 First edition cover by Guy Fleming | |
| Author | Richard Lattimore |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Harper and Row |
Publication date | 1965 |
The Odyssey of Homer is an English translation of the Odyssey of Homer by American classicist Richard Lattimore, published in 1965. Lattimore's faithfulness to the original Homeric Greek, replicating the use of dactylic hexameter and epithets, made it a staple of undergraduate classical studies programmes.
Lattimore matched the dactylic hexameter of the original Homeric text. [1] Earlier translations favoured changing the poetic metre into a staple of the target language, a decision made Lattimore's contemporary Robert Fitzgerald for his translation. [2] Lattimore's translation is known for its use of epithets but he did excise many of them. [3] It is mostly written in free verse. [4]
The book was first published in 1965 by Harper and Row. [5] The cover of the book, which incorporates a woodcut of Odysseus' boat based on the Dionysus Cup, was designed by Guy Fleming. [6]
Lattimore's translation was widely commended for its fidelity to the Homeric Greek and it remains a staple of literature classes. [7]
The translation's faithfulness has been questioned by modern scholars. D. S. Carne-Ross, an eminent 20th-century translation critic, judged the translation very harshly. Among other reasons, Carne-Ross cited Lattimore's description of Oddyseus building a raft and the removal of some key epithets. Classicist and 2017 Odyssey translator Emily Wilson concurred with much of Carne-Ross' writing but highlighted readers have classically enjoyed the accessibility of the translation and Lattimore's use of repetition in his imagery. [8]