Homer was probably born around 725BC on the Coast of Asia Minor, now the coast of Turkey, but then really a part of Greece. Homer was the first Greek writer whose work survives.
He was one of a long line of bards, or poets, who worked in the oral tradition. Homer and other bards of the time could recite, or chant, long epic poems. Both works attributed to Homer – the Iliad and the Odyssey – are over ten thousand lines long in the original. Homer must have had an amazing memory but was helped by the formulaic poetry style of the time.
In the Iliad Homer sang of death and glory, of a few days in the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. Mortal men played out their fate under the gaze of the gods. The Odyssey is the original collection of tall traveller’s tales. Odysseus, on his way home from the Trojan War, encounters all kinds of marvels from one-eyed giants to witches and beautiful temptresses. His adventures are many and memorable before he gets back to Ithaca and his faithful wife Penelope.
We can never be certain that both these stories belonged to Homer. In fact ‘Homer’ may not be a real name but a kind of nickname meaning perhaps ‘the hostage’ or ‘the blind one’. Whatever the truth of their origin, the two stories, developed around three thousand years ago, may well still be read in three thousand years’ time.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A BRILLIANT TRANSLATION - SUPERBLY READ,
This review is from: The Odyssey (Audio CD)
As most know, Homer's Odyssey is the story of the adventures of Odysseus as he makes his way home, to the Greek island of Ithaca, after the war in Troy. Those who groaned when it was assigned in high school or college will do an abrupt about face when they hear Robert Fagles's brilliant translation read by acclaimed actor Sir Ian McKellan. Those becoming familiar with the Odyssey for the first time through this audio are fortunate as it is a superb introduction. Surely McKellan's compelling, resonant reading deserves an award. On a printed page the following words are static, inanimate. In McKellan's voice they ring, seducing listeners as they hear the story of Odysseus. "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns Driven time and again off course..." A Professor of Comparative Literature Emeritus at Princeton, Robert Fagles won accolades for this translation of The Iliad - rightly so. He deserves the same and more for his translation of The Odyssey as he loses none of the original yet contemporizes Homer's masterpiece. Many today will easily identify with Odysseus, an iconic survivor. In The New Yorker Garry Wills wrote: "Robert Fagles is the best living translator of ancient Greek drama, lyric poetry, and epic into modern English, and his translation of the Odyssey is his finest work so far." What more can one say except enjoy? Very highly recommended. - Gail Cooke
51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Way It Was Meant to Be Heard,
By
This review is from: The Odyssey (Audio CD)
I knew I'd never get around to reading it. But after all, for its first five hundred years, nobody read it--they listened to it, as the bard sang it, from memory. Now we have a chance to listen again (and again) as Ian McKellen reads this powerful prose translation by Robert Fagles.
Now I count myself lucky to have long road trips (six and a half hours each way) to listen to this epic. I've listened clear through at least three times. My thirteen-year-old son (not particularly literate, like most kids these days) listened through for extra credit in history class. And the whole family enjoyed the first three books on a one-hour drive into the mountains. The box includes an excellent 112-page introduction by Bernard Knox and eleven CDs nicely packaged. Keep it in the glove box. It's better than coffee on a long drive.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding rendition,
By From_Plano_TX "a_customer_from_plano" (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Odyssey (Audio CD)
This is an absolutely fabulous product, but if you are not used to listening to audio books, I should give you a warning. This product is 11 CD's of one person speaking for about 13 hours. Can you imagine sitting down in the morning at home and staring at the wall for 13 hours while same voice goes on and on, all day and into the night? No, that won't work. So you at least have to break up the experience into chunks. Also, you might need to be doing something else as well, like walking or driving, so you don't drift off. What I did was listen while driving and intermingle other disks so I would not tire of the same voice. I would listen to one disk of the Odyssey, then I'd listen to a disk of music or a non-fiction lecture, then I'd put in another disk of the Odyssey.
However, the last 4 disks were so gripping I listened to them one after the other and could hardly wait for the next disk. Part of this was Ian McKellen's excellent, nay, masterful, enunciation and inflection. Part of the excitement is the climatic end when Odysseus returns home. Can you imagine a gripping 3 hour long buildup to the climatic moment when he reveals his return? Nothing else can compare! I probably identified with the climax more now that I am middle-aged, with a home, a wife, and children approaching adulthood than I could have if I was a teenager listening to this or reading the book. There is little as primal to a mature man as the defense of his home and family. It is astounding to experience a story this exciting and know it is about 2,800 years old. I listened to this story on audio CD because I realized that I would never read this story because I have gone so far into my life without reading it yet. I'm very glad I listened to it instead of trying to read it. For one thing, how could I begin to pronounce so many Greek names? If you have started reading the book and put it down, try reading it by following along with this audio book. The audio book is abridged, but it is 13 hours long so I'm sure you would have a lot of text to follow along with. If you think you know the story of the Odyssey because you've seen a movie based on the story, I will say the story by Homer is much grander and more full bodied than what has been depicted in movies. I'd go so far as to say the movies miss the real point of the Odyssey. Robert Fagles has also translated the Aeneid and the Iliad. I've listened to those on audio CD as well and liked them all. I am a big fan of Derek Jacobi, who narrated the Iliad. I liked the Odyssey best of all.
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