You really notice how different the ancient Greek concepts of honour and hospitality were when a complete stranger comes up to Telemachus and says:
"I killed a man. They're coming for me. Please take me with you."
And Telemachus is just like: "Okay."
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Just got my copy of the Iliad and I will probably pause everything to read this first... but, also the edition is so different from my copy of the Odyssey hahah I still want the Emily ones when they aren't as expensive.
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Aeschylus, Agamemnon from The Oresteia, trans. Robert Fagles
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The Odyssey, Book 8, transl. Robert Fagles
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03.04.2023. Currently reading Homer's Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles.
So far reading Books I-III, Fagles' translation is smooth, immersive, and fairly easy to read. But the jarring insertion of modern jargon, like "scot-free" "potluck" "played fast and lose" etc., interspersed throughout takes some getting used to. But I'm not really sure if any other translation does a better job of it and since this is the only edition available to me right now I'm just going to continue on with it.
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Imagine your man Aeschylus, in the year 458 B.C.E., spitting mad kink straight off the dome.
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homework has taken over the iliad had invaded my brain cells fuck you robert fagles
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Oedipus did have one freedom: he was free to find out or not find out the truth. […] This freedom to search, and the heroic way in which Oedipus uses it, make the play not a picture of man's utter feebleness caught in the toils of fate, but on the contrary, a heroic example of man's dedication to the search for truth, the truth about himself.
Bernard Knox, in the introductory notes to Sophocles' Oedipus the King (trans. Robert Fagles)
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Books Read in 2023: The Odyssey by Homer
Rating: 4/5 ⭐
I didn't expect this book to be so much fun. It got a bit repetitive at times, especially towards the end, and that is why I can't say I absolutely loved it, but I really enjoyed it.
I watched a youtube video that helped me pick my favourite english translation through hearing some samples. I went with the Fagles translation, but the Emily Wilson's looks funnier and I am very curious about it too. I just thought it was too modern for my taste, but I still will probably buy it in the future because the passages I have seen were amazing.
Like most people, I had heard about some moments of the Odyssey. Some of those moments were shorter than I expected and others funnier than what I had heard. Overall, I enjoyed the first half of the book much more. The plot slows down a bit once Odysseus reaches Ithaca and there aren't as many shenanigans happening. The Odyssey is divided in 24 books and my favourites were books 2, 8, 9 and 22. The books are pretty short so this is a surprisingly quick read.
Athena is having the time of her life here just transforming herself into random humans and putting people to sleep. I absolutely adored her. She is my second favourite greek god after all. I expected Hermes, my first, to show up more, but sadly he didn't. He did complain about his job on his first appearance though, which was very relatable.
I really liked Telemachus, Odysseus and Penelope too. As flawed as the first two are.
"so let his name be Odysseus… the Son of Pain, a name he'll earn in full"
Don't forget to thank your grandpa for that one, Odysseus. He is having a terrible time 99% of this book (but it sure is entertaining to witness). So are Penelope and Telemachus, but their terrible time isn't as fun. They are dealing with some rude entitled men and it was very satisfying to see those getting their comeuppances.
I don't own the Iliad yet and to be honest I probably should have read that one first. Some people told me they prefer that one so I wonder if I will enjoy it even more than this. Either way, I am excited to see my dumb angry boy Achilles in action. He shows up briefly in the Odyssey too, but it was not enough. Either way, this was not about him.
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The Odyssey, (tr. Robert Fagles 1990)
Literature's grandest evocation of life's journey, at once an ageless human story and an individual test of moral endurance, Homer's ancient Greek epic The Odyssey is translated by Robert Fagles with an introduction and notes by Bernard Knox in Penguin Classics.
When Robert Fagles' translation of The Iliad was published in 1990, critics and scholars alike hailed it as a masterpiece. Here, one of the great modern translators presents us with The Odyssey, Homer's best-loved poem, recounting Odysseus' wanderings after the Trojan War. With wit and wile, the 'man of twists and turns' meets the challenges of the sea-god Poseidon, and monsters ranging from the many-headed Scylla to the cannibalistic Cyclops Polyphemus - only to return after twenty years to a home besieged by his wife Penelope's suitors. In the myths and legends retold in this immortal poem, Fagles has captured the energy of Homer's original in a bold, contemporary idiom.
Seven greek cities claim the honour of being the birthplace of Homer (c. 8th-7th century BC), the poet to whom the composition of the Iliad and Odyssey are attributed. The Iliad is the oldest surviving work of Western literature, but the identity - or even the existence - of Homer himself is a complete mystery, with no reliable biographical information having survived. (Penguin)
I'm attaching the link below to b u y it. Note that attached text doesn't include Bernard Knox' notes or introduction.
https://www.boyle.kyschools.us/UserFiles/88/The%20Odyssey.pdf
I'm also linking two screen adaptations: Ulysses (1954) and The Odyssey (1997)
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