<font color=silver>One of the things that can make reading the ancient classics more of a chore than a pleasant experience is the quality of the translation. It is unfortunately not always easy to find a translation of a work like the Odyssey that manages to capture the power of the original Greek in English that is accessible to the general reader.

A few years ago, Robert Fagles put out a translation of the Odyssey which is nothing short of spectacular. Not only is it faithful to the original language, it’s use of English is powerful and compelling. Picking up this particular version has been one of my best book purchases in quite some time – it is really a pleasure to read.

As an example, here are the book's opening lines:

<font color=turquoise>Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of Troy.
Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,
many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea,
fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home.
But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove –
the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all,
the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun
and the Sungod blotted out the day of their return.
Launch out on his story, Muse, daughter of Zeus,
start from where you will – sing for our time too.</font>

The Odyssey will always be read, it has been said, because much of life involves the frustration and struggle of seeking one’s home. It is also one of those great works of the past that has established the standard of the telling of heroic tales that is still employed in the fantasy novels written today. For those who would like a good introduction to the classics, I cannot recommend this work more highly.</font>

<font color = lightgreen>Cryil Darkcloud, thanks for the heads-up on the good reading material! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] Sadly, I must admit that I don't read nearly as much as I'd like; I suppose that the only person who can change that is me! [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] </font>

Thanks for that... only version I've got in my house is a rather out-dated translation and I've been thinking about getting myself a good one.
Cheers!