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Freshman Year

ILIAD TR. BARRY B. POWELL

ILIAD TR. BARRY B. POWELL

By: Powell, Barry B
$16.95
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The Iliad is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, for which Barry Powell, one of the twenty-first century's leading Homeric scholars, has given us a magnificent new translation. Graceful, lucid, and energetic, Powell's translation renders the Homeric Greek with a simplicity and dignity reminiscent of the original. The text immediately engrosses students with its tight and balanced rhythms, while the incantatory repetitions evoke a continuous "stream of sound" that offers as good an impression of Homer's Greek as one could hope to attain without learning the language.

Accessible, poetic, and accurate, Powell's translation is an excellent fit for today's students. With swift, transparent language that rings both ancient and modern, it exposes them to all of the rage, pleasure, pathos, and humor that are Homer's Iliad. Both the translation and the introduction are informed by the best recent scholarship.

FEATURES

* Uses well-modulated verse and accurate English that is contemporary but never without dignity

* Powell's introduction sets the poem in its philological, mythological, and historical contexts

* Features unique on-page notes, facilitating students' engagement with the poem

* Embedded illustrations accompanied by extensive captions provide Greek and Roman visual sources for key passages in each of the poem's twenty-four books

* Eight maps (the most of any available translation) provide geographic context for the poem's many place names

* Audio recordings (read by Powell) of fifteen important passages are available at www.oup.com/us/powell and indicated in the text margin by an icon

ILIAD TR. FAGLES

ILIAD TR. FAGLES

By: Homer
$21.00
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A new modern translation of "The Iliad" that is fast-moving, direct, emphasizes the action of the story, and is especially helpful for those first encountering this classic work.
ILIAD TR. FITZGERALD

ILIAD TR. FITZGERALD

By: Homer
$20.00
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Anger be now your song, immortal one,
Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous,
that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
and crowded brave souls into the undergloom,
leaving so many dead men-carrion
for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done.
-Lines 1-6

Since it was first published, Robert Fitzgerald's prizewinning translation of Homer's battle epic has become a classic in its own right: a standard against which all other versions of The Iliad are compared. Fitzgerald's work is accessible, ironic, faithful, written in a swift vernacular blank verse that "makes Homer live as never before" (Library Journal).

This edition includes a new foreword by Andrew Ford.

ILIAD TR. LATTIMORE

ILIAD TR. LATTIMORE

By: Homer
$18.00
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"Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus / and its devastation." For sixty years, that's how Homer has begun the Iliad in English, in Richmond Lattimore's faithful translation--the gold standard for generations of students and general readers.

This long-awaited new edition of Lattimore's Iliad is designed to bring the book into the twenty-first century--while leaving the poem as firmly rooted in ancient Greece as ever. Lattimore's elegant, fluent verses--with their memorably phrased heroic epithets and remarkable fidelity to the Greek--remain unchanged, but classicist Richard Martin has added a wealth of supplementary materials designed to aid new generations of readers. A new introduction sets the poem in the wider context of Greek life, warfare, society, and poetry, while line-by-line notes at the back of the volume offer explanations of unfamiliar terms, information about the Greek gods and heroes, and literary appreciation. A glossary and maps round out the book.

The result is a volume that actively invites readers into Homer's poem, helping them to understand fully the worlds in which he and his heroes lived--and thus enabling them to marvel, as so many have for centuries, at Hektor and Ajax, Paris and Helen, and the devastating rage of Achilleus.

ILIAD TR. LOMBARDO

ILIAD TR. LOMBARDO

By: Murnaghan, Sheila
$18.95
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"Gripping. . . . Lombardo's achievement is all the more striking when you consider the difficulties of his task. . . . [He] manages to be respectful of Homer's dire spirit while providing on nearly every page some wonderfully fresh refashioning of his Greek. The result is a vivid and disarmingly hardbitten reworking of a great classic."
--Daniel Mendelsohn, The New York Times Book Review
ILIAD TR. SACHS

ILIAD TR. SACHS

By: Homer
$22.00
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Homer's epic about the horrors and heroism of the final year of the Trojan War is one of Western literature's most enduring and moving tales. Joe Sachs, whose translations are known for being faithful to the original Greek, brings new layers of depth, understanding, and interest to the poem.

Why translate the Iliad? Joe Sachs explains his motivation:

My own reading of the poem has been influenced less by the books and essays that discuss it than by its translators. I have read quite a few, and the variety among them is striking...Once, long ago, I expected that eventually I would find one translation the most satisfying. What I found instead was that it was the very multiplicity of them that was getting me closer to Homer. Felicitous phrases from them all have remained with me, and the way their words move and sound has helped me come to hear, in my inward ear, Homer's voice.

Renowned philosophy professor Joe Sachs taught for thirty years in the Great Books program at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. He has translated Homer's Odyssey (Paul Dry Books, 2014); Aristotle's Physics, Metaphysics, On the Soul and On Memory and Recollection, Nicomachean Ethics, and Poetics; and Plato's Theaetetus, Republic, and Socrates and The Sophists.

INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT GREEK 2ND

INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT GREEK 2ND

By: Mitchell, Deborah
$48.00
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C.A.E. Luschnig's An Introduction to Ancient Greek: A Literary Approach prepares students to read Greek in less than a year by presenting basic traditional grammar without frills and by introducing real Greek written by ancient Greeks, from the first day of study. The second edition retains all the features of the first but is more streamlined, easier on the eyes, more gender-inclusive, and altogether more 21st century. It is supported by a Web site for teachers and learners at http: //worldwidegreek.com/.

LANDMARK HERODOTUS: The Histories

LANDMARK HERODOTUS: The Histories

By: Herodotus
$32.00
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"The most densely annotated, richly illustrated, and user friendly edition" of the greatest classical work of history ever written (Daniel Mendelsohn, The New Yorker)--from the editor of the widely praised The Landmark Thucydides.

Cicero called Herodotus "the father of history," and his only work, The Histories, is considered the first true piece of historical writing in Western literature. With lucid prose, Herodotus's account of the rise of the Persian Empire and its dramatic war with the Greek city sates set a standard for narrative nonfiction that continues to this day. Illustrated, annotated, and filled with maps--with an introduction by Rosalind Thomas, twenty-one appendices written by scholars at the top of their fields, and a new translation by Andrea L. Purvis--The Landmark Herodotus is a stunning edition.

LANDMARK THUCYDIDES

LANDMARK THUCYDIDES

$32.00
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Thucydides called his account of two decades of war between Athens and Sparta "possession for all time, " and indeed it is the first and still most famous work in the Western historical tradition. Considered essential reading for generals, statesmen, and liberally educated citizens for more than 2,000 years, "The Peloponnesian War" is a mine of military, moral, political, and philosophical wisdom.
LEXICON TO PLATO'S MENO

LEXICON TO PLATO'S MENO

$6.00
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LIDDELL AND SCOTT'S GREEK ENGLISH LEXICON ABRIDGED

LIDDELL AND SCOTT'S GREEK ENGLISH LEXICON ABRIDGED

By: Scott, Robert
$52.95
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This is the abridged version of 1909 edition, often called the "Little Liddell". Simon Wallenberg has enlarged the typeface for easier reading and except for this improvement the publishers have left the original work intact. A Greek-English Lexicon. is the standard lexicographical work of the Ancient Greek language. Based on the earlier Handwörterbuch der griechischen Sprache by the German lexicographer Franz Passow it has served as the basis for all later lexicographical work on the ancient Greek language. No student of Classical Greek or indeed New Testament Greek could possibly be without this Lexicon. Although it is an abridgement of a larger work, it is by no means incomplete and in some respects is a better option than the larger editions. If you study the New Testament Koine Greek, or study Classical Greek, this book will be invaluable to you. The entries are succinct yet informative, and each entry will tell you how a word has been used in different periods of Greek literature. Therefore, if one word has been employed in different uses in Homeric literature, compared to the New Testament, this Lexicon will let you know. This edition of the Liddell and Scott is a comprehensive lexicon of the classical Greek and remains the best lexicon for the New Testament, as the definitions offered in the Little Liddell are so precise you will rarely find them to be wrong. It was edited by Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, It is now conventionally referred to as Liddell & Scott. The first editor of the LSJ, Henry George Liddell, was Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and the father of Alice Liddell, the eponymous Alice of the writings of Lewis Carroll.
MEDEA AND OTHER PLAYS: Hippolytus, Electra, Helen TR. MORWOOD

MEDEA AND OTHER PLAYS: Hippolytus, Electra, Helen TR. MORWOOD

By: Euripides
$10.00
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Euripides was one of the most popular and controversial of all Greek tragedians, and his plays are marked by an independence of thought, ingenious dramatic devices, and a subtle variety of register and mood. He is also remarkable for the prominence he gave to female characters, whether heroines of virtue or vice. This new translation does full justice to Euripides's range of tone and gift of narrative. A lucid introduction provides substantial analysis of each play, complete with vital explanations of the traditions and background to Euripides's world.
Contains: Medea; Hippolytus; Electra; Helen

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
MENO AND OTHER DIALOGUES tr. Waterfield Charmides, Laches, Lysis

MENO AND OTHER DIALOGUES tr. Waterfield Charmides, Laches, Lysis

By: Waterfield, Robin
$10.95
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A unique selection of four dialogues in which Plato considers virtue-- individual virtue as well as virtue as a whole-- and its definition. Charmides, Laches, and Lysis investigate the specific virtues of self-control, courage, and friendship. The later Meno discusses the concept of virtue as awhole, and whether it is something that can be taught.
Plato is a major figure in the history of Western philosophy, and these dialogues are an essential part of his work. Robin Waterfield is an acclaimed translator of Plato, Euripedes, Plutarch, and Aristotle. The introduction and notes explain the course of the four dialogues and analyze the philosophical importance of Socrates' questions and arguments, providing an invaluable aid to understanding for student and non-specialist alike.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

MENO GREEK TEXT & COMMENTARY

MENO GREEK TEXT & COMMENTARY

By: Plato
$15.00
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Meno

by Plato

Translated by Benjamin Jowett

COMPLETE ANCIENT CLASSICS

Meno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato.

This Dialogue begins abruptly with a question of Meno, who asks, 'whether virtue can be taught.' Socrates replies that he does not as yet know what virtue is, and has never known anyone who did. 'Then he cannot have met Gorgias when he was at Athens.' Yes, Socrates had met him, but he has a bad memory, and has forgotten what Gorgias said. Will Meno tell him his own notion, which is probably not very different from that of Gorgias? 'O yes--nothing easier: there is the virtue of a man, of a woman, of an old man, and of a child; there is a virtue of every age and state of life, all of which may be easily described.'

Socrates reminds Meno that this is only an enumeration of the virtues and not a definition of the notion which is common to them all. In a second attempt Meno defines virtue to be 'the power of command.' But to this, again, exceptions are taken. For there must be a virtue of those who obey, as well as of those who command; and the power of command must be justly or not unjustly exercised. Meno is very ready to admit that justice is virtue: 'Would you say virtue or a virtue, for there are other virtues, such as courage, temperance, and the like; just as round is a figure, and black and white are colours, and yet there are other figures and other colours.

MENO TR ANASTAPLO & BERNS

MENO TR ANASTAPLO & BERNS

By: Plato
$12.00
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This is an English translation of Plato's Socratic dialogue attempting to achieve a definition of virtue that applies equally to all particular virtues and serves as a great introduction to Socratic dialogues. It contains a short introduction, notes, standard Stephanus numbers, speech numbers, and an appendix containing a unique gallery of step-by-step geometrical diagrams. It also includes illustrations, a bibliography, and a glossary.

Focus Philosophical Library translations are close to and are non-interpretative of the original text, with the notes and a glossary intending to provide the reader with some sense of the terms and the concepts as they were understood by Plato's immediate audience.

MENO TR. BRANN, KALKAVAGE AND SALEM

MENO TR. BRANN, KALKAVAGE AND SALEM

By: Plato
$12.00
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"As one would expect from the team of Brann, Kalkavage and Salem, their edition of Plato's Meno is a fine one. The translation meets their stated goal of remaining 'as faithful as possible to the Greek, while using lively, colloquial English.' Their notes are consistently helpful and will be particularly useful to those readers willing to explore the nuances of Plato's extraordinary prose. Their introduction is clear and compact, and it highlights the most philosophically important themes of the dialogue. One particularly useful feature of this edition is the manner in which it displays the diagrams Socrates draws in order to illustrate his famous 'square within a square.' Instead of relegating them to the notes, it integrates them into the text of the dialogue itself. Readers are able to follow along, and 'watch' Socrates actually construct them." --David Roochnik, Boston University
MENO TR. GRUBE

MENO TR. GRUBE

By: Plato
$8.00
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About G.M.A Grube's translations of Plato: "Unmistakably superior: more lucid, more accurate, more readable. Above all, they're lucidly adorned, unpretentious, and in translating Plato that counts a good deal. The prose is, as English prose, persuasive, cogent, and as eloquent as it can be without departing from the text. --William Arrowsmith
METAPHYSICS TR. APOSTLE

METAPHYSICS TR. APOSTLE

By: Aristotle
$27.00
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Translation is an exercise in compromise and this compromise is the one I find easiest to work with; a close study of the text requires consistency and literalness.... The Apostle translations are excellent and deserve to be more widely promoted and used"

--Joshua Hochschild, Wheaton College
METAPHYSICS TR. C.D.C. REEVE

METAPHYSICS TR. C.D.C. REEVE

By: Aristotle
$33.00
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This new translation of Aristotle's Metaphysics in its entirety is a model of accuracy and consistency, presented with a wealth of annotation and commentary.

Sequentially numbered endnotes provide the information most needed at each juncture, while a detailed Index of Terms guides the reader to places where focused discussion of key notions occurs.

An illuminating general Introduction describes the book that lies ahead, explaining what it is about, what it is trying to do, how it goes about doing it, and what sort of audience it presupposes.

METAPHYSICS TR. SACHS

METAPHYSICS TR. SACHS

By: Aristotle
$34.95
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Joe Sachs has followed up his brilliant translation of Aristotle's Physics with a new translation of Metaphysics. Sachs's translations bring distinguished new light onto Aristotle's works, which are foundational to history of science. Sachs translates Aristotle with an authenticity that was lost when Aristotle was translated into Latin and abstract Latin words came to stand for concepts Aristotle expressed with phrases in everyday Greek language. When the works began being translated into English, those abstract Latin words or their cognates were used, thus suggesting a level of jargon and abstraction, and in some cases misleading interpretation, which was not Aristotle's language or style. These important new translations open up Aristotle's original thought to readers.
NATURE OF THINGS tr. Stallings

NATURE OF THINGS tr. Stallings

By: Lucretius
$22.00
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A new series of beautiful hardcover nonfiction classics, with covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith

World-changing ideas meet eye-catching design: the best titles of the extraordinarily successful Great Ideas series are now packaged in Coralie Bickford-Smith's distinctive, award-winning covers. Whether on a well-curated shelf or in your back pocket, these timeless works of philosophical, political, and psychological thought are absolute musthaves for book collectors as well as design enthusiasts.

The Nature of Things combines a scientific and philosophical treatise with some of the greatest poetry ever written. Lucretius demonstrates to humanity that in death there is nothing to fear, as the soul is mortal and the world and everything in it is governed by the mechanical laws of nature rather than by gods. By believing this, men can live with peace of mind and happiness. His far-ranging lyrical exploration of the universe continues with an examination of sensation, sex, cosmology, meteorology, and geology, all of these subjects made more attractive by the poetry with which he illustrates them. Translated by award-winning American classicist and poet A. E. Stallings, this volume also features an introduction by the esteemed Oxford classics scholar Richard Jenkyns.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR THOMSON/TRED

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR THOMSON/TRED

By: Aristotle
$16.00
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"One swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day. Similarly neither can one day, or a brief space of time, make a man blessed and happy"

Previously published as Ethics, Aristotle's The Nicomachean Ethics addresses the question of how to live well and originates the concept of cultivating a virtuous character as the basis of his ethical system. Here Aristotle sets out to examine the nature of happiness, and argues that happiness consists in 'activity of the soul in accordance with virtue', including moral virtues, such as courage, generosity and justice, and intellectual virtues, such as knowledge, wisdom and insight. The Ethics also discusses the nature of practical reasoning, the value and the objects of pleasure, the different forms of friendship, and the relationship between individual virtue, society and the State. Aristotle's work has had a profound and lasting influence on all subsequent Western thought about ethical matters.

This Penguin Classics edition is translated from the Greek by J.A.K. Thomson with revisions and notes by Hugh Tredennick, and an introduction and bibliography by Jonathan Barnes.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR. IRWIN

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR. IRWIN

By: Aristotle
$18.00
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Terence Irwin's edition of the Nicomachean Ethics offers more aids to the reader than are found in any modern English translation. It includes an Introduction, headings to help the reader follow the argument, explanatory notes on difficult or important passages, and a full glossary explaining Aristotle's technical terms.

The Third Edition offers additional revisions of the translation as well as revised and expanded versions of the notes, glossary, and Introduction. Also new is an appendix featuring translated selections from related texts of Aristotle.

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR. REEVE

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR. REEVE

By: Aristotle
$21.00
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An excellent new translation and commentary. It will serve newcomers as an informative, accessible introduction to the Nicomachean Ethics and to many issues in Aristotle's philosophy, but also has much to offer advanced scholars. The commentary is noteworthy for its frequent citations of relevant passages from other works in Aristotle's corpus, which often shed new light on the texts. Reeve's translation is meticulous: it hits the virtuous mean--accurate and technical, yet readable--between translation's vicious extremes of faithlessness and indigestibility.--Jessica Moss, New York University

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR. ROSS

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR. ROSS

By: Ross, David
$14.95
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A student of Plato and a teacher of Alexander the Great, Aristotle is one of the towering figures in Western thought. A brilliant thinker with wide-ranging interests, he wrote important works in physics, biology, poetry, politics, morality, metaphysics, and ethics.
In the Nicomachean Ethics, which he is said to have dedicated to his son Nicomachus, Aristotle's guiding question is what is the best thing for a human being? His answer is happiness. "Happiness," he wrote, "is the best, noblest, and most pleasant thing in the world." But he means not something we feel, not an emotion, but rather an especially good kind of life. Happiness is made up of activities in which we use the best human capacities, both ones that contribute to our flourishing as members of a community, and ones that allow us to engage in god-like contemplation. Contemporary ethical writings on the role and importance of the moral virtues such as courage and justice have drawn inspiration from this work, which also contains important discussions on responsibility, practical reasoning, and on the role of friendship in creating the best life.
This new edition combines David Ross's classic translation, lightly revised by Lesley Brown, with a new and invaluable introduction and explanatory notes. A glossary of key terms and comprehensive index, as well as a fully updated bibliography, add further value to this exceptional new edition.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR. SACHS

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS TR. SACHS

By: Aristotle
$23.00
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Focus Philosophical Library's edition of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is a lucid and useful translation of one of Aristotle's major works for the student of undergraduate philosophy, as well as for the general reader interested in the major works of western civilization. This edition includes notes and a glossary, intending to provide the reader with some sense of the terms and the concepts as they were understood by Aristotle's immediate audience.
Focus Philosophical Library books are distinguished by their commitment to faithful, clear, and consistent translations of texts and the rich world part and parcel of those texts.
ODYSSEY tr. Emily Wilson

ODYSSEY tr. Emily Wilson

By: Homer
$18.95
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Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.

This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, none more so than the "complicated" hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this version as a more fully rounded human being than ever before.

Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, Emily Wilson's Odyssey sings with a voice that echoes Homer's music; matching the number of lines in the Greek original, the poem sails along at Homer's swift, smooth pace.

A fascinating, informative introduction explores the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the poem's major themes, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. Maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, and extensive notes and summaries of each book make this is an Odyssey that will be treasured by a new generation of readers.

ODYSSEY TR. FAGLES

ODYSSEY TR. FAGLES

By: Homer
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By its evocation of a real or imaged heroic age, its contrasts of character and its variety of adventure, above all by its sheer narrative power, the Odyssey has won and preserved its place among the greatest tales in the world. It tells of Odysseus' adventurous wanderings as he returns from the long war at Troy to his home in the Greek island of Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus have been waiting for him for twenty years. He meets a one-eyed giant, Polyphemus the Cyclops; he visits the underworld; he faces the terrible monsters Scylla and Charybdis; he extricates himself from the charms of Circe and Calypso. After these and numerous other legendary encounters he finally reaches home, where, disguised as a beggar, he begins to plan revenge on the suitors who have for years been besieging Penelope and feasting on his own meat and wine with insolent impunity.
ODYSSEY TR. FITZGERALD

ODYSSEY TR. FITZGERALD

By: Homer
$19.00
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The classic translation of The Odyssey, now in paperback.

This edition also features a map, a Glossary of Names and Places, and Fitzgerald's Postscript. Line drawings precede each book of the poem.

Robert Fitzgerald's translation of Homer's Odyssey is the best and best-loved modern translation of the greatest of all epic poems. Since 1961, this Odyssey has sold more than two million copies, and it is the standard translation for three generations of students and poets. Farrar, Straus and Giroux is delighted to publish a new edition of this classic work. Fitzgerald's supple verse is ideally suited to the story of Odysseus' long journey back to his wife and home after the Trojan War. Homer's tale of love, adventure, food and drink, sensual pleasure, and mortal danger reaches the English-language reader in all its glory.

Of the many translations published since World War II, only Fitzgerald's has won admiration as a great poem in English. The noted classicist D. S. Carne-Ross explains the many aspects of its artistry in his Introduction, written especially for this new edition.

Winner of the Bollingen Prize

ODYSSEY tr. Joe Sachs

ODYSSEY tr. Joe Sachs

By: Homer
$20.00
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"Joe Sachs's translation brings the reader quickly and deeply into The Odyssey."--Nickolas Pappas

This new translation powerfully presents The Odyssey with a modern clarity that suits the vigorous narrative of Odysseus's perilous ten-year voyage home to Ithaca. Joe Sachs, whose translations are known for being faithful to the original Greek, brings new layers of depth, understanding, and interest to the epic.

"I have never met a translation of The Odyssey I didn't like." Thus Joe Sachs invites us to partake in his new rendering of Homer's epic.

"The poem appears in as many guises as Odysseus himself...There is so much power and grace in Homer's poetry that a reader responsive to a few partial strands of it can find in them a wholly satisfying experience and every translator whose work I have read has detected and magnified something in the original that I had not found by other means...Any newly encountered translation of a poem is an opportunity to participate in a fresh reading through a new pair of eyes, and while those readings cannot all be taken in at one view, each one adds something to the sight that occupies the foreground at any moment. It is not because a new translation is needed that I now offer this one, but because every new translation is a contribution that enhances the self-revelation of a poem of boundless variety...The friction of one translation against another can be the quickest way for a path to light up for a reader's own entry into the work. And this invitation to use the available translations not as rivals but in partnership gives license to any single translator to sacrifice part of the meaning and weight of any word or phrase to capture more effectively whatever seems to matter most in it...There comes a point when your best recourse is to rely on no one's judgment but your own, to confront the intelligence, imagination, and heart we know as Homer on your own, and to join the fun."--from the Introduction by Joe Sachs

"The transparent, natural language of Joe Sachs's translation brings the reader quickly and deeply into The Odyssey. Behind that language, both intimate and clear, we sense his sure feel for The Odyssey's people and places. And as much as the scenes of the poem vary, and the language with them, we detect the idea of The Odyssey that Sachs articulates in his valuable afterword: that Homer can begin his story in the middle of things because we are always in the midst of The Odyssey's action no matter where we start reading--because the poem's sub-ject is the discovery of what is essentially human, a discovery that humans are always, wonderingly, in the middle of."--Nickolas Pappas, Professor of Philosophy at City College and the Graduate Center, CUNY

"Joe Sachs's translation of Aristotle's Poetics is to me the most vibrant version of a well-thumbed text that is still the screenwriter's bible. So I am not surprised that he brings the same freshness to the world's greatest long-voyage-home-to-a-lost-love story. This Odyssey is exciting reading for the general reader and essential reading for teachers and students who can now 'hear' how Homer's epic might have been heard by listeners in times past. Let's hope Joe Sachs is now working on the Iliad."--Eoghan Harris, Irish National Film School (Dun Laoghaire Institute)

Joe Sachs taught for thirty years in the Great Books program at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. He has translated numerous works by Aristotle and Plato.