle. Seconding this - and to make it even better, get both the paperback and audible recorded Lombardo translations. We're doing that for the Iliad and enjoying it immensely, along with the Vandiver lectures to keep us on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Seconding this - and to make it even better, get both the paperback and audible recorded Lombardo translations. We're doing that for the Iliad and enjoying it immensely, along with the Vandiver lectures to keep us on track. We absolutely loved the audiobook of Lombardo's Iliad! I could do without the little summaries between chapters, but the way he reads, plus the background sound of the drums, is really hypnotic and gripping. DS and I listened to it while traveling through Greece with Lukeion, and there were times I sort of drifted off listening to it and forgot that I wasn't actually sitting on the beach at Troy. The bus would stop and I'd be jolted back to reality and so bummed to realize I was just visualizing it all in my mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 We absolutely loved the audiobook of Lombardo's Iliad! I could do without the little summaries between chapters, but the way he reads, plus the background sound of the drums, is really hypnotic and gripping. DS and I listened to it while traveling through Greece with Lukeion, and there were times I sort of drifted off listening to it and forgot that I wasn't actually sitting on the beach at Troy. The bus would stop and I'd be jolted back to reality and so bummed to realize I was just visualizing it all in my mind! Oh yes! And I hope they have a similar audiobook for the Odyssey. I had *no idea* I would love the Iliad so much. We have favorite parts bookmarked and memorized. We're in Kolbe this year so it is a little different than usual. Lombardo has been a huge hit. It must have been heavenly to travel through Greece with Lukeion. For some reason I have never been able to squeeze their classes into our crowded schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Oh yes! And I hope they have a similar audiobook for the Odyssey. I had *no idea* I would love the Iliad so much. We have favorite parts bookmarked and memorized. We're in Kolbe this year so it is a little different than usual. Lombardo has been a huge hit. It must have been heavenly to travel through Greece with Lukeion. For some reason I have never been able to squeeze their classes into our crowded schedule. Yep, same exact format. :) I've heard samples of the audiobooks for some of the other translations, and as much as I love Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellan, hearing Homer read by someone who is fluent in Greek and has studied these books for decades, makes a difference. It seems much less like he's reading a book, and more like he is a bard himself, sitting there telling you a story he's told a thousand times before and knows by heart. He understands the characters so well, and gives them so much personality, that you can really see them in your head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 JMO: the best way to pick a translation is to look at the opening passage from several different versions, and see what fits for your family. :) More suggestions on favorite translations in this past thread: Please list your favorite translations. We also really enjoyed the Garlic Press Publishers Discovering Literature guide for the Odyssey. Meaty but without killing the enjoyment of the work, with great discussion questions (actual discussion, not comprehension) for each "book", solid writing assignment ideas, and 12-16 literature topics covered in brief. Geared to work with 4 different translations: Fagles, Fitzgerald, Lattimore, Rouse, but really, it works perfectly fine with any translation. Once you've read and discussed it, enjoy watching the 1997 TV mini-series version. Enjoy your journey with Odysseus! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 My ds used Fagles because it was suggested in MFW. He however much preferred The Iliad (also Fagles) to The Odyssey. For whatever reason, my kids have always found the Jason and the Argonauts movie c. 1963 hilarious. The effects were surely decent at the time but so funny to watch now. It's also appropriate imo for younger viewers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathwonk Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I have only read Fitzgerald, the one used in my college course, but it is so poetically beautiful I still recall some passages from the last time I read it to my children over 30 years ago. Powerful and beautiful. It is nice there are so many good choices. (Lattimore was the choice for my college course of the Iliad, but it didn't impress itself on me as much as Fitzgerald's Odyssey did.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleopatra Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Lattimore is the closest to the original and the most beautiful. Fitzgerald really "Fitzgeraldized" his translation (I believe C.S. Lewis has a lecture/essay on some of his "issues") and Fagles is more of a retelling than a translation. So it depends on your goals for this reading which is the best version. Here is an excellent response by Eliana (scroll down to message 12). She could read Homer in Greek at one point and her response really resonates. I also did an Odyssey read-along this year on my blog that may give you some helpful information. You can scroll to the very bottom to find the links for the different chapters. I hope he enjoys reading this truly wonderful classic! All the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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