Foreword, by Ian Morris
Introduction
The Odyssey
Notes
Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascomb Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His translation of The Iliad (2013) was also published by Oxford University Press.
Praise for Barry Powell's translation of The Iliad:
"Magnetically readable." --Booklist, starred review
"[A] clear and energetic translation.... Staying true to Homer's
poetic rhythms, Powell avoids the modified iambic lines found in
Lattimore's, Fagles's, and Mitchell's works. He also avoids
Lombardo's tendency to cast Homer in contemporary language and
Fitzgerald's anachronisms. This fine version of The Iliad has a
feel for the Greek." --Library Journal
"With swift, transparent language that rings both ancient and
modern, Barry Powell gives readers anew all of the rage, pleasure,
pathos, and humor that are Homer's Iliad--a reading experience
richly illumined by the insightful commentary and plentiful images
accompanying the text." --Jane Alison, author of The
Love-Artist
"This translation is the complete package. A lucid and accessible
introduction gives a general audience what they need to appreciate
the nature of this extraordinary poem, and the translation itself
is admirably energetic, readable, and direct. Powell's style is
individual and self-assured, and his lines cry out to be read
aloud. Just as in the original, the pace never lets up and the
events of that long-lost past flash by. It is a remarkable
achievement, one
that fully deserves to rank with any of the current contenders."
--Denis Feeney, Princeton University
"Barry Powell's clever translation is simple and energetic:
sometimes coarse, sometimes flowing, it is always poetically
engaged. He lays bare the semantic background of Homer through
felicitous phrasing and delivers us a Dark-Age epic, one more
suggestive of Norse sagas than the cultural milieu of archaic
Ionia. Fresh and eminently readable, Powell's Iliad is likely to
stay." --Margalit Finkelberg, editor of The Homer Encyclopedia
"Barry Powell, the master of classical mythology, has done it
again--a powerful translation of the poem that started European
literature. His muscular verses are faithful to the original Greek
but bring the characters to life. This is a page-turner, bound to
become the new standard." --Ian Morris, author of Why the West
Rules--For Now
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