"English Translators of Homer": A Review
20 comments
·July 12, 2025throw0101c
cheeseomlit
Damn, as bad as the Troy movie was I thought Sean Bean was a great pick for Odysseus. Not so sure about Matt Damon
crinkly
It's a terrible film but enjoyable.
I'd rather someone did the Iliad in the style of Flash Gordon.
throw0101c
I can see the potential. His earlier ("serious") work is: The Rainmaker, Good Will Hunting, Rounders, The Talented Mr. Ripley.
More recently: Oppenheimer, The Last Duel, Ford v Ferrari. While The Martian is generally considered a comedy, I think he showed a man coping under pressure pretty well.
frereubu
Never seen the film, but have always liked the idea of Brad Pitt as the overweeningly proud and self-involved Achilles.
chrisdhoover
I enjoyed The Return with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche
hungmung
Ffs, no. We don't need this.
A_D_E_P_T
Logue's War Music is easily the finest poetic work of the late 20th century, but it's not a full translation -- it only covers a few books, a fraction of the total Iliad -- and I think that it's better understood as a supplement to Homer. It works as a thing in itself, but it works 100x better if you're already familiar with the Iliad and are ready for a fresh perspective on a few select scenes.
Finishing the job would be a tremendous undertaking, on par with Ezra Pound's Cantos. It should eventually be attempted by somebody, though.
karaterobot
> but it's not a full translation
If it's a translation at all, then we need a new word for when you change a text from one language into another language. I think 'retelling' is a perfectly good word to use here!
johngossman
Totally agree. I re-read it yesterday. The latest edition has Books 1-9 and 16-19, plus some notes and scraps from the remainder. Albeit his versions of those books are mostly shorter than the original, it's more complete than I remember.
frereubu
I think the thing I love most about Logue's retelling is that when reading it I hear the voices so clearly. I often think it's a shame that nobody (as far as I know) has put on a play of War Music.
johngossman
Apparently it has been done. There were BBC readings and I found this:
https://variety.com/2009/legit/reviews/war-music-1200507311/
billfruit
Daniel Mendelsohn's new translation of Odyssey came out in April this year. He claims to have taken a more litteral approach following on the footsteps of Lattimore.
Did anyone here read it?
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ajkjk
I honestly wonder, what kind of person writes a book that compares translations without thinking to include ample examples? Are they intentionally trying to limit their audience?
madcaptenor
I agree, but I'd imagine there are copyright issues with the newer translations.
tiahura
In the age of AI, Butler deserves more recognition.
vonnik
Fitzgerald and Green are the top two in my opinion.
aaroninsf
I'd so much rather see a top-shelf adaptation of _The Song of Achilles_
unit149
[dead]
For those unaware, Christopher Nolan is making a movie of Odyssey:
> An adaptation of the ancient Greek epic poem the Odyssey attributed to Homer, the film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, and chronicles his long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope. The ensemble cast also features Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal, among others.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Odyssey_(2026_film)