The Odyssey

NOW A MAJOR FILM DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

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.

'Wonderfully readable … Just the right blend of roughness and sophistication'
Ted Hughes

'A memorable achievement … Mr Fagles has been remarkably successful in finding a style that is of our time and yet timeless'
Richard Jenkyns, The New York Times Book Review

'His translation of The Odyssey is his best work yet'
Garry Wills, New Yorker

Translated by Robert Fagles
With an introduction by Bernard Knox