Which translation of Homer?

[jadedone80]

I have Fagle's translation of both the Odyssey and the Iliad, however I vaguely remember that there was another translation that was better.

Which translation did/are you using?

Thanks!

[JennW in SoCal]

We used Fagle's, and I chose it based on recommendations here over the years. I liked it better than Lattimore which we abandoned pretty quickly.

[jadedone80]

What didn't you like about Lattimore's? I heard somewhere that Fagle's was over enhanced.

[elegantlion]

I read The Iliad in the Lattimore translation for my own self-ed and loved it. I started The Odyssey in the Fitzgerald translation and found it not to my liking, I quickly switched over to the Lattimore translation for The Odyssey and again loved it. There is something about Lattimore's versions that really resonates with me.

[Janice in NJ]

Fagles worked well here.

Peace,
Janice

Enjoy your little people
Enjoy your journey

[Jane in NC]

Do you own WEM? Susan offers a passage from three versions so that one can compare.

This method of reading the same passage in several translations helps to find what works for your student. Before my son read Don Quixote, we went to Barnes and Noble where we took every edition off the shelf. He chose a chapter to read (or begin reading). Grossman won, hands down.

Jane

[WishboneDawn]

In the context of reading to an 11 yr. old I'm really happy with Rieu's translation for Penguin. It's prose and has been an exciting read for the two of us.

I may have her read Fagles or Fitzgerald a few years down the road, or excerpts at least but for now, for our enjoyment and for ingraining a familiarity and love of Homer, Rieu is perfect.

[charlotteb]

I bought a copy of Chapman's Homer a few months ago at Half-Price Books. I don't recall ever reading any Homer in high school, just briefly being introduced to parts of it. So I have no idea what to use for my kids. Any experience with it?

[jadedone80]

We read The Children's Homer by Padriac Colum aloud a few years ago and it was a pleasure and easy to digest.

As far as an unabridged...there are so many translations! I'm hoping to hear what others have read and liked/disliked.

[Chris in VA]

Fagles here, hands down.
I did like Lattimore (Lattimer? who? ykwim!) but ds preferred Fagle as easier to understand.

[Faithr]

I find I really don't like Lattimore. I think he tries to be so true to the Greek wording that it often sounds very awkward in English to the point of being silly at times. All these people with their 'well-ordered' hair! I am sure that is a direct translation but it just doesn't work in English!

[Dot]

Fagles here.

ETA If you choose to also read the Aeneid, I'd stay away from the Copley translation. I didn't pay attention and my son trudged through half the book before complaining to me.

[FloridaLisa]

I preferred Fagles when I sat down at B & N and compared versions. I would highly suggest doing that. If you're ordering online, perhaps you could view a few pages to see which version you like better.

HTH,
Lisa

[Brigid in NC]

We just read both the Iliad and the Odyssey in a co-op class I teach. I chose Fitzgerald for the Iliad and Fagles for the Odyssey, because they had good unabridged audiobooks. They both are fabulous as straight reads -- but George Guidall's narration (Recorded Books) of the Iliad and Sir Ian McKellen's narration of the (Fagles/Penguin) Odyssey were incredible. It helped so much to hear the oh-so-difficult-to-pronounce names read aloud, and both narrations really brought the stories to life.

There are other audiobooks of both these epics, but some are abridged, and none seemed as robust and compelling to me.

If audiobooks are not of interest I would choose Fagles for both books.

Hope you enjoy Homer!
~Brigid

[Eliana]

From an earlier thread (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58713) on this topic.

Translations of Homer were discussed in this thread (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23153&highlight=Iliad) and this one (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56142&highlight=Iliad)- as you can see, there isn't a consensus!

I'll paste my post from that thread below, but I do encourage you to check out several different translations from the library and compare them for yourself... if you want to check the accuracy for yourself you can use the Loeb editions (linked below, I believe) - I would never use them to read from, but they are fabulous help when translating on your own, or if you want to get the literal sense of a section (or a work) and don't know the original language.


Quote:
Here's an earlier thread (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23153&highlight=Iliad) about translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey - my sentiments about each translator (copied below) are equally strong for the Odyssey - my mother, whose [Greek] is far better than mine ever was, has a slight fondness for Fitzgerald's Odyssey. She prefers Lattimore, but is less bothered by Fitzgerald's embellishments in the Odyssey than she is in the Iliad. I admit that it is less jarringly off-key, but I still find Lattimore to be the translation which comes the closest the original - and Fagles the furthest.

And here's a thread (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22737&highlight=Iliad) about study guides for Ancient Literature - and I see that I faded out of the conversation with a couple of questions still out there for me! (If any of you reading this are amongst those I abandoned mid-conversation - I'm sorry!) Among other things, there's some interesting discussion about the role of study guides... the discussion really helped me see where my own heart lies, while also helping me see the issue from other perspectives.

I think The World of Odysseus (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590170172/ref=reg_hu-wl_mrai-recs) gives some nice background information about the time period - and is an enjoyable read in its own right.

I'm going to give another plug for Eva Brann's incredible Homeric Moments (http://www.amazon.com/Homeric-Moments-Delight-Reading-Odyssey/dp/0967967570/ref=pd_sim_b_7) - she is an amazing person with many rich and wonderful insights.

My eldest is really enjoying The Ulysses Voyage (http://www.amazon.com/ULYSSES-VOYAGE-Tim-Severin/dp/0091683408/ref=sr_oe_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221104011&sr=1-1) by Tim Severin.

I haven't looked closely at it yet, but Seth Schein's Reading the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Odyssey-Seth-L-Schein/dp/0691044392/ref=pd_sim_b_22) is supposed to be a really nice resource. ..as is Singers, Heroes, and Gods in the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Singers-Heroes-Gods-Odyssey-Poetics/dp/0801487269/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product) - which I have not seen at all, but have requested via ILL along with Homer's Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Homer-Companion-Translation-Lattimore-Companions/dp/1853990388/ref=pd_sim_b_14)(which, unlike Schein's commentary, is based on Lattimore's translation)

I've fixed a few typos and added links to my original post:

Quote:
For the Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Homer/dp/0226469409/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103626&sr=1-1) and the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Homer/dp/0060931957/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103346&sr=1-2), imnsho, the only translations I have ever seen which begin to do justice to Homer are Lattimore's. Simple, unadorned, but managing in so many places to capture the feel of the original. I wish I had maintained my Greek, because the original is always better... some things just can't be translated... but Lattimore makes me catch glimpses of the real thing and has a quiet grandeur which I love.

Fitzgerald has a nice translation of the Aeneid, but his translations of the Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Fitzgerald-Translation-Homer/dp/0374529051/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103626&sr=1-4) and the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Fitzgerald-Translation-Homer/dp/0374525749/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103346&sr=1-3) are, imho, too florid.. there is too much Fitzgerald and not enough Homer. They are pretty, but way off key.

The Fagles translations (Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0140275363/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103626&sr=1-2), Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Penguin-Classics-Homer/dp/0143039954/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103346&sr=1-1)) repulse me. They are so colloquial, so far from Homeric that they feel more like modern adaptations than translations.

Lombardo takes even more liberties with the text - imho this is definitely more of an adaptation than a translation (Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Homer/dp/0872203522/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103607&sr=1-1) Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Homer/dp/0872204847/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103554&sr=1-2)).

For a very literal translation (most useful if you are trying to translate Homer yourself) the Loeb editions have facing English and Greek pages and follows the word order of each Greek line as closely as possible - I wouldn't use it as a primary text, but it is a neat supplement. (Ex: "The wrath sing, goddess, of Peleus' son Achilles," ) [Here's one volume of the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Books-13-24-Classical-Library/dp/0674995627/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103346&sr=1-12))

Some people like the Rieu prose translations(The Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Penguin-Classics-Homer/dp/0140447946/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103186&sr=1-3), the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Penguin-Classics-Homer/dp/0140449116/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103186&sr=1-2)), and I guess they could serve as an intro to Homer, but I wouldn't use them.

Mandelbaum has a slightly clunky translation of the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Homer-Bantam-Classics/dp/0553213997/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103346&sr=1-6) - he is my translator of choice for Dante (though it was a hard choice!), but not for Homer... but, unlike most of the others it *is* a reasonably reliable translation, as I recall.

Pope's translations (The Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Homer-Translated-Alexander-Pope/dp/1604241640/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103252&sr=1-9), The Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Homer-Translated-Greek-Alexander/dp/158715675X/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103252&sr=1-7))are an older version of what Fagles has done - an adaptation in the "translator's" own style.. pretty, but not Homer... but, imo, less grating than Fagles and less ornate than Fitzgerald... though Fitzgerald is a more reliable translator.

Butler has prose translations of Homer (http://www.amazon.com/Homer-Iliad-Odyssey/dp/0977340007/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103127&sr=1-3) ... pedestrian is the adjective I would apply to them. Rieu's has a little more flavor, but Butler's is solid and straightforward.... not a version I would choose, but there isn't anything *wrong* with it...

Chapman's translations (http://www.amazon.com/Chapmans-Homer/dp/0691048916/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103046&sr=1-1) are classics in their own right, but ones I would read for themselves not for Homer...

[WishboneDawn]

Some people like the Rieu prose translations(The Iliad (http://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Penguin-Classics-Homer/dp/0140447946/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103186&sr=1-3), the Odyssey (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Penguin-Classics-Homer/dp/0140449116/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221103186&sr=1-2)), and I guess they could serve as an intro to Homer, but I wouldn't use them.


That's exactly why I like them, they're a thrilling intro (It should be noted that there are two Rieus, a father and son. One translated the Illiad and the other translated The Odyssey.

It really does depend on what age your kids are and what you're trying to accomplish. This is actually my daughter's second exposure to Homer. She listened to a children's audio play version around 7. Now we're reading Rieu with the purpose of giving her more details while keeping her excited and in love with it. In a few years it will be Fagles or Fitzgerald.

I suppose for me it's not a matter of the best translation but rather the best translation for our current purpose. I plan to keep revisiting Homer over the years so one translation won't do. :D

[Starr]

Lattimore for the Illiad. Dc really enjoyed this book. We then listened to Fagles Odyssey on a long car trip.