Which translation of the Iliad and Odyssey? & other ?s

[jewellsmommy]

Which translation did you (or will you) choose? Did it work out well or do you wish you had gone a different route? Did you choose the same translation for both the Iliad and the Odyssey or not? Did you use a study guide? Did your dc read alone or did you did you read as a family/group aloud? 

 

I keep changing my mind on all of it. I keep putting books in my Amazon cart and then taking them out.  :lol:  I had a lit guide in my rainbow resource cart and then took it out. sigh. So tell me your decision and your reasoning behind it. Otherwise, I may start flipping coins... :tongue_smilie: 

 

Thank you

[Holly]

We haven't covered this yet, but I plan on using MP's guides with the DVDs.  With the ages of your DC, I think I'd go ahead and combine them.  

[Lori D.]

Be sure to look at online sample pages of the same section of each work of various translations to compare to see which translation YOUR student "clicks" with best, since it is your student who will be doing the bulk of the work with the text. 🙂 In answer to your questions:

1. We used Fagles for both The Iliad and The Odyssey -- more direct/modern/"action-y" and clicked with our DSs.
2. Yes, it worked great.
(side note: just for variety, if I were doing the works a second time, I might like to to try a different translation just for variety -- I thought the sample of Fitzgerald was a bit more lyrical/poetic, for example)
3. Yes, we used the same translator for both works.
4. We did it as a family/group aloud. Very fun that way, and could discuss while in the midst.

 

Not that you asked for any supplemental ideas to expand your ancient epics study, BUT... we really liked:
- Garlic Press Discovering Literature challenger guide for The Odyssey
- watching the 1997 mini-series version of The Odyssey
- flipping through the Marcia Williams comic-strip versions of The Iliad and The Odyssey
- and, not related to The Iliad or The Odyssey, but the Ray Harryhausen animation of the 1967 film of Jason and the Argonauts is super fun as part of an Greek myths/ancient Lit study 😉

I've also heard great things about Elizabeth Vandiver's Teaching Company series on The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Mythology.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Lori D.

[Brad S]

...

 

1. We used Fagles for both The Iliad and The Odyssey -- more direct/modern/"action-y" and clicked with our DSs.

2. Yes, it worked great. (side note: just for variety, if I were doing the works a second time, I might like to to try a different translation just for variety -- I thought the sample of Fitzgerald was a bit more lyrical/poetic, for example)

...

 

I've also heard great things about Elizabeth Vandiver's Teaching Company series on The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Mythology.

 

We used Fagles for the Odyssey and, I think, for the extended excerpts from the Iliad that we read.  For a high school student, I think Fagles is an esp. good choice for the clarity and directness.  You might want to read a few lines with your DC of another translation which is more lyrical/poetic, for comparison, but Fagles is a great choice.

 

I highly recommend Vandiver's The Odyssey course, and I'm sure the full series on The Iliad is great too.  My DS liked it, and it really adds a lot to the understanding and enjoyment of Homer.

 

Edited June 29, 2016 by Brad S

[Momto6inIN]

We didn't read the Iliad, but we used Fagles for the Odyssey. We also got the audio read by Ian McKellan from Audible for DS to listen to as he read along. That really helped I think. He read it in 9th grade as a unit from Excellence in Literature, so not really a lit guide per se, but it definitely provided him with context for the reading and a writing assignment at the end (along with our history studies at the time).

 

We had read the Children's Homer by Padraic Colum together in elementary and he had read Rosemary Sutcliff's Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus in middle school.

[regentrude]

I have gone through Ancients twice (two kids) and have made different choices for translations.

For DD, we chose Fitzgerald because we preferred his take on the poetry; for DS I chose Fagles which is slightly more straight forward.

Each child used the same translation for both Iliad and Odyssey.

 

We did not use study guides, but I cannot sing highly enough the praises of Dr. Elizabeth Vandiver's Great Courses lectures on the Homeric epics. We found those invaluable for our understanding of the works in the cultural context of their time.

Edited June 29, 2016 by regentrude

[nobeatenpath]

We are currently doing Roman Roads Greeks*, but against their recommendations we used The Penguin Classics E.V. Rieu translation for the Iliad and are using the Fagles for the Odyssey - I gave my son the choice of that or Lattimore and after having a look at both he went with Fagles, which works for me. We are both reading them, but separately.

 

Oh, and we have visited Troy, so I guess you can say we have supplemented with a field trip :lol:

 

*we are atheists but are not having any problem with the 'Christian Worldview' it teaches from.

[RootAnn]

My DH prefers Fagles. DD#2 will be taking a class in the fall that uses Fagles. (I think they used a different translation last year.)

When we prep for the National Mythology Exam, they like Lattimore for Illiad & Fitzgerald for Odyssey. We check out different versions from the library & DH has his Fagles. We take turn reading sections from the different translations & talk about them. I always pick the silliest (free) Kindle version to read because it is a rhyming one. Makes the girls giggle to hear me read the version in front of me. They have to refer to their version to figure out what mine is actually supposed to mean.

 

DH & I both love Vandiver's lectures, but the kids haven't heard them yet.

[klmama]

I like both Fagles and Mandelbaum for a more modern reading.

[prairiewindmomma]

My kid like Fagles better, but I am working in some Lattimore because I think it's important to understand how translation can make nuanced changes.  Fitzgerald is ok, but Lattimore sings a sweeter song to me. We are using the Vandiver lectures as well.

[Chrysalis Academy]

We're using Fagles for The Odyssey, because my kids adore Ian McKellan and will listen to anything read by him.  I really like the Lombardo translation and audio of The Iliad. 

Edited June 29, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Vida Winter]

I'll be the odd one out. We used Stanley Lombardo's translations, both book and audio. As a guide, we used some of the instructor material from Kolbe and some from the Great Courses with Professor Elizabeth Vandiver. We *loved* the Lombardo translations -- they really brought these works to life for us. My kids still remember quotes after a couple of years.

[Corraleno]

We also love the Lombardo translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey; we read the books & listened to the audiobooks. I especially love Lombardo's reading of the Iliad, with the drum sounds in the background, it really made you feel like you were there on the beach. Plus, since Lombardo has devoted his life to studying these texts, he knows each character so well that IMO he is able to bring them to life in a way that an actor, who hasn't studied the texts (and contexts) doesn't quite achieve. 

 

(And, FWIW, Lukeion uses the Lombardo translations in their classical lit courses.)

[jewellsmommy]

Thank you everyone. I'm going to re-read everyone's posts again, so much helpful info. I was stuck between Fitzgerald and Fagles, but I had not even looked at Lombardo. I will look into that now as well as Vandiver. 

[Liza Q]

I had my son compare Fitzgerald, Fagles, Rieu, and Lattimore and he surprised me by preferring Lattimore. He really had a fun time choosing and I think it helped set him up to enjoy the reading.

 

We only read the Iliad and we didn't do much of a study - just a few things that caught my eye at Sparknotes and whatever was in the Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings we did that year. We will likely read the Odyssey when he is a senior. My daughters preferred the Odyssey - and Fagles for both - so we will see what he thinks.

[elegantlion]

We used Lattimore for both with the Vandiver lectures as well. We also used Andrew Campbell's Iliad study guide - which supports the Vandiver lectures as well. 

 

If you have a bookstore nearby, you might go and read the beginning of each translation they have, or does Amazon have a search inside feature? 

[Aretemama]

The very first time going through the Illiad and the Odyssey for my oldest two, we used Fagles' Illiad and Fitzgerald's Odyssey. I read them aloud, so I appreciated the pronounciation guide in the Fagles version, but ended up preferring the writing of the Fitzgerald. These were the versions recommended by Fritz Hinrichs of Escondido Tutorial Service whom we used for great books tutorials.

 

For my youngest two we used the Lattimore versions, and WOW! Reading this version aloud was beautiful! If the kids were desperate because they needed to get through their reading, and I was busy and couldn't read aloud, they once or twice used Fagles because it was a quicker read, but they both preferred the sound of Lattimore. My younger two loved Wes Callihan's Schola Tutorials and he recommends Lattimore. Besides still teaching live classes, Mr. Callihan's teachings are available on DVD with Roman Roads Media. Highly recommended!

[Garga]

I'm late to the game. I was going to link you to shmoops' tough-o-meter which gives recommendations of easier translations to read, but they're all just what's already been said.

 

I'll link you anyway, in case you ever want to look at their tough-o-meter for another book in the future.

 

http://www.shmoop.com/odyssey/tough-o-meter.html

[EKS]

We used the Mitchell version for both.  I read them aloud.  We used the Vandiver lectures but no study guide.  I'd do it the same way next time.

[Kathleen.]

Are the guides from Memoria Press worth looking into?

[Nancy in NH]

Fagles has been a hit with my kids.  We also very much enjoyed Dr. Elizabeth Vandiver's Great Courses lectures--great stuff.