Trying to find a good translation of the Odyssey from before the age of Academic Revision. Especially in lieu of their using historical revisionism through Hollywood movies, but I have also been reading of parallels of the Phaeacians described in the Odyssey and the Frisians described in the Oera Linda Book, and I think I’d like to have a reliable translation on my shelf to reference.
I’ve read it before a long time ago, but I don’t recall being as mindful of translations at the time, so I would hopefully like to locate a translation I can rely on more steadily.
W. H. D. Rouse translated Homer in the 1930s. That’s the translation Penguin Classics use for their prose translation years ago; now they use the Robert Fagles verse translation, which I like for its sound, regardless of its accuracy. The Rouse translation is available on Amazon from various publishers. I’m no expert on translations , but I get your rule of thumb that older is often better.
Thanks for the recs.
I read the Samuel Butler translation some time ago, though I don’t recall it being bad, and I especially like the Odyssey, I just wasn’t as mindful of academic revision back then so I wasn’t on the look out for it when reading that translation.
Hi, welcome to Briar Fray : )