The Odyssey

If the Iliad is a poem of war, the Odyssey is a poem of homecoming. Odysseus, the cleverest of the Greeks, spends ten years trying to get back to Ithaca, facing the Cyclops, the enchantress Circe, the Sirens and the whirlpool Charybdis, while his wife Penelope holds off a crowd of greedy suitors at home.

Emily Wilson’s 2017 version was the first English translation of the Odyssey published by a woman, and it is remarkable for its clarity. She uses the same number of lines as the Greek original, in brisk iambic pentameter, and strips away the grand, old-fashioned language of earlier translations. Her opening famously calls Odysseus a complicated man, setting the tone for a hero who is admirable and troubling in equal measure.

Wilson is also sharp on the people Homer tends to sideline, such as the enslaved women of Odysseus’ household, and her introduction is one of the best short guides to the poem.

Our verdict

The ideal starting point for newcomers to Homer, and a rewarding reread for anyone who already knows the story.