The Odyssey by Homer is a very early work of European literature.
It was composed about 700 BC but is popular to this day.
It's a good rollicking read and a good place to start in reading classical literature.
The Odyssey by Homer
What's it like: It is colourful, human and enjoyable, covering the everyday, the heroic and the fantastical.
Like many great works, it has several components: an adventure/romance, a travelogue, a story of justice.
It's an epic poem, about 300 pages long (12,000 lines). There are no boring bits, but the first half and the last part are the best. The second half is perhaps too long.
It is arranged in 24 books (each about 10-15 pages long).
What's it about: It's about the ten-year homeward journey (nostos), after the Trojan War, of the hero Odysseus, to his island of Ithaca in the west of Greece. He encounters many hardships and fantastical adventures, notably the Cyclops, the Sirens, Circe the sorceress and the underworld.
Meanwhile, on Ithaca, Odysseus is presumed lost and dead; and his wife Penelope is fending off bids from a large group of unworthy suitors for her hand in marriage. They've set up home in Odysseus and Penelope's home and are gradually consuming their wealth, literally 'eating them out of house and home'.
Their son, Telemachos, is now a young man, and sets off to obtain help from the hero Nestor in Pylos, further south; and he also meets Menelaus and Helen, who tell him what happened in the Trojan War.
Events all come to a climax when Odysseus finally returns to the island ....
What are the main themes ? Mainly it's about loyalty, family, justice. It's about the variety of the world, with different peoples and countries. And, rather like the Wizard of Oz, with its fantastical adventures, there is a sense of 'there's no place like home'. There is also a theme of things not being what they seem, be that through magic, deception or story-telling.
Why it is regarded as so good ? Many reasons. It's very well written. It's stirring and exciting, a sweeping and realistic portrait of people. It's full of great expression and interesting stories.
How does it compare to a modern novel ? It's surprisingly similar - as you'll see, if you read a prose version. It's remarkable how well developed the form was back in 700BC.
What is the structure ? It's a very clever structure, which shows how Homer was a v advanced writer for his time; and anticipated the modern novel.
Rather than just tell Odysseus' journey from beginning to end, he uses flashbacks and different settings with parallel stories to make it more interesting and compelling eg you switch from Ithaca to Odysseus and back. The first four books are mainly about Penelope and Telemachos in Ithaca; and (to build up suspense), the main character Odysseus doesn't really appear until Book 5, when he proceeds to tell the story of his journey up to that point.
Any striking features in the writing ? Yes, the style is distinctive: a lofty, high tone of a heroic epic.
There are lots of extended similes, comparing things in society with things in nature; and many epithets for people and places, such as 'much-suffering Odysseus' and 'the many-sounding sea'.
Is it mainly about the tales of monsters etc ? Surprisingly, no. The Odyssey is most famous for the fantastical tales (Cyclops, Sirens, Circe, underworld) but in fact they only cover four of the 24 books (9 to 12). Over half the book is about sorting things out on Ithaca.
What about the gods ? Only two gods are major players: Athena, who is protecting and guiding Odysseus; and Poseidon, who is punishing Odysseus with storms and shipwrecks because he had injured the Cyclops who was a son of Poseidon. Zeus also makes life difficult when Odysseus' men eat the cattle of the sun-god Hyperion.
This is in marked contrast to the Iliad, Homer's other poem, where most of the twelve Olympian gods are involved in the Trojan War, usually on the side of the Greeks or the Trojans.
What does the title mean ? 'The Odyssey' means 'poem about Odysseus'. Because the poem is mainly about a long journey, the word 'odyssey' has come to mean just that: 'a long and winding journey', usually involving change or transformation.
What are the first lines ? 'Muse, tell me of the many-sided man, who suffered many things, after he destroyed the sacred city of Troy. He saw the towns of many people and knew their mind'.
It clearly sums up a lot of the poem. First lines in books were v important in literature before about 500BC, because they often didn't have formal titles, so were often referred to by their first words.
(As a parallel, the first book of the Bible did not originally have a title and was referred to as 'In the beginning'. The title 'Genesis' was added some time later - and is in Greek, as opposed to the actual text in Hebrew.)
Interesting word fact: 'nostos' is Greek for 'homeward journey'. 'algos' is Greek for 'ache, pain'. That's where the word 'nost-algia' comes from: it literally means 'aching for home', or 'home-sickness'.
Which translation should I read ? It depends what you want, but ....
To start with, E V Rieu's (1946) in clear everyday English prose is good. Martin Hammond's is the main modern version used - clear, modern English prose.
There are excellent verse versions (eg Richard Lattimore, Robert Fagles) with a heroic tone and a long metre like Homer. They have a lofty sound but it is perhaps harder to follow the story.
An outstanding translation is The Odyssey (2018) by Emily Wilson, the first major one in English by a woman. It is, quite simply, excellent, and clearly the work of a gifted poet and wordsmith. Interestingly, it is written in a shorter metre to Homer: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-odyssey/homer/emily-wilson/9780393356250 Wilson also brought a new perspective to the women characters in the poem.
Overall, I'd recommend Rieu and Wilson, with perhaps Hammond.
Interesting fact about translation: The translation by E V Rieu was the first book in the Penguin Classics series in 1946. It sold a million copies, testifying to the strong story-telling appeal of the poem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._V._Rieu
Re-tellings of the story in novels:
There have been notable re-tellings of the story from a women's viewpoint in recent years. These two are highly acclaimed:
'The Penelopiad' by Margaret Atwood (author of Handmaid's Tale)
Basically making the point that it was pretty tough for Penelope too, stuck on the island with a gang of unwelcome suitors; and unsure if her husband was alive or whether she would ever see him again.
'Circe' by Madeline Miller Circe is a sorceress in the story, and this is a rehabilitation of her character, again telling things from her viewpoint. There are various other stories about Circe in Greek myth outside the Odyssey.
The society depicted by Homer was very patriarchal, with women in secondary and disempowered roles, so there is plenty material for a re-writing from women's viewpoint.
Further reading:
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey 16 August 2019
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